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U.S. House OKs bill creating Lincoln heritage area

Posted October 23, 2007 11:00 pm

Chris Wetterich

The U.S. House approved a bill Wednesday that would create the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area in Illinois and authorize $1 million to fund it annually for 15 years.

The legislation, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Peoria, was within a larger bill that created six new national heritage areas, as well as funding authority for nine others. The bill now goes to the Senate, where U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., is pushing it.

Funding authorized in the bill would allow grants matched dollar-for-dollar by a state or local government or a private entity to be given to groups seeking to carry out the mission of the heritage area that includes parts of 42 counties in central Illinois.

Congress designates such areas where natural, cultural, historic and scenic resources are considered representative of the American experience.

If the bill becomes law, a management plan approved by the National Park Service will have to be developed containing a resource inventory, goals and strategies, potential funding sources and a business plan.

The Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition, a 9-year-old nonprofit organization, will manage the area. The group, headed by Nicky Stratton, works with a consortium of central Illinois communities and historic sites whose common thread is Lincoln.

"By designating this heritage area, we can tie these many Lincoln sites together in order to create a tapestry that will allow us to better understand the influences that shaped President Lincoln's life," LaHood told the House.

Chris Wetterich can be reached at (217) 788-1523 or chris.wetterich@sj-r.com.

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