Illinois will celebrate Lincoln's 200th birthday
SPRINGFIELD, IL (AP) -- Illinois will celebrate Lincoln's 200th birthday next week.
The party is packed with events, from the cerebral to the silly. Scholars will debate fine points of Lincoln lore and hawk their latest books. Actors will stage the play Lincoln was watching when he was assassinated. And organizers are going for a new world record by having students across Illinois - and around the world -simultaneously recite the Gettysburg Address.
Lincoln fans have been invited to send birthday cards to Abe. Bicentennial organizers have received between 2,000 and 3,000 so far.
The festivities might have been more elaborate, but former Gov. Rod Blagojevich cut money for the bicentennial. While $8.7 million was originally approved for planning over the past two years, Blagojevich cut that to just $3 million.
You can find out more about Lincoln's Bicentennial at the following websites:
www.lincoln200.net
www.presidentlincoln.org
www.visit-springfieldillinois.com
(Copyright ©2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKHQA