Thanks to an anonymous donor, Horseshoe Lake and Ramsey Lake state parks are reopened today.

The parks were shut down indefinitely last month because of the state’s ongoing state budget impasse. Their reopening Tuesday came after a deal to turn power on at Horseshoe Lake State Park fell through with Southwestern Electric Cooperative because the company also wanted overdue utility bills paid for Ramsey Lake and Carlyle Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area.

Bob Romanik, a candidate for state representative, later said he’s the person who paid the electricity provider for the overdue bills.

A Facebook page called the St. Clair County Freedom Coalition posted a screenshot of a payment receipt Tuesday night, indicating that Romanik covered the electric bills for Horseshoe Lake, as well as Ramsey and Carlyle.

Romanik told the Belleville News-Democrat that he paid the bills in honor of his late son, Stephen Romanik II, who passed away in September at the age of 41. He pledged to cover the electric bills for all three state park sites throughout the summer.