YOUR HELP IS NEEDED TO RESTORE FUNDING for ILLINOIS HISTORIC PRESERVATION AGENCY DESIGN SERVICES ! ACT BY FEBRUARY 20! Last year, Governor Blagojevich eliminated $204,000 for Design Services in the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (IHPA) with his amendatory veto of the state budget. This cut would result in the loss of three critical staff positions that serve both the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and Illinois Main Street. Your help is urgently needed to restore this funding in the 2009 Budget, which is scheduled to be released by the Governor on February 20th.  Without this funding, the three positions—over half of the Design Services staff—will disappear on July 1, 2008. These positions provide important technical assistance, education, training, and design services to the 69 Main Street communities across Illinois. They also administer federal and state review and tax incentive programs that provide millions of dollars of public and private reinvestment in our state’s historic resources and downtowns. This loss of three staff will severely limit the ability of IHPA to deliver these much-needed services. WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP! Please contact the Governor and your legislators before February 20th, to ensure that funding is restored for IHPA Design Services in 2009.  See SAMPLE LETTER you can use. 1)  Tell Governor Blagojevich how important the IHPA and Main Street programs and services are to your town, and respectfully request that he restore their funding in the 2009 budget by calling his office at 217-782-0244 or 312-814-2121, TTY: (888) 261-3336, or write him at: Office of the Governor 207 State House Springfield, IL 62706 Fax: 217-524-4049 or 312-814-6183       2) Contact Senate President Emil Jones, Jr., to tell him how important Design Services and IHPA programs have been in your community, and encourage him to support full funding for Illinois Historic Preservation Agency Design Services in the 2009 state budget. Letters or phone calls can be directed to his office at: Senator 14th District 327 Capitol Building Springfield, IL  62706 Phone: 217-782-2728 or 773-995-7748 Fax: 773-995-9061       3) Contact your legislators in the Senate and House of Representatives to ask them to support restored funding for the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency Design Services.  To see Senators and representatives serving our community go to http://www.ilga.gov/ TALKING POINTS  The elimination of funding for IHPA Design Services will result in the loss of three important staff positions at the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. This effectively will end the delivery of design assistance and historic preservation services to all Illinois Main Street communities, and it will severely limit the ability of IHPA to deliver their preservation services and program to all towns across Illinois.  Since 1993 IHPA Design Services has helped to generate more than $411 million in new private sector reinvestment in the downtown districts of Illinois Main Street communities through the delivery of more than 600 schematic drawings and other consulting services.      IHPA architectural staff reviewed approximately 500 projects during the course of FY 2007. These ranged from small housing rehab projects in older neighborhoods to multi-million dollar major renovations to urban high rise buildings. It included 302 private sector projects related to state and federal tax incentives in 2007. The estimated value of these projects in Illinois exceeds $150 million in private sector investment in historic buildings in 2007 alone.  IHPA architectural staff also provide high-quality technical preservation training to cooperating institutions and organizations that reach both state-wide and national audiences.      In recognition of their high-quality work in the field and their ground-breaking programs, IHPA architectural; staff have received several awards including:  National Trust for Historic Preservation Honor Award in 2007 for the Upstairs Downtown training program that encourage and trains a wide variety of stakeholders in the renovation of underutized buildings throughout the state and the nation. The program in now in its third year in Illinois and has also been presented to several other states.  National Trust for Historic Preservation Honor Award in 2007 for the Hilliard Housing Project in Chicago.  IHPA staff working with owners of this high rise project in the south side of Chicago, recognized for its combination of affordable housing and the preservation of structures of the recent past.   Numerous preservation and design awards for the IHPA/CDB renovation of Union Station in Springfield from the AIA Southern Illinois Chapter, Victorian Society in America, and Midwest Construction. The project also received the AIA Illinois Louis Sullivan Award. February 6, 2008