By Dave Dahl
SPRINGFIELD – One of the state’s biggest tourist attractions has to rebuild its membership base. That is because the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, after a series of dramatic and controversial episodes, is no longer affiliated with the foundation which, among other things, ran the membership campaign.
Thus: “Team Lincoln”.
“This program has transparency and accountability,” said ALPLM executive director Christina Shutt (pictured, lower left, white coat) told reporters after the program’s launch ceremony Wednesday. “Our membership, the money we bring in through our membership dollars, is audited through state means, so it has something that we never had with the foundation, which is transparency and accountability.”
Memberships are $58 for two people and $96 for four people.
“Not only do you get free admission to the museum every day of the year, but you’ll get a lot of member-only sneak peeks and events and opportunities. We’ve got some artifacts that we don’t necessarily get to put on display. We are going to be able to bring some of those things out,” Shutt said. “We’re going to have some deep dives in the collection, some learning about some of the tech and some of the awesome things that make the magic happen.”
Shutt and the ALPLM’s current leadership are trying to put previous regimes’ embarrassments into the past, such as purchasing a stovepipe hat whose provenance has been called into question, and loaning the museum’s copy of the Gettysburg Address to radio / TV host Glenn Beck.
Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected].
