If nothing else will persuade you to appropriate the money to support the work of the IHPA, consider that it will pay for itself in tourist-related revenues during the Lincoln bicentennial year.
I support this petition. The historical sites are the most important drawing cards to get visitors to Illinois. Why would anyone consider closing them? It just does not make sense.
As someone who enjoyes the outdoors and especially these particular places of historical significance, I support the efforts to keep these places open, not only for Southern Illinoisans, but for all visitors.
I wholeheartedly support this petition. Historical preservation is very important. To shut down these places and let them sit and rot would be a disgrace to the past, and the people before us that preserved them.
I support this petition. Taking away funding from these landmarks not only hurts the landmarks themselves, but it takes away from the potential thousands, or even hundreds of thousands to millions of youth that could gain so much education from just seeing these sites. So many of these sites pass on education without it being boring, and the youth of Illinois desperately need to know the history of the state they live in.
I support this petition. Please reallocate funding so that these historical sites are able to remain open for both Illinois residents and for the residents of our country. In the past, my students have visited several of these sites and have used information learned in these “informal” classrooms to go on to learn more about both history and government in our state and country. These opportunities are important to our children. The statement made by the IHPA in this petition, "As Abraham Lincoln once said, ‘We cannot escape history.’ But if funding is not quickly restored to the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, history may well escape Illinois." displays the seriousness of your efforts. Please help preserve Illinois' rich heritage by finding the funding.
