(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A young Abraham Lincoln stands watch over Second Street in front of the state capitol, but he was not born in Illinois.
Ronald Reagan was. And it’s possible a young Reagan could join Lincoln and others outside the Statehouse.
Jamel Wright, Eureka College’s first woman and first African American to be president, told an Illinois House task force about the Reagan that central Illinois knows.
"The Eureka College Reagan story is an important and significant one to the life of understanding Ronald Reagan," Wright told lawmakers. "However, it is not inherently political. It is a story of a young man who attended a college founded by abolitionists in 1855."
A freshman Reagan was called upon to give a speech supporting students who protested college conditions, she said.
This supposedly was the first major example of Reagan as “The Great Communicator.” With his degree from Eureka, Reagan worked in radio and Hollywood, served as president of the Screen Actors Guild and, of course, became U.S. president.
The possibility of making room at the state Capitol for any historical figure is fraught with complications in today’s climate.
State Rep. Mary Flowers, a Chicago Democrat chairing the task force considering statues and monuments, notes policymakers should consider the imperfections of the 40th president.
The racially charged term “welfare queen” is attributed to Reagan.
Wright showed up at the task force meeting to support the idea of a Reagan statue for Springfield. A group is forming to raise private money for it, pending legislative approval.
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