Abraham Lincoln

Last weekend, lawmakers elected Don Harmon to be president of the Illinois Senate. It’s been described as a bitter fight, but it has nothing on some of the conflicts from Illinois’ past, including one particularly “discreditable row” from the year 1857.

There may be no more famous man in Illinois history than Abraham Lincoln. More than 150 years after his death, the 16th president continues to inspire writers of all kinds. But before 2018, few books had been written about Lincoln as a boy, and even fewer had been written from the young Abe’s point of view.

That changed when retired teacher and author Jan Jacobi wrote the novel “Young Lincoln,” in which the famous Illinoisan himself narrates his journey from young boy to young man, painting a rarely-seen portrait of Lincoln’s formative years.

The 16th annual Lincoln Legacy Lectures presented by the University of Illinois Springfield Center for Lincoln Studies was held Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018, in the Student Union Ballroom at UIS.

The topic was “Lincoln versus Douglas.”

The Lincoln Legacy Lecture Series brings nationally known scholars to Springfield to present lectures on topics that both engaged Abraham Lincoln and the citizens of his era and are still timely today.

President Abraham Lincoln would have celebrated his 210th birthday on Tuesday. Military veteran groups and politicians gathered in Springfield to mark the occasion and laid wreaths at the 16th President’s tomb.

The foundation set up to support Springfield’s Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum has been struggling with debt. Tuesday, officials from the group asked Illinois lawmakers for help.  

A fiddling duo is playing Civil War era tunes on the Old State Capitol plaza in downtown Springfield. Near them is a log cabin on wheels (well, technically it's made of cardboard) with a large ball attached to it - fashioned to look as though it was made of iron or steel, with the words "link on to Lincoln." It's old-timey propaganda created by a contemporary Illinois artist.

The debut episode of Statewide includes:

Fifty years since the tumultous political convention in Chicago, renovations to the Reagan boyhood home, assasination games in school, plus more.

Written by Ken Bradbury and Robert Crowe, 'Distant Thunder' is the story of New Salem during Abraham Lincoln's days in the village; however, the show isn't just another Lincoln story. 

"Nothing against our 16th President, but in New Salem in those days, he wasn't the most interesting man in town!" Said writer Ken Bradbury, "Distant Thunder is a fun explanation of how Lincoln became Lincoln while he was in New Salem." 

As Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner built toward the crescendo of his State of the State address on Wednesday, he implored lawmakers to cut taxes and spending to ensure a more “prosperous future.”

To drive home his point, he ripped out a page from Speechwriting 101 for Illinois politicians.

He quoted Honest Abe.

“Abraham Lincoln once said: ‘The best way to predict the future is to create it,’” said the Republican governor.

But there’s a problem.

Over the weekend nearly 500 Springfield residents awoke to news that the state's top leaders had been ousted. Of course, it's untrue. It's a headline generated from James Pepper Kelly.

Because Illinois is a northern state and the former home of Abraham Lincoln, it isn’t typically associated with slavery. But there was slavery in Illinois for more than 100 years.

Even after Illinois entered the Union, loopholes in its laws allowed the practice to continue, making the future Land of Lincoln a quasi-slave state. 

The 14th annual Lincoln Legacy Lectures presented by the University of Illinois Springfield will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, October 20, 2016 in Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library at UIS.

This is the first week on the job for the new director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

Kate Dunn, a mother of three whose oldest son does to a Springfield public school, gun violence is "a primary concern for everybody in the United States." "I feel like it's preventable. It's not necessary," she said. "It's crazy. I mean just .. every day. I hate to even look -- listen, look, watch -- every day it's something worse."Credit Adam RifeEdit | Remove

Hillary Clinton was born and raised in Illinois, and she has the confidence of the state's primary Democratic leaders, but polls show she's at risk of losing the state to Bernie Sanders. She made a final pitch to Illinois voters on the eve of Tuesday's primary, including at a town hall in Springfield.

On Feb. 12 -- Abraham Lincoln's birthday -- officials released plans to salute another President with state ties.

Just days ago, on Wed., Feb. 10, President Barack Obama gave a major speech in Springfield, at the capitol, where he'd once served in the state Senate.

"Thank you for such a warm welcome as I come back home," he said to legislators' applause and hoots.

A group that is devoted to the legacy of Springfield's favorite son will install its first African American and first female president this month.

This Sunday is the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The amendment banned slavery in America. 

To commemorate the event, The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum will display a copy of the amendment signed by Lincoln. 

One of the nation's most historical instruments is getting back in working order.

The 13th annual Lincoln Legacy Lectures, presented by the University of Illinois Springfield, will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, October 15, 2015 in Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library at UIS.

It takes a lot to upstage Abraham Lincoln.  But if anyone could, it might have been Marilyn Monroe.

The actress visited the small east central Illinois town of Bement, in Piatt County, 60 years ago this week.  Bement is known for being the site where Lincoln and Stephen Douglas met to plan their famous debates.  But in 1955, it was Marilyn's town. 

Bill Wheelhouse and Tim Landis talk about a public forum this week on plans to improve the neighborhood near Lincoln's home.

It was weeks after Abraham Lincoln's death in mid-April, that has body made it from Washington, D.C. back to Springfield, Illinois. The lifting of a replica coffin from a car designed to look like Lincoln's funeral train began a series events this weekend in Springfield, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the president's death and burial.

Yona Stamatis talks with Alastair Willis, Dale Rogers, and Ralph Shank about the Illinois Symphony Orchestra's "Lincoln Train" concerts this weekend at Sangamon Auditorium and the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.