Rauner makes Lincoln library and museum its own state agency

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Then Illinois Governor-elect Bruce Rauner takes a selfie with his family and statues of the Lincoln family, at the Abraham Lincoln Museum and Library in Springfield in early 2015. File Photo. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

SPRINGFIELD — Gov. Bruce Rauner signed an executive order Friday making the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum a separate state agency.

The order means that the Springfield museum will no longer fall under the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. The agency’s remaining functions will be assigned to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

The Republican governor says the oversight change is part of his effort to transform government. He wants “to deliver the best services to taxpayers at the best value.”

Alan Lowe is executive director of the library and museum. He says the change will make a “wonderful institution” even better.

Rauner also signed an executive order consolidating the Human Right Commission with the Illinois Department of Human Rights. He says it will mean quicker resolution to anti-discrimination cases.

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