Under the governor’s plan, the state museum would begin charging admission fees and private fundraising efforts of the Illinois State Museum Society would increase to reduce the institution’s reliance on state funding.
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Locked in a budget stalemate with the Democrat-controlled Legislature, Rauner closed the Springfield museum and four of its satellite locations on October 1, including the Dickson Mounds archaeological site in Lewistown and art galleries in Chicago.
Rauner shut down the museum – a Springfield freebie which houses the world’s largest collection of mastodon fossils – on September 30, 2015, claiming that the closure would save some $6 million for the state. “I think the question is frankly whether or not Speaker [Michael] Madigan would allow this to happen”, Butler said Monday. The veto also directs the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to charge entrance fees. Satellite locations will stay closed while the museum explores local partnerships for funding.
Closing the Southern Illinois Art and Artisans Center at Rend Lake.
“These four bills are just the start of delivering more value to taxpayers by reducing layers of redundant bureaucracy”, Rauner said at a ceremony in Naperville.
“Well, I’m glad they came to an agreement with themselves”, he said.
IDNR says lawmakers must grant the authority to charge entry fees. Manar and McAsey also could choose to try to override the governor, which would require the support of three-fifths of both chambers – a threshold legislators exceeded when they first approved the measure. Department spokesman Chris Young said having the lawmakers approve the fees would avoid time-consuming regulatory proceedings.
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“If the General Assembly acts quickly on the Governor’s amendatory veto, we believe we could reopen the museum in a matter of weeks”, said IDNR Director Wayne Rosenthal. There has been plenty of behind-the-scenes work to keep them busy, Wiant said.
