LANSING | Officials with the Lansing Historical Society have taken an interest in raising money to restore the Ford Hangar, a historic part of Lansing Municipal Airport, only to run into a lack of interest from many of the usual funding sources for historic preservation programs.

That is why society and airport officials are excited to learn that Illinois government is expressing an interest in the project.

There are no promises from state officials for any specific funding in the form of grants to help pay for repairs meant to maintain the eight-decade-old hangar in its original form. With the state's fiscal condition, such grants easily could wither away before they become reality.

But airport Manager John DeLaurentiis and society Vice President Patty Eidam, who also is a village trustee, were excited after meeting last week with representatives of the aeronautics division of the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.

The two agencies had officials from Springfield who were in Chicago for the day and made a point of including a 45-minute stop at the Lansing airport during the early afternoon to check out the hangar and get a feel for how much work needs to be done.

DeLaurentiis said the interest was unsolicited. State officials contacted him last week to ask about the restoration project, which has been ongoing for a couple of years and is scheduled to last indefinitely until money can be raised.

"They took a quick look around the hangar, and said they want to come back to talk to us again," DeLaurentiis said.

Thus far, the restoration project for the hangar built in 1926 to accommodate the corporate airplanes maintained by Ford Motor Co. has consisted of little more than masonry repair and tuckpointing, which was done during the summer months and paid for with money raised through a public art project conducted during 2006 and 2007.

Eidam previously said the significant restoration work to the hangar's interior and to its doors would have to wait until funds could be raised through private donations. She had said the Ford Fund, affiliated with Ford Motor Co., previously rejected a request to help pay for the repairs, even though the hangar has its history in the company.

That hangar was built by Henry Ford at what was then known as the Chicago/Hammond Airport to help Chicago-area Ford auto plants have better connections to auto plants in Cleveland and Dearborn, Mich.

The hangar has been owned by Lansing since the airport was purchased by the village in 1976. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and also once was named by The Times as one of the Seven Wonders of the Region.