MUSEUM MAY REOPEN

After six months of being closed to the public, the Illinois State Museum is a step closer to reopening … eventually. On March 25, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources submitted an administrative rule proposal which would allow the museum to institute a $5 admission fee. The proposal is based on Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto in February of Senate Bill 317, which would have required the museum to reopen. Rauner, who directed DNR to close the museum last year, nixed the bill to reopening it because he believes the museum needs additional funding – just not from state coffers. Currently, the state law authorizing DNR to operate the museum does allow for an admission fee, but that requires passage of an administrative rule. The agency’s proposal fi led on March 25 starts the process, but don’t expect the doors of the museum to open soon. The required public comment period for the admission fee proposal is open until May 9, which means the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules won’t vote on it until later that month at the earliest.