Illinois Historic Preservation Agency spokesman Dave Blanchette said the institutional knowledge those employees have will be impossible to replace.

"That's not to mention the economic impact that these sites do bring to the communities in which they are located."

The state will use money from the Lincoln Bicentenntial Commission to prevent cuts at sites around Springfield.

The Cahokia Mounds site in Collinsville and the Lewis and Clark site in Hartford will remain open five days a week. The Cahokia courthouse, however, will close. Blanchette said it takes three times longer to get visitors back to the site if they re-open. © Copyright 2009, St. Louis Public Radio