Gov. Bruce Rauner shuttered the Illinois State museum last fall, saying that the closure was a necessary cost-saving measure.
Earlier this week, his administration announced that the Springfield branch of the museum and the Dickson Mounds location will reopen on July 2 — that is if a legislative committee approves a plan to charge adults a five-dollar admission fee.
NPR Illinois reporter Jamey Dunn talked with Illinois State Museum Director Mike Wiant about the situation and what museum employees have been working on while the facilities have been closed to the public.
State Sen. Andy Manar, a Democrat from Bunker Hill, has called on the governor to reopen the museum immediately. But a spokesman from the Illinois Department of natural Resources, which oversees the museum, says that without passage of legislation giving the department the power to charge admission and keep some sites closed, IDNR must wait for approval from a legislative panel. That group meets later this month.
