Preserve Bishop Hill Corporation

Preserve Bishop Hill Corporation A 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization that promotes and supports the Bishop Hill State Historic Site.

08/08/2026

A weekend of Celebrating 180 years.

08/07/2026

Here is our monthly update regarding the restoration projects in a Bishop Hill by Ryley Lamb, Service Specialist at the Bishop Hill State Historic Site:
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Hello everyone,

I hope you all are enjoying the break in the heat this rain is providing. I know I am!

I’m emailing to give this month’s CDB update. I’m afraid there is not much new to report. JLK submitted the 50% drawings last month. They are currently being reviewed by CDB and IDNR. Meetings are scheduled for later this month for JLK, CDB, and IDNR to discuss the drawings.

Site visits by JLK are also scheduled for later this month.

The next project milestones include the 75% drawings and 100% drawings (again with CDB and IDNR input).

We are still on schedule with the other project milestones:

1. May 2027: Drawings finalized

2. June 2027: Project goes out for contractors to bid

3. September 2027: Construction begins

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know!

Ryley Lamb
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Courtney

07/31/2026

Jeff Nevins from the IDNR wanted to address some particular questions; here are his responses:

Q: “Is there a target date for the remediations to be completed? If not, when will you know that information?"

No target date other than ASAP. Unfortunately there are some bureaucratic hurdles that we're dealing with regarding procurement. While the procurement rules are in place to protect Illinois taxpayers from waste, fraud, and abuse, those same rules also make it a little difficult to move quickly. We are doing our best to navigate these hurdles. Also, mold remediation is a specialty and there are not a ton of companies that do this work - getting on their calendar may cause some additional delay. I'm hoping to have a much better answer for you in the next 2-3 weeks.

Q: "Do we know what is delaying repairs?"

I don't know if this is specifically about the HVAC repairs, the mold remediation, or both so let me address all of the above.
The HVAC repairs - above and beyond the band-aid fix we did late last summer - were beyond my budget capacity for the historic sites. I've been working with our Office of Realty & Capital Planning (ORCP) to get the situation with the HVAC declared an emergency. They are moving forward with that and as such ORCP will be funding the HVAC repairs out of their budget. I don't yet have a definitive time frame for these repairs but when I know I'll let you know.
The mold remediation I partially addressed above. Part of the delay is my fault - I've got a lot on my plate and I didn't get this process moving as fast as I should have. I've met with my supervisor and we've moved around some responsibilities and priorities to help avoid this type of delay in the future.
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Courtney

07/30/2026

I’m posting an update from an email sent by Jeff Nevins at the IDNR regarding the Bishop Hill Museum with the Olaf Krans collection:
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I wanted to address some issues that we have run into at the museum at the Bishop Hill State Historic Site. Late last summer a failure in the HVAC system in the building caused a spike in humidity levels which led to some minor mold growth. The failure in the HVAC system was addressed, dehumidifiers were brought in, and the humidity soon returned to normal levels. This arrested the mold growth and we have seen no further growth since.

However, since there are technically no “safe” levels of mold, we have kept the space closed and have limited employee access to the space out of an abundance of caution.

Here’s what’s going on now:

IDNR is working to replace several aging parts of the HVAC system – for now the failure we experienced has been addressed but it’s only a temporary fix and without this intervention another failure is likely; I don’t have a timeline for this work but my guess would be a few months
A professional mold test found that – with the exception of the HVAC room where no artifacts are stored – mold levels inside the building are significantly lower than outdoor levels
I have had a registrar and an artifact conservationist from the Illinois State Museum come examine the artifacts and none of them have been or are in danger of being damaged; I’m still waiting on their final report but they were confident that the artifacts are completely safe
Some of the artifacts will need to be cleaned before being returned to display; this work will either be done on site or at the ISM in Springfield. The final determination on that is pending the report.
I am working now to have the mold remediated in the museum building. Since this is specialized work it may take a little longer than expected to find a contractor .

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Courtney.


07/01/2026

Hello everyone. Here are some updates on the State restoration projects in Bishop Hill:

 1. Director Natalie Finnie has ended her service with IDNR. Director Finnie’s departure will have no effect on the CDB project currently underway at Bishop Hill SHS. We can expect the project to continue as planned. IDNR General Counsel Renee Snow is serving as Interim Director for IDNR.
2. Site visits by JLK and their partners are scheduled for later this year, so you may see survey activity in and around Site buildings.

Next steps remain the same from last month:

1. Mid-July: 50% drawings are due from JLK to be reviewed by CDB and IDNR. These drawings will be reviewed thoroughly and discussed with JLK. They will then prepare 75% drawings and 100% drawings - again with CDB and IDNR input.
2. May 2027: Drawings finalized
3. June 2027: Project goes out for contractors to bid
4. September 2027: Construction begins

-Courtney

06/01/2026

Here are a few updates from Jeff Nevins regarding the IDNR restoration projects in Bishop Hill:



CDB, JLK, and IDNR have been meeting to discuss the scope of the project considering additional funds that were added to the project
The priority for the project remains the Colony Church, followed by the Bjorklund Hotel, the Boys Dormitory, and the Restroom Building
We discussed adding a video feed from the sanctuary to the first floor so those with limited mobility could still observe services in the church; it’s possible that we may be able to turn this into a live stream feed as well, so people across the world could watch services and special events in the space
There will be additional site visits occurring as JLK and their partners continue to gather information and finalize details


Here are the next steps and future timeline:

Mid-July: 50% drawings are due from JLK to be reviewed by CDB and IDNR. These drawings will be reviewed thoroughly and discussed with JLK. They will then prepare 75% drawings and 100% drawings - again with CDB and IDNR input; it seems tedious but this helps ensure that we don’t miss any details and that when we get to the construction phase everything moves well according to plan
May 2027: Drawings finalized
June 2027: Project goes out for contractors to bid
September 2027: Construction begins

The total cost of all projects will be $15.5 million. 

Address

309 North Olson Street
Bishop Hill, IL
61419

Telephone

+13095400541

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