It is tasked with the duty of maintaining State-owned historic sites, and maximizing their educational and recreational value to visitors or on-line users.
The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (IHPA) was created by State law in July 1985.
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (ALPLM), also in Springfield, Illinois, was dedicated in 2005.
The proposed 2016 budget of Governor Bruce Rauner sought to eliminate the agency, assigning its duties to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
[1] In 2017, the Agency was split, with the historic preservation and site management duties falling to a reorganized Division within the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (which manages State Parks and other resources), and the Library (ALPLM) becoming an independent agency.