Lincoln Log Cabin Historical Site Closing Sunday

This summer, squabbling by the tiny children in grown up clothes who run Illinois, the governor and the General Assembly, forced drastically cut hours, retreats from a seven-days a week schedule, and outright closings of many state parks and historical sites.

Several parks will close, possibly forever, tomorrow.

It could have been worse, but the end result may be the same in a year or so.

Funding from the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission will put most of the Lincoln sites on the same schedule they were on before "Blago" got his pen-knife out and started slashing. But remember that bicentennial is in the name, not tricentennial. Eventually that funding will dry up.

February 12 will mark the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth.

One Lincoln site was not issued a reprieve--the Lincoln Log Cabin State Historical Site near Charleston in Coles County. I've never been there, it was one of those "the next time in the area, I need to stop there" types of places. And I just a few miles away from there in May. Too late.

About the site: Shortly before reaching adulthood, Lincoln, his father Thomas, and his beloved stepmother, Sarah Bush Lincoln, left Indiana for Illinois. After his 21st birthday, Lincoln moved to New Salem near Springfield, while his parents finally put roots down in Coles County. Lincoln visited every year or two.

The cabin is a replica, the original was dismantled, sent to the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where it was lost, or accidentally used for firewood.

Idiocy in Illinois is not a passing fad.

The volunteers and employees at the site are giving it a loving send-off. But it's a shame this place is closing down, especially since the president-elect is basking in the glow of Lincoln comparisons.

Barack Obama has shown a real talent for fundraising, and I believe if he put his name behind it, he could shepherd adequate donations to reopen the Lincoln Log Cabin Historical Site.

Compared to the cash he raised for his successful presidential campaign, all it would take is a pittance.

Technorati tags: Abraham Lincoln history Lincoln bicentennial politics Blagojevich illinois Democrats Illinois Politics Obama Barack Obama