The Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Capital Development Board announced today $8 million in improvements are coming to Lincoln’s New Salem site in Petersburg after several weeks of outcry from local legislators.
The funding, made possible by Governor JB Pritzker’s bipartisan Rebuild Illinois capital plan, will be used to repair up to 23 log village buildings and update the outdoor theater.
According to a press release, the funding is in addition to the nearly $3 million in improvements that have already been completed or undertaken at New Salem under the Pritzker administration, including a roof replacement and new HVAC controls at the visitor center, stairway construction between the village and the grist mill, a bridge replacement on the Mentor Graham Trail, and a planned major road and bridge improvement project which was not named.
State Representative Wayne Rosenthal, State Senator Steve McClure, and members of the Lincoln League volunteer organization toured the site earlier this month documenting the various states of disrepair the buildings had fallen into.
According to WXEF in Effingham, McClure says he is happy the Capital Development Board and IDNR have prioritized funding for the site.
McClure and Rosenthal are also working to pass legislation designed to help preserve the long-term sustainability of the site.