By TESA CULLI
tesa.culli@register-news.com
MT. VERNON — Residents crowded onto the grounds of the 5th District Appellate Courthouse and lined the streets surrounding the historic building to dedicate and witness the unveiling of a 9-foot-tall bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln.
“We’re here because on Feb. 12, 1809, a child was born in a log cabin in Hardin County, Ky.,” 5th District Appellate Justice Bruce Stewart said in his welcoming remarks to the crowd. “This courtroom has been continuously used by the court since its completion in 1854. Lincoln appeared in court at this courthouse. ... It’s unique in that it is the only remaining courtroom in which Lincoln tried a case that continues to be used as a courtroom.”
Illinois State Bar Association President Jack Carey, said it is “fitting and proper” that the courthouse be the place for the commencement of celebrations held throughout the state commemorating the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birthday.
“Lincoln, first and foremost was a trial lawyer,” Carey said.
Artist Alan Cottrill said he designed the statue to pay tribute to Lincoln as he appeared when he was an attorney representing the Illinois Central Railroad and argued his case at the courthouse on Nov. 18 and 19 of 1857.
“It’s a standing pose, as he may have appeared leaving the courthouse after arguing the case,” Cottrill said. “Lincoln was tall and gawky, and I tried to leave some of his gangliness in Lincoln and instill a certain nobleness in his face.”
Local attorney Mark Hassakis, who chaired the Mt. Vernon Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Committee which was comprised of members of the City of Mt. Vernon, Downtown Mt. Vernon Development Corporation, Art in the City and Mt. Vernon Tourism, said the committee had “grandiose” plans that were able to be brought to fruition by the help of the committee and area residents.
“This piece of art touches children and older adults alike,” Hassakis said. He spoke of an elderly woman whose son found her counting pennies at her dining room table and told him she was saving pennies for the Lincoln statue. Hassakis applauded the efforts of youth from St. Mary’s Grade School and Becky Deaton’s second grade class at the Primary Center for holding penny drives to help earn the funds for the sculpture.
“That’s the kind of spirit that has run through Mt. Vernon and this area,” Hassakis said.
As part of the events surrounding the dedication, the Illinois Supreme Court heard arguments in the courthouse for the first time in 111 years. Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Fitzgerald thanked the community for inviting the court to be back in Mt. Vernon.
“The last time we were here, it was the end of the 19th Century,” Fitzgerald said. “We’ve returned now, at the beginning of the 21st Century. Thank you for having us back.”
Fitzgerald said the case Lincoln argued in Mt. Vernon has been described as “a big tax case. He won it, saved the railroad and the economy of Illinois.” The Chief Justice said things haven’t changed in the court system very much.
“Yesterday we heard arguments on a case involving a utility,” Fitzgerald said. “It was a big tax case. If the president had been in the back of the courtroom he would have known precisely what the case was about and could have quickly prepared to represent either side.”
Fitzgerald emphasized the importance of the Appellate Courthouse and Lincoln to the city.
“He was here,” Fitzgerald said. “He was in this place. He was hearing a case, just like the case we heard yesterday. Abraham Lincoln is, and was, our colleague. We can learn so much about how we should be from him.”
