The Blagojevich administration will close down the Lincoln Log Cabin and 11 other historic sites in Illinois, effective Oct. 1.

David Blanchette, spokesperson for the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, said 34 employees within the historic sites division will be laid off as well.

The reason for the closures and layoffs is because Blagojevich is cutting the historic sites division’s budget in half from $5.6 million to $2.8 million.

“When you cut the budget in half, you aren’t really left with much choice than to cut half your sites,” Blanchette said.

Blagojevich cut $1.4 billion from the fiscal year 2009 budget in mid-July.

He said the cuts were needed because the General Assembly passed a budget that did not have enough revenue to pay for everything, as reported by The Times-Courier.

Blanchette said lack of attendance was the reason why the Lincoln Log Cabin and the 11 other sites were selected to close.

The historic sites division manages a total of 24 sites.

The Lincoln Log Cabin will open periodically for special events, Blanchette said.

The cuts are coupled with layoffs to more than 450 state employees, including cuts to the Department of Children and Family Services and the Department of Human Services.

Stephen Di Benedetto can be reached at 581-7942 or at [email protected].