Lincoln Aldermen discuss proposed new logo for new Lincoln Office of Tourism

[July 17, 2025]  At the Tuesday evening Committee of the Whole meeting of the Lincoln City Council, aldermen got a first look at the proposed logo for the new “Lincoln Illinois Office of Tourism.” The logo was presented to the council by Director of Tourism Scott McCoy, and it was met with mixed feelings right at the beginning.

The first one to speak on the topic was Alderman Kevin Bateman who stated simply that he did not like it and felt like there were better options. Later in the evening after hearing some of the research and reasoning behind the logo, Bateman warmed up to the image a bit more.

The logo is round with a Route 66 “badge” and the number “66” in the center with a hand drawn image of Abraham Lincoln laid over it. The logo was created by a local artist.

Alderman Steve Parrott noted right away that the Lincoln on the logo was not the pre-presidential Lincoln that was known to the city of Lincoln and Logan County back in the 1800s when the city was named for Abraham Lincoln. He said that local historians would recognize that when Lincoln was a young lawyer in this area he did not wear a beard.

McCoy said that was true and the accuracy of the image had been a topic of discussion and trial drawings. He said what happened though, was that the images were shown to school children and for the most part the Lincoln with no beard and hat was not well-known to youngsters. On the other hand, when the traditional stove pipe hat and beard were added, children identified immediately that it was Abraham Lincoln.

Alderwoman Rhonda O’Donoghue said she felt the drawing was rather “cartoony.” Alderwoman Robin McClallen agreed, but she said that when she saw the logo on the whole, her first impression was “friendly” and “approachable,” so she felt that from perspective it was a good logo.

[to top of second column]

 

Mayor Tracy Welch commented saying that his first thought had been “Whimsical,” which was also not a bad thing.

Bateman came back and said that yes he would go along with the word whimsical and that yes the world does associate the hat and beard with Lincoln, so he could go along with that. He added that he just thought the whole thing needed a little tweaking.

McCoy reminded the aldermen that the logo didn’t have to be serious or formal that having something that was whimsical and memorable was far better. He also said that the design needed to remain clean and simple because it would be used in a number of ways such as on letterheads, business cards, and stamps.

McCoy was asked about the terminology “Office of Tourism” instead of Tourism Department.

McCoy said that tourism would be different than the typical city department such as police and fire where serious work is done for the city and citizens so referring to it differently would be appropriate. In addition, he said that looking at it fully “Lincoln Office of Tourism” could have an acronym of “LOT,” and he felt that was also quite fitting because Lincoln does have a LOT to offer.

At the end of the conversation, Welch said that the hope was that this would move forward quickly as the new office of tourism is developing quickly and will be moving to achieve goals in time for the 2026 anniversary of Route 66.

McCoy had also mentioned that there were color versions of the logo and aldermen also want to see those.

The logo was then placed on the Monday, July 21st voting agenda.

[Nila Smith]

 

Back to top