Illinois Heritage: Past, Present, Future; A State Historic Preservation Plan, 2012-2016

Executive summary: "Every five years, the IHPA engages the public in a conversation about the future of historic preservation in Illinois. A variety of survey and outreach tools are employed to elicit views of current conditions about the future. IHPA partners and organizations not traditionally affiliated with historic preservation were solicited for their comments. This process was completed from the fall of 2010 to spring 2011, to produce this plan, which begins in 2012. It will be revised again in 2016. The goal of this effort is to bring the greatest breadth of perspectives into the question of how historic preservation in Illinois can improve. From the broadest view, these recommendations were translated into more definable objectives for the state. The planning goals help to specify and distill the following general categories: Outreach and Education, Incentives and Funding, Partnerships and Capacity, and Identification of Historic Resources. These categories capture the themes of many individual comments made by participants through various formats. In and of themselves, these categories are familiar and may not be all that different from those outlined by many kinds of organizations. Relating these to preservation objectives becomes the key difference. Outreach and education resonated most frequently with respondents. Preservation conferences, web sites and new medial were mentioned frequently. These should become priorities for funding as a way to motivate the public about the power of preservation. The next category on the list of survey and interview results was financial incentives—specifically, the need for a state tax credit as a redevelopment tool. This has been a goal of many preservation advocacy groups in Illinois. Another key finding is that threats to historic resources can vary considerably. For instance, high growth areas with many “tear downs” require very different funding strategies than “shrinking cities,” with increased disinvestment. Another category of responses suggested preservation groups expand their partnerships to include organizations and government entities dealing with planning and developing the built environment. Nontraditional partners such as organizations working on sustainability, genealogy, and education could also help get the message across to more people. Lastly, identifying cultural resources and maintaining the state's inventory of them still remains a basic foundation for protecting Illinois' heritage. Illinois is blessed with a wealth of cultural resources and we remain a key entity in recognizing, interpreting and protecting these for all future generations." Funding was provided in part by a 2011 Historic Preservation Fund grant administered by the Illinois State Historic Preservation Office (project number IL-11-1100, grant number 17-11-31920) and the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Illinois Heritage: Past, Present, Future; A State Historic Preservation Plan, 2012-2016

See also

Collections