Today's Opinions

This past Thursday afternoon, a nice crowd gathered for the ribbon-cutting ceremony at Vandalia’s new National Road Interpretive Center downtown.

John Goldsmith, president of the organization, along with Jerry Swarm and Mayor Rick Gottman, each gave a brief speech. Jerry received special thanks for the long hours he spent working on the center, and he spoke volumes when he said, “I had a lot of help.”

This is what the National Road Association of Illinois has exemplified since its inception in 1997. People working together for a common interest.

This Thursday evening, beginning at 6 p.m., we will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln in grand style at the old state capitol in Vandalia.

Although Lincoln belongs to the nation and to the world beyond, there was a time when Abraham Lincoln’s world was Vandalia.

The newly elected legislator arrived in Vandalia by stage on a blustery November day, squeezed in with the other five members of the Sangamon County delegation, including his mentor, John T. Stuart.

There was quite a bit of irony in one of the last speeches given in the Illinois Senate chambers by state Sen. Frank Watson.

As he addressed the impeachment of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the Greenville senator asked, supposedly in a rhetorical tone, who had been there to stop Blagojevich from going against the wishes of the Illinois General Assembly and the residents of the state.

He answered his own question, saying, “No one.”