Speaker, governor push change
POLITICS | Bruce Rushton
Gov. Bruce Rauner and House Speaker Michael Madigan agree on at least one thing.
Changes are needed at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. And those changes may result in a different role for the institution’s private fundraising foundation.
During last week’s state of the state address, Rauner said that he was working with Madigan on a reorganization plan for an institution with aging exhibits and sagging attendance. Afterward, Madigan during a press conference called the current governance structure a “three-headed monster,” and, without being asked, he singled out the foundation.
“We have instances where the foundation, which is not elected, not appointed by a governor, is actually making spending decisions for the library,” Madigan said. “They incurred a huge debt to buy a collection in California and now they’re before the legislature asking the legislature to retire the debt.”
It’s not clear how much the foundation might be seeking to settle a debt that stands at around $11 million for artifacts purchased in 2007 from a foundation board member. The foundation didn’t respond to an inquiry, nor did Madigan’s spokesman respond when asked via email what bill contains a request for money to retire the debt.
Madigan said that he favors wresting the ALPLM from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and making it a standalone agency with its own board of directors appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate.
“When (the board is) in place, they can decide whether they want to have a foundation and if they do, what would be its role,” Madigan said.
Madigan’s statement amounted to an outright rejection of both the foundation’s past work as well as a January report from an ad hoc group that recommended putting the foundation in charge of the institution’s dayto-day operations.
Steve Beckett, chairman of the ALPLM’s advisory board who has pushed for the institution to become an independent agency, said he was pleased by Rauner’s announcement that he is working with Madigan on a reorganization plan. He said that the foundation should limit itself to raising money for ALPLM.
“But it appears to me that this foundation doesn’t believe that’s what it should be,” Beckett said.
The foundation’s board includes such wealthy and influential people as Julie Cellini, former IHPA chairwoman, Sergio Pecori, CEO of Hanson Professional Services, former Gov. Jim Edgar and Wayne Whalen, a powerhouse Chicago attorney. The executive director is paid $250,000 a year, more than any other person connected with the institution, and the staff of 10 includes a historian. The foundation has put together exhibits both inside and outside the institution.
According to its mission statement, the foundation is supposed to acquire and publish materials and also sponsor exhibits, conferences, publications and online services. It has resisted calls to scale back its role. For example, experts with the American Association of Museums five years ago suggested that the foundation amend its mission statement so that it says the foundation supports the acquisition of items but doesn’t directly acquire objects. The mission statement wasn’t changed.
How does the foundation feel about becoming a fundraising arm with no duties other than raising money? Carla Knorowski, foundation CEO, didn’t answer the question in a one-sentence reply to an email asking for the foundation’s reaction to Madigan’s remarks and whether it would accept a role that would limit its duties to raising money.
“The foundation is not involved with governance issues and it will continue its stated mission to serve the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum for the betterment of the institution,” Knorowski wrote.
It was a curious response, considering that members of the foundation board sat on the ad hoc committee charged with studying governance issues that issued the report recommending that the foundation take over day-to-day operations. The foundation also paid half the salary of Richard Norton Smith, the ALPLM’s first executive director who also served as director of the foundation. The foundation paid a search firm to find Smith’s successor, Rick Beard, who was also the foundation’s director and received part of his salary from the foundation. The practice of having the same person head both the museum and the foundation ended after the American Association of Museums raised concerns about conflicts of interest.
Tony Leone, a former IHPA board member, said that the foundation has too much power. He is critical of the ALPLM gift shop, which is run by the foundation, as well as food services, which are also controlled by the private group.
“The foundation, at its maximum, should be restricted to being just a fundraising arm,” Leone said.
Contact Bruce Rushton at [email protected].