State Threatens Lockport Museum Closure

“We regret that all Illinois State Museum facilities are closed to the public until further notice,” it reads on the Lockport Gallery website.

Gov. Bruce Rauner ordered the closure of five state museums, including Lockport Gallery, located at 201 W. 10th Street, according to the Daily Southtown.

“They really can’t close our museum,” said Lockport city administrator Ben Benson. ”Is it really a state museum anymore?”

The Lockport city government has been paying rent since the state stopped paying it in July.

Museum director John Lustig said the he and other state employees are still being paid after a court ordered their salaries to continue, despite the state’s budget woes.

State Rep. Emily McAsey, (D-Lockport), assured Lustig that legislators ware working to keep the museums open. A bill faces House vote Oct. 20 that would mandate the museums to stay open; it has already passed the Senate.

“This museum is an anchor to the Lockport museum campus,” McAsey said.

From Daily Southtown >>