CARBONDALE - Lt. Governor Sheila Simon will rededicate the historic Old Lincoln Courtroom and Museum in Beardstown before traveling to Galesburg where President Obama will speak to residents about the economy.

"The courthouse in Beardstown is an important historic site, and we need to continue to preserve it for future visitors to the Beardstown area," said Simon, a former prosecutor. "Tourism is just one tool we can use to help support local economies, and I look forward to hearing President Obama outline his plan for economic growth."

The Lincoln Courtroom and Museum is housed in the former Cass County Courthouse that was built in 1844, and it was the location of "Almanac Trial" in which Abraham Lincoln defended Duff Armstrong two years before being elected as president.

The Old Lincoln Courtroom & Museum Commission, which operates the courtroom, recently completed a major audio/video project funded entirely through private donations. As a result of the work, English and Spanish language videos playing on new monitors will teach visitors about exhibits and the building itself.

Later, Simon will join President Obama at Knox College where he will kick off a series of speeches that outline an economic plan focused on fighting for America's middle class.

Wednesday, July 24 

EVENT: Lincoln Courtroom and Museum rededication

TIME: 8:30 a.m.

PLACE: Beardstown Courthouse, corner of Third and State Streets, Beardstown, IL 62618

EVENT: President Obama: Fighting for America's Middle Class

TIME: 11:30 a.m.

PLACE: Knox College Memorial Gym, 2 East South Street, Galesburg, IL 61401

NOTE: Media credentials via the White House will be required.

Their words put into Perspective and 40 Categories

Harry Truman said, "There is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know." His words first appeared in a biographical work by William Hillman, sixty years ago.   They now appear in Wisdom from the Oval Office, a new book by Pierce Word who has assembled 40 categories of quotations of all the presidents of the United States. It is considered the largest assemblage of U.S. presidential quotations in publishing history. Its pub date is July 26, 2013

Along with Mr. Truman, the words of Washington, Obama and the others, are presented about a broad range of subjects such as love, religion, God, and friendship, subjects not the usual presidential subjects, but war, peace, honor, leadership, freedom and liberty receive an abundance of attention. The flow of quotations and the manner in which they are categorized shows, interestingly, the frame of mind of each president such as Lincoln's spirituality, Nixon's binocular view of love and fear, and Obama on parental love. Of particular interest is the diversity of interest on the subject of politics of which they all have commonality.

The idea for The Wisdom from the Oval Office was compiled by author Pierce Word while a student at the University of Chicago. Frustrated at the difficulty he had finding the "right" quotations for his various academic projects, he knew there had to be a better way and made one with his new book after culling through library stacks and  Internet portals for two years.

The results of his two year search was hailed by reviewer Gordon Osmond of "Bookpleasures.com" who wrote "...as for anyone interested in savoring the full range of presidential statements as a means of acquiring a fuller understanding of this country's past glories and contemporary challenges, this book is surely required reading. The aptly named Mr. Word should be sincerely thanked for it."

Author Pierce Word is a resident of Chicago, Illinois and received his undergraduate degree at the University of Chicago. He did graduate work at the University of Cairo in his pursuit of Mid-Eastern studies

Wisdom from the Oval Office, 9781933909448 was published by History Publishing Company on July.23, 2013. It is available at Barnes and Noble booksellers and in fine bookstores nationally and on BN.com and Amazon.com and other internet sites globally.

PORT BYRON, IL - PORT BYRON, IL - The Nick Teddy Foundation, of Port Byron, IL, has begun a teddy bear donation drive at studio, library, and YMCA locations in the Quad City area. Bears will be donated to pediatric patients at Children's Hospital of Illinois in Peoria, IL, http://www.childrenshospitalofillinois.org and to grieving and traumatized children served by Rick's House of Hope in Davenport, IA. http://rhoh.org

New teddy bears, of all sizes and descriptions, in original packaging, can be dropped off at collection boxes at the following locations: Haven Studios, 105 South Chicago St, Suite 5, Geneseo; RIver Valley District Library, 214 S Main St, Port Byron; Cordova District Library, 402 Main Ave, Cordova; Bettendorf Family YMCA, 3800 Tanglefoot Lane, Bettendorf; and Two Rivers YMCA, 2040 53rd St, Moline. Collection ends September 1.

The Nick Teddy Foundation was established in 2012 in loving memory of Port Byron native Nick Strub, who died in November 2011 of complications of Ewing's sarcoma. This pediatric bone cancer currently affects children in the Quad City area.

Last year, the Foundation's 2012 "Nick Teddy Fight Against Ewing's Sarcoma 5k" registered more than 450 runners and raised over $17,000 to be used exclusively for Ewing's sarcoma research. The Teddy Bear Drive is an additional effort to provide support to hospitalized pediatric patients, and to area children dealing with the after-effects of cancer and other distressing family events.