Durbin: Senate Approves Legislation to Designate Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area

Press Release

Durbin: Senate Approves Legislation to Designate Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced today that his legislation, the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area Act (S.955), was included in the Senate approved Consolidated Natural Resources Act (S.2739). The legislation, which still must be passed by the House of Representatives and signed by the President, will establish a National Heritage Area in Central Illinois and calls for up to $10 million over 10 years to make federal grants available for preservation, education and economic development activities. Congressman Ray LaHood (R-IL) has led the effort to pass this legislation in the House.

"This Heritage Area will allow us to build on the success of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum," said Durbin. "Hundreds of thousands of visitors will now have a chance to understand how many communities outside of Springfield played an important role in Lincoln's life. With the Bicentennial of Lincoln's birth in 2009, this could not come at a better time."

Durbin said he wants Illinois communities to work together to tell the whole Lincoln story. The Looking for Lincoln project is designed to connect Illinois' natural, historic, cultural and recreational resources touched by the life and influence of the nation's sixteenth President. Durbin is working closely with the Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition, focusing on the places where Lincoln spent his formative years. His goal is to let each community tell its unique story, so tourists have the opportunity to visit a series of historic places that can provide a complete look at Lincoln's life in Illinois. In the end, the communities involved will benefit from job creation and new tourism revenue, as well as a renewed sense of pride about their role in Lincoln's heritage.

The Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area would encompass an area spanning numerous Central Illinois counties, including Presidential sites in Springfield as well as other notable sites including the Lincoln-Douglas Debate Museum in Charleston, the Macon County Log Courthouse in Decatur and the Carl Sandburg Home State Historic Site in Galesburg.

The legislation protects private property rights and would not require any private citizen or entity to be affiliated with the Lincoln Heritage Area. The bill names the Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition as the management authority for the National Heritage Area, but does not grant any zoning or land use power to the Coalition. Up to $10 million in federal grants would be available under this legislation, with no more than $1 million awarded in any single year. Any amount awarded for Lincoln National Heritage Area activities must be matched dollar-for-dollar in state, local or private funds.

The Heritage Area includes the following counties in Central Illinois: Adams, Brown, Calhoun, Cass, Champaign, Christian, Clark, Coles, Cumberland, Dewitt, Douglas, Edgar, Fayette, Fulton, Greene, Hancock, Henderson, Jersey, Knox, LaSalle, Logan, McLean, McDonough, Macon, Macoupin, Madison, Mason, Menard, Montgomery, Morgan, Moultrie, Peoria, Piatt, Pike, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby, Tazwell, Vermillion, Warren and Woodford Counties.

The Heritage Area includes the following sites:

* Lincoln Home National Historic Site
* Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site
* Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site
* Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum
* Thomas and Sara Bush Lincoln Log Cabin and Living History Farm State Historic Site
* Mt. Pulaski, Postville State Historic Sites and Metamora Courthouse
* Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices State Historic Site
* David Davis Mansion State Historic Site
* Vandalia Statehouse State Historic Site
* Lincoln Douglas Debate Museum
* Macon County Log Court House
* Richard J. Oglesby Mansion
* Lincoln Trail Homestead State Memorial
* Governor John Wood Mansion
* Beardstown Courthouse
* Old Main at Knox College
* Carl Sandburg Home State Historic Site
* Bryant Cottage State Historic Site
* Dr. William Fithian Home
* Vermillion County Museum

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