Above / For years, plans for an Agricultural Interpretive Center at Naper Settlement have reminded us of the important words promoted by longtime friend Wilbert Hageman, who served the Wheatland Plowing Match Association and the DuPage County Fair Board: “No farmers. No Food.” Above is an architect’s rendering of the proposed project. (PN File Image)
State Representative Grant Wehrli (R-Naperville) announced today that $3.1 million in funds from the Illinois Public Museum Capital Grants Program are headed to museums in DuPage and Will Counties.
“Our local museums are vital to the fabric of our communities, and I am pleased to know that several in our around the 41st District will receive these grants,” said Wehrli.
Wehrli continued, “Especially during these tough times when museums are experiencing steep drops in revenue due to the health pandemic, it’s nice to provide this small boost of revenue to help with improvement projects.”
The Illinois Public Museum Capital Grants Program, administered by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), is open to any museum operated by local government or located on municipally-owned land. Specifically for DuPage and Will Counties, the following grant money was awarded through the program:
DuPage County
· Naperville Heritage Society: $749,700 toward an ag lab in the Agricultural Interpretive Center (Click here for a 2016 story of the previous benefit at Naper Settlement that raised funds for this project.)
· DuPage Children’s Museum: $92,500 toward a roof restoration project
· Elmhurst History Museum: $255,300 toward operations upgrades
· Lombard Historical Society: $750,000 toward an expansion of core operations at the Carriage House
Will County
· Will County Forest Preserve: $750,000 toward Four Rivers Interpretive Improvements
· Bolingbrook Park District: $505,700 toward a Hidden Lakes outdoor educational pavilion
For more information about the Illinois Public Museum Capital Grants Program, visit the IDNR web site at: https://www2.illinois.gov/dnr/grants/Pages/Museum-Capital-Grants.aspx.
