* Oh, man, this is embarrassing for the state…
Illinois officials hope schoolchildren, churches and businesses will take part in next year’s celebration of Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday.
The Lincoln Bicentennial Commission offered a look Thursday at events it’s organizing to mark the anniversary.
They include a simultaneous reading of the Gettysburg Address by Illinois schoolchildren, having churches toll their bells next Feb. 12 and asking businesses to say “Happy Birthday, Abe” on marquees and message boards.
Gee. I’m overwhelmed.
Not.
* Is the problem budget cuts?
The commission’s budget was $1 million last year, and legislators asked for $5 million this year. Because of the state’s budget problems, however, the commission probably will end up with only $1.5 million.
Maybe. But there’s obviously a lack of imagination at play here. “Happy birthday, Abe” signs? What?
* And there doesn’t seem to be much interest by the bigs…
The commission also has invited U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Barack Obama and U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts as guests for a banquet that evening. None have accepted yet.
Durbin lives in Springfield, so his lack of cooperation so far is simply astounding. Obama announced his presidential campaign at the Old State Capitol, which Lincoln helped move to Springfield. Obama also used Lincoln imagery in his speech, so he has an obligation to cooperate.
* This is from a newspaper article during the centennial celebration in 1909…
It is interesting to note that, while an estimated nine-thousand people gathered for the celebration and probably thousands more having been turned away, across town the colored citizens, who had not been invited, had their own celebration at the A.M.E.Church. There was “great indignation expressed by the colored residents of the city because they were barred from the Lincoln banquet.”
* I checked the list of events for Springfield, and there’s nothing on the agenda to redress this egregious rebuff from the last century. Maybe that’s because of the shockingly low number of African-Americans on the state’s bicentennial commission.
* The budget cuts will have an impact on the celebration, however…
But this month, Gov. Rod Blagojevich slashed the budget for staff at all of the historic sites in Illinois, many of which revolve around Lincoln’s life.
Thursday, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency Director Jan Grimes said the cuts mean some sites will have to close or reduce hours.
“All sites will be impacted by that in some way,” Grimes said. “We’ll have some reduced hours; we’ll have some sites that will have to close.
Discuss.