A painting thought to be a portrait of Mary Todd Lincoln turns out to be a fraud. more ›

I DRINK PROCLAIM YOUR MILKSHAKE EMANCIPATION. more ›

Lincoln experts and historians took a look at Fox commentator Bill O'Reilly's book, so we don't have to. more ›

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield will preserve court papers documenting the former first lady’s 1875 commitment to Batavia's Bellevue Insane Asylum. more ›

What do cemeteries and monuments tell us about the city they are in? Blair Kamin blogged about the overhaul of Abraham Lincoln’s tomb in downstate Springfield’s Oak Ridge cemetery---noting that the geothermal heating and cooling system being installed will be the first of its kind at a state historic site and was part of a broader green effort. more ›

On the 201st anniversary of our 16th President's birth, let's share a little time with one man who bears a striking resemblance to Honest Abe. more ›

The State of Illinois is celebrating Abraham Lincoln's 201st birthday in a somewhat odd fashion: by collecting memorabilia from his 200th birthday celebration and making a time capsule to open at his 300th birthday celebration. A bit unconventional but, hey, who are we to judge? Abe, we'll pour one out for you tonight, big guy. Happy birthday! more ›

This week the Newberry Library kicks off With Malice Toward None: The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Exhibition, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the birth of President Abraham Lincoln. The exhibit, which opens on October 10 and runs through December 19, features a fascinating collection of letters, books, photos, and other artifacts, including the Bible upon which Lincoln swore the oath of office and a copy of what reportedly was Mary Todd Lincoln's favorite photo of her boo (an 1859 portrait in which is hair was brushed). Visitors can get a real sense of the daily workings of Lincoln's office, which intercepted around 300 letters per day; Lincoln handled much of the correspondence himself, including one man's offer to spy on the Confederacy on the Union's behalf. more ›

For all the discussion about this year being the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth, it's worth pointing out that today was final full day of our 16th President's life back in 1865. It was on this date that Lincoln and his wife took a few hours to attend Our American Cousin at Ford's Theater, and became the first President to be assassinated when he was shot by John Wilkes Booth. more ›

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Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State, 9th Floor more ›

Now that the unpleasantness has been taken care of, it's safe for President Barack Obama to return to Springfield without too much of a fear of taint. Obama will be in Springfield next Thursday, February 12, to celebrate Lincoln's 200th birthday. From announcing his candidacy on the steps of the state capitol (exactly where Lincoln delivered his famed House Divided speech), to the concert at the Lincoln Memorial, to replicating the Lincoln's at his inaugural luncheon, Obama has been a very vocal fan and studier of Honest Abe, so his birthday visit surprises absolutely no one. According to Sen. Dick Durbin's office, President Obama will be attending the Abraham Lincoln Association's annual Lincoln birthday banquet. In a statement, Sen. Durbin said, "Last week, our state proudly looked to Washington once again as another son of Illinois took the presidential oath of office. As our country's economic challenges grow, President Barack Obama will be called on to show leadership and courage similar to that shown by Lincoln during one of the most difficult periods in our history." In case you missed it, check out yesterday's interview of President Obama with NBC's Matt Lauer from the Super Bowl pre-game show. more ›

President-Elect Barack Obama has become known for making and drawing comparisons to Illinois' other President, Abraham Lincoln. Now he's going one step further by taking the same train route from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. that Lincoln, his "political idol", did before his inauguration. The journey will begin for the Obamas on January 17 when their train will depart Philadelphia after a celebration event. There will be a stop in Wilmington, Delaware to pick up the Biden family, and then a stop in Baltimore for a speaking engagement which is expected to draw 150,000 people. And then? Washington for the inauguration on January 20. more ›

Here at the Flashback Desk, we usually like to keep to the timespans of our collective lives – that is, going back to around the 80’s or 70’s. On today’s Flashback, we’re going to take you back to the 60’s – the 1860s, that is. Presumably, as the glow of the election starts to fade, some of your thoughts are bound to turn to inauguration road trips. So for those of us preparing for a January trip to a historic event, this week’s Flashback takes us to March 4th, 1861, and the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln. more ›

The U.S. Mint today unveiled four new designs for the penny, made to commemorate the bicentennial of Honest Abe's birth as well as the 100th anniversary of the original release of the penny. It's the first such change to the coin in 50 years, or about the last time the penny had any real use to people. The first coin will be released into circulation on February 12, 2009 with the other designs following at three-month intervals. The front (or "heads") side of the coin will bare the same portrait of Lincoln as always, but the reverse side (i.e., the "tails") will feature four different designs commererating his birth in Kentucky, his time in Indiana, his life in Illinois, and his presidency. more ›

I love weird Lincolns! Previously: the Lincoln Douglas reunion tour, cartoon Lincoln, stencil Lincoln, Bowie Lincoln.
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Palin (she's gone from "unqualified" to "Goddamn frightening" in the space of a week) have been formally nominated by the GOP, let's take a look back at previous Republican conventions. more ›

OMG, history boner. The Illinois Bureau of Tourism is staging a reenactment tour of the Lincoln-Douglas debates to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the events. Chicago-area festivities are still TBD, sadly, but the tour recreates the duo's stops in Ottowa, Freeport, Jonesboro, Charleston, Galesburg, and Quincy. more ›

Canadian illustrator Antony Hare whipped up this oddly menacing, intriguing Abraham Lincoln. more ›

We're always on the lookout for weird or cool Abraham Lincoln stuff. more ›

We like Spock, but we love Bowie. more ›

New $5 bills make their debut today, and all we can say is....look at that big purple five. That thing is a monster! But it's a "low vision" feature, designed to "[help] those with visual impairments to distinguish the denomination." The bill also includes light purple shading on the front, clusters of tiny yellow 5s on the front and back, and an "enhanced" portrait. more ›

God bless you, French subtitles. more ›

It’s coming, folks. The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial in 2009. You won’t be able to eat your Wheaties in the morning without reading something about Lincoln, so don’t say we didn’t warn you. more ›

Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias announced yesterday that the state is getting out of the loan business. On Monday, Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge Patrick J. Londrigan signed the foreclosure order on the Abraham Lincoln Hotel and Convention Center, the first step in removing ownership from the politically connected powerbroker Bill Cellini. Although the owners quickly fell behind on payments, the loan was restructured in 1990, ensuring that the owners didn't have to repay the loan as long as the hotel didn't turn a profit. As a result, only two payments have been made on the loan in the last ten years. more ›

This is going to get way boring, but what the eff. The City Council meeting is streaming online! Watch it yourself, or just follow along with us. Updates at the bottom, until we get too tired of doing this. 10:02 They take attendance. 10:03 This stream is...meh. It keeps cutting out. "We have taken a major step in making our city government more transparent." Turns out they didn't know how hard it would be to... more ›

"Grinders" via pantagrapher. more ›

Jason Pisarik, an accountant from Lombard, defended his title as the Ultimate Couch Potato and won. People are mad about a political ad from Las Palmas, the Mexican restaurant in Wicker Park. With a mural like this, what do people expect? A baby boy in Evanston and a baby girl in Naperville were born at the same time and tied for the Chicagoland's First Baby in 2007 designation. Almost a million people have visited... more ›

Rich Whitney, Green Party Candidate for Illinois Governor more ›