Local WSIU
(2009-01-21)
SPRINGFIELD, IL
(wsiu) -
As the city of Springfield prepares to commemorate the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth, officials are hoping President Barack Obama's ties to the state capitol generate additional interest.President Obama says Lincoln is one of his heroes. Obama used Lincoln's inaugural bible when he was sworn in as President and announced his candidacy at the Old State Capitol where Lincoln served as a state legislator.
Kim Rosendahl is director of tourism for the Springfield Convention and Visitor's Bureau. She says she hopes Obama will make a point to visit Springfield during the bicentennial celebration:
Rosendahl says visitors to Springfield have already shown an interest in sites tied to both Obama and Lincoln, and the Visitors Bureau is planning to add Obama sites to a presidential trail that features Lincoln, Ulysses Grant and Ronald Reagan who all at one point lived in Illinois.
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