- Target:
- Everyone
- Region:
- United States of America
The Blagojevich Administration's has already begun to close down our state parks, most notably, they have shortened days of the week that Lincoln's New Salem park is open and has slashed staffing from 24 to 10 employees.
Lincoln's New Salem has over 400,000 visitors each year and accepts donations and as well, park campers pay fees to stay overnight in the park. The money collected through donation and camper fees has been recently "swept" into a general fund according to the Springfield Journal Register newspaper instead of funding the continued operation of the park.
In 1906, William Randolph Hearst purchased the site where New Salem had stood, and conveyed it in trust to the Old Salem Chautauqua Association, which in turn conveyed the site to the State of Illinois in 1919.
This park is home to the people of Illinois, provides outdoor enjoyment, entertainment and education to all people of the United States and is a testament to the life of the young President Lincoln.
Closing the park (in light of the Lincoln's upcoming 200th birthday celebration) signals that the Blagojevich administration is simply not concerned about the heritage or importance that President Lincoln means to our nation.
We, the undersigned, express our support for state spending and re-establishment of the funds collected at Lincoln's New Salem for the purpose of maintaining and supporting this historic site and its staff.
We find the budget cuts by Rod Blagojevich for state historical sites unnecessary and devastating to local economies. We wish to express to the Governor, as well as the Illinois General Assembly, that we value a balanced budget, however, we also support our Historic and Cultural sites and believe that the educational, historical and economics these sites provide far outweigh the financial burden associated with keeping the parks open and fully staffed.
We the undersigned do not support the budget cuts nor the closing of our state parks by Rod Blagojevich, and we ask you join us in defiance.
Thank you.
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The Save President Lincoln petition to Everyone was written by RAS and is in the category Government at GoPetition.