Springfield (AP) – Some tourists visiting central Illinois are disappointed that the partial federal government shutdown has left Abraham Lincoln’s home closed to tours. The Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield closed when the shutdown began Friday in the fight over funding for President Donald Trump’s proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall. The U.S. Department of the Interior’s National Park Service operates the home, where Lincoln lived with his family for 17 years. Downtown Springfield Inc. executive director Lisa Clemmons Stott said the government shutdown is bad news for local tourism as the Lincoln Home attracts about 200,000 visitors a year. Clemmons Stott said hotel bookings in Springfield remain down compared to five years ago as other Lincoln-related sites operated by the state — including the Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices, the Lincoln Tomb and Old State Capitol — faced shorter hours from the two-year budget impasse during Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s term and budget cuts under Democratic former Gov. Pat Quinn.
