By AP/KWMU
Collinsville, Ill. – A panel was named Monday to look into how the the Cahokia Mounds World Heritage Site in the Metro-East might be preserved and expanded.
The mounds are the site of a large American Indian city that existed from about 700 B.C. to 1450 A.D.
A museum on the site was completed in 1989 but has only opened five days a week of late because of state budget cuts.
State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka says preservation efforts have been at a standstill and more needs to be done. She adds Cahokia Mounds tourism can create jobs for Illinoisans. The new 20-member Cahokia commission, includes representatives from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and the Osage Nation of Oklahoma.