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| Lincoln-Herndon offices, Springfield |
The Lincoln sites in and near Springfield are must-sees for any history buff. But you have to plan your visit to see the these historical locations very carefully.
After five and-a-half years of Governor Rod Blagojevich using budgetary gimmicks--fiscal card tricks to keep Illinois afloat--the state is broke.
Last month, the Chicago Democrat slashed $1.4 billion from the state budget. And the after effects are coming in--and the Lincoln sites have not been spared.
The Illinois Historical Preservation Association has a budget of $5 million. Blago's knife saddled the IHPA with $2.8 million in cuts. What will be cut? Well, beginning September 1, Abraham Lincoln's law office, pictured above, will go from being open seven days a week to just one. But if you're in Springfield on a Saturday, you have nothing to worry about.
(Correction: The "closed days" started on August 4.)
The Old State Capitol, where Lincoln gave his "House Divided" speech will be closed on Sundays and Mondays, as will Lincoln's tomb.
Obamaphiles need not worry. Illinois' junior senator kicked off his presidential run outside the Old State Capitol last February.
The reconstructed village of New Salem, the first place Lincoln lived in away from his father, will be open only from Wednesdays through Sundays.
"Blago," the first Illinois chief executive not to live in the governor's mansion in Springfield since it became the state capitol in the 1830s, needs not only a history lesson, but to be reminded that Lincoln is good for central Illinois. The Travel Industry of America estimates that tourism brought more than $350 million to Sangamon County last year.
The expenditures include money from my wallet--Little Marathon Pundit and I visited the Springfield-area Lincoln sites in 2007--and spent a night in town, had a few meals, and bought some souvenirs.
The Bloomington Pantagraph says the Lincoln-site budget cuts will save the state only $95,000.
Geoff Elliot of the Abraham Lincoln Blog says, "You have to wonder about the state government in Illinois." He goes on to say that just as interest in Lincoln is increasing--the bicentennial of his birth occurs in six months--"The Land of Lincoln" is putting up closed signs. Short term gains, yes, but in the long term--it will cost Illinois a lot more than $95,000.
But expecting common sense from Illinois government, led by a governor who may have a federal indictment in his future--or impeachment--is just too much to hope for.
Elliot points out that the "Disney-fied" Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and Library will be unaffected by the cuts. But if you want to see the real the Lincoln history nearby--that's going to be a little harder.
UPDATE August 6: The Springfield Journal-Register reports that 114 Abe aficionados tried to visit Lincoln's New Salem two days ago. They didn't know that the restored village is now closed on Mondays.
After driving to Massachusetts to see her son’s performance in the play, "Our American Cousin," about Lincoln's assassination, Marian Keane of Colorado decided that on the way back, "I'm going to see this 'Land of Lincoln.'"Related posts:
"But part of it is closed," Keane said. "I'm totally bummed."
Many of the visitors who arrived at New Salem's main entrance between 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Monday were from states other than Illinois, including Wisconsin, Texas, Minnesota, Colorado, Kentucky, Louisiana, California, Ohio, Washington, Missouri, Iowa, Nevada, Tennessee and Mississippi.
Neil and Peggy Mann of southern Iowa wanted to show Peggy's 86-year-old mother, Elizabeth Whitney of Missouri, some of the places they'd previously taken their children.
Thirty hours in Lincoln's Springfield, Illinois
Abraham Lincoln birthplace site
Abraham Lincoln birthplace site's log cabin
"My earliest recollection is of the Knob Creek place"
I found this bit of history in downtown Chicago today
Book review: Andrew Ferguson's "Land of Lincoln: Adventures in Abe's America"
My Mississippi Manifest Destiny--Lincoln and Kentucky
Stephen A. Douglas Tomb in Chicago
Southern Illinois town honors its Lincoln--Douglas Debate
4 comments:
Could be worse. I saw last might that one of the western states. I think Utah, is closing all government offices on Fridays on a permanant basis to conserve energy. It seems we can't keep our homes at 72 degrees, drive our SUVs (although I have a compact car for the narrow city streets) and expect government services during normal business hours.
I should think conservatives would be happy about such cuts. Can't pay for things if you don't invest in them.
After Blago finishes his prison term, perhaps he can perform his work-release as a docent at the Lincoln-Herndon offices. He created this mess.
Tony Rezko can do historical re-enactment work as a land devoloper up at New Salem.
Why you p-ss all over Lincoln's good name by suggesting a thing like that?
Blago and G-Ryan can go on breaking rocks.
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