Construction plans for a new museum campus in Galena are back on track, albeit with one less federal grant.
Galena-Jo Daviess Historical Society Executive Director Tessa Flak said the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) has reviewed and approved its $1.8 million grant. The funding was on hold amid the Trump Administration’s aggressive budget cuts.
“There's no further hold on the funding," Flak said in a phone interview with WVIK. "There's no other limits or anything. So everything has been released and we can move forward with the project.”
However, she said another grant totaling $576,000 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services was likely lost after President Trump signed an executive order cutting the agency’s funding.
“It has not been released," Flak said. "It's not looking positive at this point. All of that funding was to go towards this last phase for the transportation of artifacts, new museum-grade cases, and then the archival room.”
Flak said the society still needs to raise $2.5 million to cover those costs, including the transfer of 14,000 artifacts.
"I don't believe there will be many federal grants available at this time, especially for museum exhibits," Flak said. "And so we're looking at community fundraising. We're looking at family foundations, kind of major donors within the Tri-State area of the Midwest. We have quite a few leads, so we're hoping that will help."
Flak said the $2.5 million goal is steep, but the society is optimistic that support from the community and museum visitors will help them reach the funding finish line.
Earlier, when the EDA paused the disbursement of funds, the historical society was concerned that it would affect a grant from the state of Illinois, which was earmarked for construction use by the end of June. The Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity (DCEO), in an email reply to WVIK, said they treat each grantee on a case-by-case basis for a possible extension.
Now, that's not necessary.
"So we're very excited that our funding for construction has been released," Flak said. "There are no ties to it. So we're back on track. Worst case scenario, we're just a couple weeks behind."
Flak said the society expects a grand opening of their new museum campus in the summer of 2026.
"We are just incredibly grateful for all the support that the community and our visitors have provided us," Flak said. "They've been very dedicated towards this project and very supportive of us and our goals, and we hope that they will continue to do so."
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