After more than eight months closed to the public for reasons no one quite understands, the Illinois State Museum in Springfi eld is likely to reopen soon, along with most of its satellite facilities around the state. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources announced May 31 that the museum will open on July 2, thanks to a proposed administrative rule which allows DNR to implement an entrance fee. In reality, DNR already had the power to set entrance fees through the administrative rules process, but the pending approval of the latest rule would allow the agency to set the fee without further rulemaking. The proposal is on the June 14 agenda of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, a bipartisan legislative panel. While the museum closed to the public on Oct. 1 at the direction of Gov. Bruce Rauner, a lawsuit challenging layoffs of the museum system’s unionized employees meant those employees continued to work behind locked doors. As such, the supposed savings achieved by closing the museum were minimal, if they exist at all. The museum’s closure to the public did have a couple of major effects: it jeopardized the museum’s prestigious national accreditation and drove several world-class researchers to other institutions. When the museum reopens to the public on July 2, adults should expect to pay a $5 fee, while children under 18, seniors and veterans will still get in for free. The ISM website is www.museum.state.il.us.