Around 50 tourists strolled up to the Pullman National Historical Park Wednesday afternoon only to be halted by a locked front door and a sign reading, “Closed.”

“Bad news, bad news,” one of the tour leaders announced to the group, which consisted of National Association of Evangelical members from across the country. “Looks like we’re all experiencing the government shutdown.”

The U.S. government shut down after the Senate failed to approve a short-term funding bill Tuesday night, jeopardizing the pay and employment of thousands of workers across Illinois and the country, and scaling back operations at federal facilities, such as national parks.

“There’s a lot of disappointment,” said the Rev. James Meeks, who led the group through a tour of historic Pullman sites.

“It hadn’t dawned o

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