State
Historic Sites in Jeopardy!
by Norm Winick
Galesburg Zephyr
GalesburgÕs
pre-eminent tourist attraction, the Carl Sandburg State Historic Site, is in
mortal danger — as are dozens of other State of Illinois operated
historic sites and parks.
While
the legislature, notably Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, and Governor Rod
Blagojevich, are feuding over a budget thatÕs $2 billion in the red, managers
of state historic sites were told Ònot to plan anything for after October.Ó
While
that bleak admonition sure could infer an ultimate closing, things couldnÕt be
any more nebulous. It does mean that plans at a variety of sites for
celebrating the bicentennial of Abraham LincolnÕs birth in February, 2009 in
the ÒLand of LincolnÓ are on hold.
Besides
all 60 of the stateÕs historic sites which includes facilities as major as
LincolnÕs New Salem and as small as the Postville Courthouse, an indeterminate
number of smaller state parks and nature preserves, such as Snakeden
Hollow near Victoria or Wildlife Prairie State Park near Kickapoo, could also
be impacted.
When
I questioned Governor Blagojevich in Springfield Tuesday evening, he
acknowledged that his office has looked into some doomsday scenarios for the
Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and the Department of Natural Resources
[DNR] if the legislature does not come up with a way to generate more revenues.
He blamed Madigan for the problems: ÒI had a balanced budget worked out with
expanded gambling and Mayor Daley even went along with it but the speaker said
Ôno.Õ Then we balanced it by leasing the lottery and then he rejected that.Ó
He
went on to explain why those two agencies could be hit hard if a solution isnÕt
reached: ÒJust about all of their funding comes from the GRF [General Revenue
Fund]. Most other state agencies get at least partial funding from the federal
government or specific tax revenues. HP [Illinois Historic Preservation Agency]
and DNR are totally GRF funded and theyÕll take large hits if we canÕt reach an
agreement. Without some new revenue sources, there could be some drastic cuts.
Before we close any facilities entirely, we will probably reduce operating
hours even more.Ó
They
have already reduced most of the sites, including the major Lincoln sites in
and around Springfield to five days a week from seven.
At
a speech he gave at GovernorÕs Day at the Illinois State Fair on Wednesday,
Blagojevich laid out his priorities. ÒAll-kids,Ó his health care program for
children, pre-school for all, were at the top of the list. Historic sites and
state parks were not mentioned.
State
Representative Don Moffitt has been a vocal supporter of maintaining the
state-operated facilities. He recently attended a meeting in Bishop Hill,
another IHPA site, and reportedly
told them that he will be keeping pressure on the Governor to keep all the
facilities in this area open.
Diane
Breuning, director of Tourism for the Galesburg Area
Convention and VisitorsÕ Bureau, has indicated sheÕll help do whatever it takes
to keep local facilities operating.
The Carl Sandburg site includes the birthplace
cottage, the resting place and a museum dedicated to IllinoisÕ most famous
poet. Thousands of visitors come
annually from all 50 states and a variety of foreign countries. Regular
concerts and lectures also contribute to the local cultural scene.
8/14/08