YSEALI PFP Day 14: Illinois State Capitol; Lincoln's Tomb and Having Kids in our Hands

3 May 2019

Woke up early to take a look at the surroundings of where we were staying. Scott and Chris were so thoughtful to have fans placed in our rooms the night before to drown out the noise from the water pumps, which had to drain out underground water to the ponds. None of us were bothered by the water pumps, and had a good deep sleep. 

It was chilly, but the fresh air, serenity and nature were sufficient draw factors to take me out for a jog.

"Why is this stranger running around in my property?"

Bombarded Scott and Chris over the next few days on living in the countryside. One such question was, "How do you clear your thrash?" Households usually separate their thrash into combustible and non-combustible ones. Combustible ones would be incinerated; while the non-combustible ones would be deposited into the thrash bin (see following image) for garbage trucks to collect.

This garbage bin is about 500 metres away from the house. During Winter, it could be a real chore to drive the thrash out.

Attempted to jog along the main road but decided against it since there's no mobile coverage.

Can't see the end of the acres of land behind these woodpiles

A very large pond. The Pearce Ranch sits on a 5-acre land, with the family owning 200 acres of it

Coffee and Bagel, literally

News about the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and Library that we would be visiting the next day

As Angel drove us out to the main road, the dogs were frantically running alongside the vehicle, seemingly doing a send-off to these guests who they had just acquainted. 

Can't imagine the awesome view of the vast land of crops in Summer!

Wall mural of Abraham Lincoln

Breakfast was at Cafe Moxo.

How the cafe got its name

Queuing for breakfast

Mac 'n' Cheese with various toppings

June is Pride Month

Illinois Community College System

Community Colleges, or City Colleges, offer two years programme and students are able to transfer to a four-year university to complete their bachelor's degree, depending on their academic results. 

Illinois Municipal League's building at 500 E Capitol Ave

Illinois Muncipal League

Fireside in the conference room. Cool~

Our first meeting of the day was with Brad Cole, Executive Director, Illinois Municipal League. Brad served as a mayor of Carbondale, Illinois, for two terms and was a former Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor of Illinois. He is also an alumnus of the American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL).

We had learnt about the federal government structure at Washington DC, the City and County's roles in Chicago. Now, we got to learn about the municipalities.

The State of Illinois has the largest number of government units in the United States. Illinois is divided into 102 counties in Illinois, and contains 1,299 municipalities (which include cities, villages, towns, park districts, library districts, school districts and mosquito abatement districts[!!!]). There are 6 cities within Springfield.

The Illinois Municipal League is a state wide association that serves to represent the interests of, and advocate them, on behalf of local municipality governments. Out of the 1,299 municipalities (covering over 13,000 elected officials), 1,268 are members of the Illinois Municipal League, giving it a strong voice and a force to be reckoned with.

The Illinois Municipal League provides training for new elected officials, legal support and representation of municipalities, as well as general resource for mayors. It had already filed 7,000 bills this year at the State level, of which 900 had impact on municipal governments.

We learnt about the Hatch Act amendments of 1993 which allowed federal civil servants to participate in partisan political activities during off-duty hours, and to run for municipality elections without having to resign from their job.

The top three issues facing municipalities were 1) taxes; 2) pensions; and 3) infrastructure.

With the huge mesh of units of government, I asked about the challenges in getting the different stakeholders to reach consensus. Brad shared a good point that this is part of democracy, and that even within two persons, consensus might be hard to reach.

Photo with Brad Cole, Executive Director, Illinois Municipal League

Illinois - the Land of Lincoln

Old Capitol Building

Next meeting was with Katie Davison, Executive Director, Innovate Springfield.

At the lift lobby

Innovation Springfield is Springfield's first university-led business and social innovation incubator. It is part of the University of Illinois Springfield's Center for State Policy and Leadership.

Innovation Springfield aspires to enhance the dynamism of Springfield by nurturing entrepreneurs, so as to create diversity in employment. The main economic activities of Springfield are government; education and healthcare. 

Innovate Springfield provides budding entrepreneurs with affordable rental of space and networking platforms.

Then, we headed for lunch, not before walking pass some of these places:

Interesting menu - would you like to major in Fried Fish and take an elective in Black Beans?

Illinois Association of Park Districts

We were joined by Jennifer Schoats Flack, an ACYPL alumnus. Would never forget the lunch order. The price of the deep dish pizza was the same as that of two slices of pizzas, but... it turned out to be a huge mega pizza.

State Capitol Building

After lunch, we headed to the State Capitol Building to meet Paris Ervin, Director of Communications, Illinois State Treasurer's Office.

Welcome Carpet to the State Capitol

You are not forgotten

 This seat is dedicated to the memory of soldiers who had sacrificed themselves in serving the country

Intricate inner dome 

The State Treasurer is an elected position. The role of State Treasurers varies across different States, depending on their constitutions. For instance, unlike some States, the Illinois State Treasurer does not collect tax or issue payments (those would be done by the State Comptroller).

The State Treasurer's Office runs the I-CASH programme for Illinois residents 

The unclaimed property programme invites Illinois residents to check the I-CASH website once every six months to check if they had unclaimed assets. These could come in the form of unclaimed insurance, assets and savings from banks that were closed down. These assets are stored in the vault in the basement of the State Capitol building. Unclaimed assets would be auctioned off, but should the claimant be found, the cash value would be 100% restored to him/her. Military medals and badges would be stored and never be auctioned.

The State Treasurer's Office also runs insurance and savings schemes for students and their parents; and pools retirement savings with other States to achieve better returns from the economy of scale. The Office invests the State's monies as well.

With Paris Ervin, Director of Communications, Illinois State Treasurer's Office

Just had to do this when you see flags and crest

Some of the unclaimed assets

After the meeting, we joined in the public tour of the State Capitol building.

Illinois State House of Representatives Chamber

Someone within our team asked a very innocent question, "What do the 'U' and 'S' mean?"

That was fodder for laughter for the entire trip

Illinois State Senate Chamber

What a ceiling

Barack Obama served as a Senator of Illinois State from 2005 to 2008 before leaving the Senate for the Presidential Elections

The Governor back then attempted to sell Obama's Senate Seat (since it was vacant, he had the power to appoint a replacement), and got jailed. He would be the only Governor that did not complete his term, and hence did not have a portrait of his in the wall of portraits for former Governors.

Doors to the Senate Gallery

Stephen A. Douglas, the archrival of Abraham Lincoln, in the Presidential Election of 1860

He had debated with Lincoln at the Illinois Senate sessions on slavery. Douglas held the view of popular sovereignty, which meant that each State should be allowed to determine whether to permit slavery within its borders

Adelbert H. Roberts, the first black State Senator

 Lottie Holman O'Neill, the first woman to serve in Illinois Legislature

Governor's Office

Illinois had yet to have a female Governor. The guide quipped that the only female to be included in the portrait was the wife of this Governor (bottom of following image), who appeared in a photograph in the background.

The walls leading to the Supreme Court hung the portraits for all former Governors, except for the one who attempted to sell Obama's Senate seat

Because the inner dome was just too exquisite

Attempting a pose with Lincoln

  

Door handles

A statue of Lincoln in front of a wall with his quotes inscribed

Abraham Lincoln's farewell address as he boarded the train to Washington DC 

In case you can't read the words, "My friends, no one, not in my situation, can appreciate my feeling of sadness at this parting. To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of a century, and have passed from a young to an old man. Here my children have been born, and one is buried. I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of the Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail. Trusting in Him who can go with me, and remain with you, and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well. To His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell."

Martin Luther King Jr

We were due to return to Pearce Ranch but Angel had a great idea, and brought us to Lincoln's Tomb.

Entrance to Oak Ridge

Not sure why rub Lincoln's nose, but gosh, it's really well rubbed and polished

Entrance to the Lincoln's Tomb

A young Lincoln

His farewell address, same as the one inscribed on the wall at State Capitol

Lincoln, his wife, and three of their four sons were entombed here. Robert Lincoln, by the decision of his wife, was buried at Arlington National Cemetry in Virginia

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. 

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. 

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." -- Abraham Lincoln, November 19, 1863

Lincoln's second inaugural address

"The Almighty has His own purposes. ‘Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!’ If we shall suppose that American Slavery is one of those offences which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South, this terrible war, as the woe due to those by whom the offence came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a Living God always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we hope–fervently do we pray–that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said “the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether.

With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan – to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations." -- Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

I'm actually quite tall

A guesthouse beside Lincoln's Tomb

Dinner was at Mimosa, a Thai and Vietnamese restaurant.

"Singapore Rice Noodle"

Teaching Scott, Chris and Angel on using the chopsticks and basic chopstick etiquette

They were good!

Non-hungry people are happy people :D

Back at the Pearce Ranch, our eagerness to see fauna had not escaped our hosts. Scott and Chris gladly invited us to the barn!

Our hashtag - #PearceRanch for the win

Checking out the animals

Donkey and a baby goat

Scott with us and kids in our hands

Scott invited us for movie screening at the basement.

Learning from Scott on setting the fire

Scott is very patient with cityfolks like us, asking everything from the sky to the earth

Can't recall the title of the movie that we watched, but it turned out to be very relevant to our "Governance and Society" theme of our Professional Fellows Program, in that the fictional movie detailed on the murder of a Senator and the investigations following that. We just can't get out of politics, can we :D

Got introduced to the Yuengling beer

Chris' parents, who lived nearby, came over and we had a long night of conversations together. Although we were only 5 minutes in to the movie, everyone had a great evening of learning about one another's countries and culture.

When Chris' parents left, I learnt more about the perspectives of gun ownership for people living in the countryside. Besides using guns for hunting and sports, they were essential for security. I listened intently to how Scott had to fire off his weapons on an occasion where there were intruders. When coyotes attack the farm animals, guns would be most effective in chasing them away.

Upon our request, Scott showed us the rifles and pistols the family uses for hunting. We fully treasured the trust and openness and generousity of the Pearces. Even though I had carried arms during National Service, the tales and experience of this evening would be impressionable and unforgettable.