The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency board of directors has dismissed the director and appointed its general counsel to hold the post on an interim basis.
The preservation agency's board of trustees voted Monday to replace 45-year-old Amy Martin with Garth Madison. Martin, who held the post since 2012, has been at the center of clashes with the administration of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
Chairman James Bruner says the board has decided to ``go in a different direction,'' with the hope there will be more cooperation among the organizations the agency administers.
The agency oversees the 10-year-old Lincoln library and museum. But the former museum director, Eileen Mackevich, wanted that institution to be independent. Mackevich resigned last month.
The board_ with four new members recently appointed by Gov. Bruce Rauner _ was nearly eliminated last spring.