Gov. Rod Blagojevich gave the Lincoln Log Cabin and other state historic sites a little more time before closings take effect.

Blagojevich will delay the closings of historic sites until Oct. 15 because of personnel issues with layoffs.

“We never been through a scenario quite like this before,” said David Blanchette, spokesperson for the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

Blanchette said the state has been going through union issues that were not expected when Blagojevich announced the closings on Aug. 28.

Blagojevich announced on Aug. 28 that 12 historic sites would close and 34 employees would be laid off after he cut the Illinois historic site division’s budget in half.

The cut was a part of many to try to fix a budget the General Assembly passed that did not have enough revenue to pay for everything, Blagojevich said on Aug. 28.

Blanchette said the closing delay allows for the personnel issues to be solved.

He did not know if canceled events at the log cabin would go on now that the closing date was delayed, he added

The log cabin is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, and a manager could not be reached for comment.

Stephen Di Benedetto can be reached at 581-7942 or at sdibenedetto@eiu.edu.