 Main Street Lincoln has been awarded $56,000 for a project titled,
"Interpretation of Lincoln-related sites in Logan County." This
project will include the development of an information kiosk,
brochures with GPS coordinates, a cell phone-based interpretive
journey, informational signs and a painting of Lincoln giving an
1858 speech at the Logan County Courthouse.In cooperation with
the Illinois Broadcasters Association, the commission also unveiled
a "Voice of Lincoln" contest that will help promote the bicentennial
on Illinois radio stations.
"The commission's top priority is to support programs developed
by or for Lincoln-related communities and historic sites in
Illinois," said Marilyn Kushak, chairwoman of the Illinois Abraham
Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. "These grant funds will help create
a positive economic impact on these communities and the state of
Illinois and help us plan a 200th birthday celebration worthy of the
‘Land of Lincoln.'"
The grants will fund 25 projects throughout the state. A total of
78 applications were received following the announcement of
available grant funds made in September 2007.
The funds were awarded based on the bicentennial commission's
five major initiatives: Rural Program, targeting communities of
2,500 or less; School Program, to bring the bicentennial to Illinois
schools; Public Program, to support programs presented by community
organizations, universities and cultural organizations; Legacy
Projects, to create visible public legacies of the bicentennial; and
Historic Sites Interpretation, to create and preserve live
interpretative programs at Lincoln-related sites.
The unprecedented statewide search for the "Voice of Lincoln"
seeks to identify an individual who will record a series of radio
public service announcements to promote Illinois' observance of the
Lincoln Bicentennial. Contest rules are available at
www.lincoln200.net. Tape recordings made by the contestants, who
will receive no compensation, will be reviewed by the commission and
a winner selected. Then, in cooperation with the Illinois
Broadcasters Association, the winner will record a series of
vignettes about Abraham Lincoln's life. The series will be
distributed to all Illinois radio stations for volunteer airing
during 2008 and 2009.
"We're honored to have been asked to play a role in providing a
forum for the ‘voice' of Lincoln," said Dennis Lyle, president and
CEO of the Illinois Broadcasters Association. "What better way to do
so than via the theater-of-the-mind medium of radio?"
The Voice of Lincoln is the latest initiative to promote the
Lincoln Bicentennial in Illinois. The Lincoln Log, a day-by-day
feature that explains what Abraham Lincoln wrote, said or did on
that date in history, is a joint venture between the Illinois
Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and the Illinois Press
Association and is being featured in more than 60 newspapers.
The Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, formed by
Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich in February 2006, is working closely with
the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, the Abraham Lincoln
Presidential Library and Museum, tourism agencies and many other
institutions and organizations to organize events and programming
beginning in 2008. The commission is also partnering with local
communities on their bicentennial plans.
Other 2008 Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission
grants:
Traveling exhibits on Lincoln-Douglas debates
Alton, Galesburg, Freeport, Quincy, Charleston, Jonesboro, Ottawa
and Springfield
Eight traveling exhibits will be developed and made available to
public institutions throughout 2008, the 150th anniversary of the
debates. Each community will then keep one of the exhibits as part
of their debate site interpretation. Bicentennial grant: $25,311.
Abraham Lincoln, David Davis and Jesse Fell statues
McLean County Museum of History, Bloomington
The grant will help fund the creation of three statues to be
placed in Bloomington's Lincoln Park. Bicentennial grant: $22,750.
8th Judicial Circuit exhibit
David Davis Mansion State Historic Site, Bloomington
Three sets of this panel exhibit will be produced that will
travel to the 16 counties that at one time comprised the 8th
Judicial Circuit, where Lincoln practiced law. Bicentennial grant:
$10,000.
Interactive mini-museum and reading room
Cairo Junior-Senior High School
Cairo students will assist with the development of this room,
which will feature dramatic presentations scheduled throughout the
bicentennial, with special emphasis on the African-American
viewpoint. Bicentennial grant: $13,846.
Renovation of "Little Brick Schoolhouse"
Warsaw Historical Society, Carthage
Portions of the schoolhouse where Lincoln's secretary, John Hay,
attended through age 11 will be renovated. Bicentennial grant:
$6,925.
"Lincoln in Illinois" programs
WTTW-TV, Chicago
Ten short segments celebrating Lincoln's life will be produced
and offered to all PBS stations for use during programming breaks in
2009. Bicentennial grant: $50,000.
Lincoln-related humanities programs
Illinois Humanities Council, Chicago
The grant will partially fund the second year of a nine-person
roster of programs targeting nonprofit organizations and small
Illinois communities. Bicentennial grant: $40,000.
"Portraying Lincoln: Man of Many Faces" exhibit
Decatur Arts Council
The exhibit will showcase more than 50 artists who have given
expression to Lincoln's continuing influence. Bicentennial grant:
$50,000.
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Lincoln-Douglas debate site improvements
Lincoln-Douglas Society, Freeport
Improvements will include wayside exhibits, lighting, landscaping
and the relocation of the debate boulder. Bicentennial grant:
$20,000.
"Through Lincoln's Eyes: Galena and Grant"
Jo Daviess County Historical Society and Museum, Galena
This permanent exhibit will tell of Lincoln's Civil War
interactions with Gen. Grant, his service in the Black Hawk War and
his early political life. Bicentennial grant: $5,750.
"A Good Man" dance and theater production
Ravinia Music Festival, Highland Park
The grant will continue partial funding to commission a new work,
and associated workshops, with famed choreographer Bill T. Jones.
Bicentennial grant: $50,000.
"Lincoln Book for Every Student" program
Jacksonville Area Lincoln Bicentennial Commission
The grant will help provide a Lincoln-related book to 4,450
students and serve as the basis for citywide reading, writing,
visual arts and quiz bowl competitions. Bicentennial grant: $49,517.
Lincoln monument
Friends of Community Public Art, Joliet
A monument highlighting Lincoln's pre-presidential public life
and an associated teaching guide will be developed. Bicentennial
grant: $40,000.
I & M Canal exhibit and programming
Canal Corridor Association, Lockport
This traveling exhibit, interpretive reader trail, brochures,
student activity book and lesson plans will celebrate Lincoln's
contribution to the I & M Canal and its subsequent impact on the
state and nation. Bicentennial grant: $53,698.
"Champaign County's Lincoln" exhibit
Early American Museum, Mahomet
The grant will fund the opening, interactive scene of this
exhibit. Bicentennial grant: $17,680.
2008 Lincoln Bicentennial Bike Tour
Marshall, Decatur and Springfield
The tour begins at Lincoln's Kentucky birthplace and travels a
route close to that followed by the Lincoln family as they moved
through Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois. As the tour stops overnight
in communities, Lincoln programs will be offered to the public. The
funding will assist with program costs. Bicentennial grant: $2,000.
Lincoln speech historical site marker
Oquawka
This marker will denote an Oct. 9, 1858, speech near the
Mississippi River waterfront, where Lincoln stopped after his
Galesburg debate with Stephen A. Douglas. Bicentennial grant:
$4,650.
"Lincoln Gallery" exhibit
Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County
An exhibit will be created featuring Lincoln-related artifacts
and Lincoln's connections to Quincy. Bicentennial grant: $12,482.
"Let's Debate" statuary project
Shelby County Lincoln Heritage Inc., Shelbyville
The grant will partially fund the Looking for Lincoln Coalition
series of nine wayside exhibits to detail the Lincoln story in
Shelby County. Bicentennial grant: $26,000.
Tinsley Project
Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices State Historic Site, Springfield
The grant will help develop an interpretive plan for the Tinsley
Project, which aims to accurately restore Lincoln's office space, a
federal courtroom and a period dry goods store in the building. The
Tinsley Project will recreate the story line of an 1840s commercial
and social gathering place for the Lincolns and their neighbors as
an ongoing Bicentennial Legacy project. Bicentennial grant: $60,000.
"Lincoln Stories"
Network Knowledge, Springfield
Thirty-minute video segments, patterned on the TV series
"Illinois Stories," will be developed and distributed to Illinois
schools and libraries. Bicentennial grant: $42,593.
Quiddity literary journal
Springfield College in Illinois/Benedictine University
This literary journal, being published in partnership with NPR
affiliates WUIS in Springfield and WIPA in Pittsfield, will invite
submissions of poetry and prose focusing on the work of Abraham
Lincoln as a poet and inspirer of verse. Bicentennial grant: $7,645.
"Lincoln for the Next Generation" essay contest
Illinois State Library, Springfield
This essay contest challenges students to compose their own
Gettysburg Address, with winning essays to be published in the 2009
Handbook of Illinois Government. The grant will help promote the
contest by funding banners to be placed around the Capitol Complex
in Springfield. Bicentennial grant: $3,153.
8th Judicial Circuit documentary
WILL-TV, Urbana
The grant will help continue the production of a program on
Lincoln's legal career on the 8th Judicial Circuit. Bicentennial
grant: $30,000.
[Text from
Illinois Historic Preservation Agency news release received from
the
Illinois Office of
Communication and Information]
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