Dear Editor,
Thank you to staff writers Susan DeVilder and Diana Whitney for their recent coverage in The Kewanee Voice about the deteriorating state-owned properties at the Bishop Hill State Historic Site. The information and detail in these articles was a good reminder for all of us to keep working for change.

As Bishop Hill’s historic buildings crumble, state kicks ‘the can down the road’

I’m fully aware of the ongoing deterioration of the state-owned buildings in Bishop Hill, and I have even written letters to the editor about the situation in the past. The last time I wrote about Bishop Hill was three years ago, and buildings have deteriorated significantly since then.

My wife and I, along with and inspired by our friends, painted the Colony Church in 2009–15 years ago, and that was the last time it was painted. At that time, the paint was donated by our friends and several residents of Bishop Hill. Unfortunately, much more than paint is now needed for the colony church, boys’ dormitory, historic hotel and the barn behind it. Also, the museum on the south edge of town, and the iconic wooden park fence in the village park.

As stated in The Voice article, the efforts of Megan Sloan, John Taylor, Courtney Stone, Representative Travis Weaver and other friends of the Bishop Hill site have not gone unnoticed. I appreciate their hard work and their willingness to continue contacting Illinois elected officials and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) to demand that the state maintain their historic buildings in Bishop Hill.

Their efforts inspired me to spend today’s rainy afternoon contacting several elected officials myself. These officials include State Representative Travis Weaver, State Senator Neil Anderson, Representative Dan Swanson, State Senator Mike Halpin, Senate Head Don Harmon, Speaker of the Illinois House Chris Welch, IDNR Director Natalie Phelps Finnie, and State Representatives Anthony DeLuca and Bob Rita, Chair and Vice Chair of cities and villages. Next on my contact list to contact is Governor JB Pritzker.

Please join me in taking time to contact any of these Illinois elected officials yourself and let them know that you, too, are urging them to make the Bishop Hill Historic Site a priority. You can find their contact information on the following websites: https://icdd.illinois.gov/; https://www.house.gov/; https://gov.illinois.gov/.

The village of Bishop Hill and its historic sites bring visitors from all over the country and from faraway parts of the world, including Sweden. Its historic buildings and rich history of Swedish immigrants seeking religious freedom is not only a part of our Illinois story and history, but it drives tourism in this entire region. A significant amount of revenue is generated from visitors to historic sites all over Illinois, including visitors to Bishop Hill and the surrounding area.

Imagine the disappointment of these visitors to see the deferred maintenance and neglect when they reach their destination.

Thanks again to The Kewanee Voice for bringing this issue to our attention, and to those aforementioned people who have worked so hard to change the situation. Let’s hope for solutions and progress in the near future.

Sincerely,
Marty Golby
Geneseo