Quinn: Historic Sites Will Open, Possibly This Summer

Governor Pat Quinn says shuttered historic sites could reopen by summer.

The Chicago Democrat says he is committed to opening them by June 30, even though his proposed budget calls for leaving them closed.

We've got to get a little more money. We've made some reorganization, so the historic sites are going to get done as quickly as possible," the governor said at a stop in Savoy yesterday.

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich closed a dozen historic sites and state parks last year to help fill a budget deficit. After Quinn became governor, he reopened the parks and said he would do the same for the historic sites, including the farm owned by Abraham Lincoln's family in Coles County.

Quinn now says money for reopening them will come from merging the agencies that oversee natural resources and historic sites.