Dear Gov. Rauner:

My name is Guerry Suggs, I serve on the board of the Illinois State Museum and I am currently chairman of the board. This past week the Illinois House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 0317. It was passed by the Senate in August. The bill states that the State of Illinois shall have an Illinois State Museum System, with its current locations, and that the Illinois State Museum System shall be open to the public. The vote in favor of this bill was bipartisan. At the end of September the State Museum System was closed to the public because of budget issues with the anticipation of saving $4.8 million on an annual basis. However due to litigation the union employees are still working even though the Museum System is closed to the public. As a result the annual saving has been sharply reduced.

In light of these events, now is the time to sign SB 0317 and reopen the Illinois State Museum System. The board will help you in any way we can. A new director is needed. Under state statute the board is required to recommend a new director to the Department of Natural Resources. Also we need to recall members of the management staff who are still available. This will allow us to maintain our accreditation, proceed with our educational missions and continue telling the story of Illinois.

We have missed the public and the public has missed us. Please help us to return.

Guerry L. Suggs Illinois State Museum board chair