By Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD – Historic sites in Illinois are about to get a technological upgrade that will make it easier for visitors to offer financial support.
Visitors at free-admission historic sites are used to dropping cash contributions in a donation box to show their support for the museums and monuments that chronicle the history of Illinois, but they will soon have another option.
Chris Wills, a spokesman for the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, said an E-pay option will be available soon, and the money collected electronically will be used to help maintain the sites and make them more attractive and useful for visitors.
“It gives them a convenient way to contribute to the sites, to vote with their dollars to show they support them and want them to be maintained well,” Wills said.
Money donated through E-pay will be helpful in maintaining the sites.
“When someday a capital bill is passed, the money will be put to good use. In the meantime, our staff is working hard to stretch every dollar and focus on the most critically needed repairs and upgrades,” Wills said. “We received nearly $500,000 in donations the old-fashioned way last year – just people slipping money into a box. We think that if we give them another way to donate in this day and age when people don’t carry as much cash, then they’ll find that more convenient.”
Wills said the E-pay option should be up and running by the spring tourist season.
