Latest news with #HouseDivided
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘Proudly making our country your new home': Citizens naturalized at Old State Capitol ceremony
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — Fifty-six people walked into the Old State Capitol Wednesday from all corners of the globe. They walked out sharing one thing in common: they're the United States of America's newest citizens. The group, originally from 25 different countries, all received their certificates in a ceremony presided over by District Judge Colleen Lawless. 'For some of you the choice to come here was an easy one. While others, it was one of the most difficult decisions of your life,' Lawless said. 'But no matter what your journey was or what choices you had to make by getting here, every one of you has made the American dream a reality by becoming citizens and proudly making our country your new home.' 300 people attend funeral of Springfield veteran with no known family They each left the ceremony with an American flag and a newfound sense of gratitude. 'I really liked the ceremony, definitely, and I feel very thankful with all of this country and with Illinois today,' Raquel Muchnick, a citizen naturalized in the ceremony originally from Honduras, said. Springfield Mayor Misty Buscher addressed the newest citizens and welcomed them to the capital city. 'Your presence here reminds us that what truly unites us is not where we are born or how we are here, but what we believe in our heart,' Buscher said. Accessible exhibit opens in Springfield's Lincoln Museum The day was even more special for the naturalized citizens as it was held in the room where Abraham Lincoln gave his famous 'House Divided' speech and the grounds where Barack Obama launched his presidential campaign. 'It was a privilege to us that the ceremony was here in the capitol, in a historical place, to know Abraham Lincoln was here,' Muchnick said. The group crossed the finish line of their citizenship journey surrounded by their family and friends and love for their new country. 'It was a long, long journey to be here but I'm very thankful,' Muchnick said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Chicago Tribune
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Michael Peregrine: Chicago helped give rise to Abraham Lincoln's presidency 165 years ago
The intersection of Lake Street and Wacker Drive is well known for several reasons. For the confluence of the Chicago River branches. For the hazards of the tricky pedestrian crossings. For the cold wind that often roars down Lake Street from the west. But history remembers it for this reason: It's the site of the 'Wigwam' assembly hall, where Abraham Lincoln accepted the Republican presidential nomination on May 18, 1860. Bet you didn't know that. But maybe you should. For in a city well known for holding political conventions, perhaps none stands more consequential than the 1860 Republican Convention. It was consequential for Chicago, in that it provided the young, burgeoning city with perhaps its first real national recognition. And it was consequential for the nation, as the long-simmering sectional crisis over slavery was reaching a boiling point that would be the focus of the upcoming presidential campaign. Chicago's primary attraction as convention city was Illinois' status as a 'border state' and the city's growing reputation as a trade center. Because the city lacked a suitable venue for the convention, the Wigwam was constructed as a temporary meeting facility. Built entirely of wood, it was located at what is now 191 N. Wacker and had a capacity of 10,000 attendees. The Wigwam was erected on the site of the Sauganash Hotel, which had held many of Chicago's earliest town meetings until it was destroyed by fire in 1851. The convention was to be a tumultuous affair, with tension over the slavery controversy permeating the proceedings. The national discourse was gripped not only by the legality (and morality) of slavery in the Southern states, but more pointedly by the question of whether the federal government was empowered to abolish slavery in the new 'Western territories' of the still-young country. Lincoln had previously expressed support for such power in his famous 1858 'House Divided' speech. Nevertheless, by the time of the convention, Lincoln was not widely known. Rather, the able New York Sen. William P. Seward was perceived as the favorite, despite electability concerns amongst the delegates over his strong opposition to slavery. Yet Lincoln proved to be a shrewd strategist, presenting himself as an acceptable and more moderate alternative to a divided convention and capturing the nomination on the third ballot. But with Lincoln's nomination came the enormous recognition that the next president would be called to confront slavery's threat to national solidarity. He faced a deeply torn political climate, with the rise of abolitionism in the North and unequivocal support for states' rights in the South. This was, truly, 'soul of the nation' stuff. A proposed compromise, which would have banned slavery north of a geographic line while allowing it south of the line, failed. The electorate was on edge, with fears that a civil war was inevitable. And, of course, it was right. This was the unique landscape that Lincoln confronted when he accepted his party's nomination in Chicago on that day in May 1860. The country, only 75 years old, was bitterly torn apart by competing views on whether the practice of slavery was a legal right or a mortal sin. Some politicians have pursued the presidency with the knowledge that the potential for war lay on the nation's horizon — but that was with an external enemy. Lincoln pursued the presidency knowing that the potential for a true war between the states was on the nation's doorstep. And he assumed the presidency with an absolute conviction to preserve the national union and to peacefully resolve the slavery divide. 'We are not enemies, but friends,' he said. And the seeds of what was to come — the appointment of the 'team of rivals,' the Emancipation Proclamation, the Gettysburg Address, the 13th Amendment and the successful prosecution of the war — were planted in Chicago. For subsumed within Lincoln's willingness to accept the Chicago nomination was knowledge — perhaps without a doubt — of what actions by states were to come and what actions were morally right for the government to pursue. 'You have no oath registered in Heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to 'preserve, protect, and defend it,'' Lincoln said in his first inaugural address. Lincoln was assassinated April 14, 1865, and the Wigwam burned to the ground on Nov. 13, 1869. A small plaque commemorating the hall's existence is next to the tall office building that rose from its ashes. Think of all this the next time you're standing at the southeast corner of Lake and Wacker. As you wait for the light to turn green, close your eyes for a moment and let your mind drift. You're standing on space where Lincoln may well have stood, 165 years ago. And think about what he meant to the country then, and what he still means to the country today. Michael Peregrine is a Chicago lawyer and grateful graduate of Oak Park High.
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Today in Chicago History: Barack Obama announces candidacy for president
Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Feb. 10, according to the Tribune's archives. Is an important event missing from this date? Email us. Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago) High temperature: 63 degrees (1876) Low temperature: Minus 18 degrees (1899) Precipitation: 0.96 inches (1960) Snowfall: 9.7 inches (1981) 1916: A few hundred of the city's most prominent people gathered at the stately University Club at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Monroe Street for a dinner welcoming the new Catholic archbishop, George Mundelein. Vintage Chicago Tribune: What to know about Mundelein, a century after his elevation as Chicago's first cardinal All were marked for assassination by an anarchist cook named Jean Crones, who spiked the soup stock with arsenic. When dinner was served, some of the highest flyers of Chicago were laid low, falling to the floor, groaning in agony and vomiting. But none died. 1869: The Woman Suffrage Convention — the first of its kind in Chicago — was held at Library Hall. Vintage editorial: A celebration of women's suffrage: 'It has been a long fight and a hard one' 1980: Northwestern, coached by 27-year-old Mary DiStanislao, won its second straight Big Ten women's basketball tournament, beating Minnesota 86-72 in the title game at Wisconsin. 1985: Michael Jordan made his NBA All-Star Game debut. Controversy arose with talk of a 'freeze out' supposedly led by Isiah Thomas to keep the ball away from the popular rookie. Thomas later denied this was intentional. Jordan shot 2 for 9, scoring seven points in 22 minutes. 2007: U.S. Sen. Barack Obama announced his candidacy for the presidency outside the Old State Capitol in Springfield, which was the site of Abraham Lincoln's June 16, 1858, 'House Divided' speech. Obama urged Americans who hear 'destiny calling' to join him 'in the unfinished business of perfecting our union.' About 15,000 people braved frigid temperatures to watch Obama speak before he departed to campaign in Iowa. He defeated Republican candidate John McCain in the Nov. 4, 2008, election and became the nation's 44th president. Subscribe to the free Vintage Chicago Tribune newsletter, join our Chicagoland history Facebook group, stay current with Today in Chicago History and follow us on Instagram for more from Chicago's past. Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Kori Rumore and Marianne Mather at krumore@ and mmather@
Chicago Tribune
10-02-2025
- Climate
- Chicago Tribune
Today in Chicago History: Barack Obama announces candidacy for president
Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Feb. 10, according to the Tribune's archives. Is an important event missing from this date? Email us. Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago) High temperature: 63 degrees (1876) Low temperature: Minus 18 degrees (1899) Precipitation: 0.96 inches (1960) Snowfall: 9.7 inches (1981) 1916: A few hundred of the city's most prominent people gathered at the stately University Club at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Monroe Street for a dinner welcoming the new Catholic archbishop, George Mundelein. All were marked for assassination by an anarchist cook named Jean Crones, who spiked the soup stock with arsenic. When dinner was served, some of the highest flyers of Chicago were laid low, falling to the floor, groaning in agony and vomiting. But none died. 1869: The Woman Suffrage Convention — the first of its kind in Chicago — was held at Library Hall. 1980: Northwestern, coached by 27-year-old Mary DiStanislao, won its second straight Big Ten women's basketball tournament, beating Minnesota 86-72 in the title game at Wisconsin. 1985: Michael Jordan made his NBA All-Star Game debut. Controversy arose with talk of a 'freeze out' supposedly led by Isiah Thomas to keep the ball away from the popular rookie. Thomas later denied this was intentional. Jordan shot 2 for 9, scoring seven points in 22 minutes. 2007: U.S. Sen. Barack Obama announced his candidacy for the presidency outside the Old State Capitol in Springfield, which was the site of Abraham Lincoln's June 16, 1858, 'House Divided' speech. Obama urged Americans who hear 'destiny calling' to join him 'in the unfinished business of perfecting our union.' About 15,000 people braved frigid temperatures to watch Obama speak before he departed to campaign in Iowa. He defeated Republican candidate John McCain in the Nov. 4, 2008, election and became the nation's 44th president. Want more vintage Chicago?
