Cahokia Mounds employees brace as budget ax looms
Four jobs already cut
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| Visitors climb Cahokia Mounds in Collinsville last year. State budget cuts could force the site to cut hours and workers. |
But now Riddle and the nine other full-time workers at the historic site in Collinsville are facing the possibility they'll be out of a job soon, the victims of a state budget crises that just won't get any better.
"I'm sitting here trying to stop worrying about my job," Riddle said one morning last week. "It's upsetting."Several state agencies are bracing for severe cuts as lawmakers and Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich continue haggling over an unbalanced state budget, the product of intense political infighting between different factions over budget priorities. Much of it stems from the long-standing grudge match between the governor and Illinois House Speaker Rep. Michael J. Madigan (D-Chicago).
The governor has said he may slice $1.4 billion from the state budget, forcing cuts in social service programs and state employee rosters as soon as this month.
Four positions have already been cut at Cahokia Mounds, among 80 seasonal jobs reduced across the state in recent weeks, said Dave Blanchette, a spokesman for the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.
The department, which runs 59 historic sites in the state, is cutting $2.8 million from its budget, among the most severe in state government. About half of the layoffs were centered in Springfield, which has a large concentration of historic sites, Blanchette said.
Hours at some properties, including Lincoln's Tomb and the Old State Capitol, have also been reduced to stem the shortfall, Blanchette said. There's also some concern that state sites will eventually cut hours altogether or temporarily close in the fall, raising questions about the fate of those planning trips to the site. The Mounds, which includes the namesake ancient hills and a visitors center, is the second-most visited historic site in the state.
Ron Mertz has booked space at the facility each fall since 1997 for the Missouri Atlatl Association, which showcases the ancient hunting weapon that predates the bow and arrow.
Usually about 50 people attend the festival, and Mertz had expected similar numbers for this year's event Sept. 12-14. Then he found out about the possible cutbacks.
"It's a concern," he said last week. "We usually have people from other states. I'd have to notify them."
He said the uncertainty may force him to look for another venue.
"I don't know. It's kind of late now," Mertz said.
Riddle said he's upset that visitors won't be able to see the Mounds, something that's becoming an increasing concern among workers worried about their own positions at the site.
"It makes everyone feel uneasy. You don't know if you're going to get cut," he said.
Bill Iseminger, a site manager for the site, did not return calls seeking comments about the possible closure.
The budget gap is not affected by $550,000 the Mounds received last month from the state Treasurer's Office to add a new audio and visual system.
Earlier this summer, Blagojevich halted construction projects at the Mounds and several dozen other sites across the state not funded by legislators through the new fiscal year. Since then, the work has resumed, including a new entrance at Mounds.
For now, Riddle said, it seems both employees and visitors are getting the runaround in Springfield as the budget logjam continues.
"The political games were supposed to stop with the last administration," he said, referring to former Gov. George Ryan, now serving prison time on federal corruption charges. "It all comes down to politics."
