Why did the historic sites and parks close?
A. Money problems. As state government faced what Blagojevich said was a $2 billion budget hole, the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency’s historic sites division saw its $5.6 million budget sliced in half. The situation was similar for state parks. Q. What are some of the places that closed? A. The shuttered historic sites included the Dana-Thomas House in Springfield; the Carl Sandburg State Historic Site in Galesburg; and Jubilee College near Brimfield. The parks that were partially or completely closed included Castle Rock and Lowden state parks, both in Ogle County; Illini State Park in LaSalle County and the Moraine View State Recreation Area in McLean County. Their last day before closing was Nov. 30, 2008. More than 30 people lost their jobs, and the closures put a damper on the state’s tourism efforts. Still, things could have been worse. Local efforts kept open two other historic sites – Bryant Cottage in Bement and the David Davis Mansion in Bloomington. An anonymous donor
