Illinois lawmakers are weighing the future of Springfield’s Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. At issue is whether the museum should become its own state agency instead of remaining under the control of the Historic Preservation Agency.
Steven Beckett is chairman of the Lincoln Museum’s advisory board, and a driving force behind the proposed split. At a hearing Wednesday, he told legislators that agency officials had not been heeding the advice of the advisory board.
“We had a house divided within staff. We certainly had a house divided within executive directors. And when you add the Illinois state historian into the mix, you can see that the clean slate is absolutely necessary."
Both museum and historic preservation officials say they’ll keep meeting to try to reach an agreement on how to proceed.
