The State of Illinois is planning to bridge a budget gap by closing dozens of state parks and historic sites, including the reconstructed home of Abraham Lincoln’s father and the location at which Lincoln served as a state legislator.  Excerpt from the Chicago Sun-Times:

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Thirteen state historic sites and 11 parks will close, and human services will be affected as the Blagojevich administration said Thursday it will lay off 325 workers.

The tourist attractions include the reconstructed log cabin of Abraham Lincoln’s father and stepmother near Charleston, set to close Oct. 1, just five months before the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth.

The world will be watching Illinois in February 2009, when Lincoln’s adopted state celebrates the Kentucky-born 16th president’s 200th birthday.

But several sites associated with Lincoln will close, including his parents’ last home near Charleston and the Vandalia statehouse, where Lincoln served in the state Legislatures before Springfield became the state capital.

”It’s going to be devastating to local communities that depend on these sites for tourist revenue,” preservation agency spokesman David Blanchette said.

The Department of Natural Resources will lay off 39 workers, including three part-timers, and close 11 state parks Nov. 1.

”The other 300 parks, natural areas, wildlife areas, will remain unaffected,” DNR spokesman Chris McCloud said.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1133463,blagobudget082808.article

Trackback URI | Comments RSS