By museum officials' calculations, the closing of the 138-year-old museum in Springfield and its four satellite facilities will initially save the state less than $400,000, a tiny fraction of Illinois' projected $5 billion budget gap.
The Republican governor targeted the museums and the World Shooting and Recreational Complex in the southern Illinois community of Sparta for closure effective Wednesday. He says it's part of his efforts to manage state finances while a budget deal with Democrats who control the Legislature remains elusive.
Critics say the closings are another sign of how intractable the situation has become, as both sides dig in and the state enters its fourth month without a spending plan.