Daniel Stowell
Daniel Stowell is returning to work at the Papers of Abraham Lincoln project after more than a month on paid administrative leave.
Chris Wills, spokesman for the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency that employs Stowell, told Illinois Times via email today that Stowell is returning to work. It wasn’t clear from Wills’ email whether Stowell, who was placed on leave in April, is already back at work.
The IHPA has refused to say why Stowell was placed on leave. The agency has also refused to release documents showing why Stowell was put on leave, even though the IHPA in the past has released records showing the basis for disciplinary action against an agency employee.
Established in 1985, the project is attempting to compile and digitize every document read or written by Lincoln. Stowell has been the project’s director since 2000.
Turmoil hit the project last September, when Stowell informed the project’s backers that the IHPA had frozen the project’s accounts and ordered him not to apply for grants that had historically provided critical funding. In addition, Stowell informed the project’s backers that the inspector general’s office was launching an investigation and that he feared the entire staff would be laid off. Since then, five of the project’s 12 employees have departed. The governor’s office has blamed cutbacks on the state budget impasse.
Stowell last fall told project backers that no money had misused and that he welcomed any investigation.
Contact Bruce Rushton at brushton@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Jun 2-8, 2016.
