Parks, historical sites to be reopened

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Gov. Quinn has declared that he will reopen the 24 state parks and historical sites that were shut down under the Blagojevich administration. In fact, he has initiated a directive to do this soon. Quinn declared, "Our parks are precious." Some are projecting that the parks will be reopen by March, when tourism season generally begins to pick up. 11 parks and 13 historical sites were shut down on Nov. 30, 2008. Rep. Luechtefeld said, "I think it will be done quickly. It does not take a huge expense to do this." The shut downs were done because of the failing budget. The Pierre Menard Home, Fort De Chartres, and Fort Kaskaskia in Randolph County were three of the sites that were affected by the shut downs and will be reopened as soon as possible. "It wasn't a very good decision to close the parks. We would have lost money in the long run," said Sen. Reitz. "The whole experience of shutting them down has shown people the value of these parks. They are our gems." It is estimated that it will cost $2,000,000 to reopen the parks and a couple million dollars a year to maintain them, which ultimately, and despite our economic situation, is small potatoes.