President Obama to Visit Springfield to Celebrate Lincoln's 200th Birthday

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that President Barack Obama has accepted his invitation to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s birth in Springfield, Illinois. Obama will attend the Abraham Lincoln Association’s annual Lincoln birthday banquet, which is scheduled for February 12, 2009. Durbin began working with the Obama transition team on this invitation just days after the election last November.

“Abraham Lincoln’s legacy is deeply rooted in his home state of Illinois,” said Durbin. “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. I am honored to have the opportunity to welcome our new President back to Springfield for this important celebration of Lincoln's life.”

The Abraham Lincoln Association was organized in 1908 as the Lincoln Centennial Association. It led the national celebration of Lincoln’s one-hundredth birthday and continued to mark that day until 1925. Since its founding, the association has sponsored a distinguished program of research and publication. Each year on Lincoln's birthday on February 12, the association hosts a banquet and symposium that features renowned Lincoln scholars.
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