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The state is slashing hours at several Abraham Lincoln historic
sites because of a massive deficit, Illinois Historic Preservation
Agency officials said Thursday. Starting Monday, visitors will see
"closed" signs two days a week at Lincoln's New Salem State Historic
Site, the Old State Capitol and Lincoln's Tomb. The office where
Lincoln practiced law will close every day except Saturday.
All four sites had been operating seven days a week.
Kim Rosendahl, director of tourism at the Springfield Convention
and Visitors Bureau, said the reductions in hours will have a "huge
impact" on the state capital, where up to 80 percent of tourists
come because of Lincoln.
And the timing is terrible, she said, as Illinois and other
states gear up for the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth in 2009.
"It's a really devastating thing, especially leading into what
should be for visitors to Illinois a banner year in 2009," Rosendahl
said. "It's a national celebration, and who has the most Lincoln in
the world? Illinois."
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Gov. Rod Blagojevich is making cuts after lawmakers approved a
budget with a $2 billion deficit. That leaves the preservation
agency searching for ways to chop $2.8 million, and spokesman David
Blanchette said even more cuts are coming.
"There will be other tough decisions made in the coming weeks,"
Blanchette said. "We can't yet say specifically what impact those
decisions will have on individual sites."
The agency is cutting about 80 seasonal workers statewide, saving
$180,000, he said.
Half of the job cuts are in the Springfield area at the Lincoln
sites. Because they used most of the seasonal workers, they're
feeling the impact first, Blanchette said.
[Associated Press]
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