Illinois

Illinois

President: Abraham Lincoln

Start Point: Chicago - 11km Walk (YR1915) and Jan 1-Dec 31

Sponsoring Club: AVA-IL, Illinois Volkssport Association

History Lesson: Wigwam - May 15-19, 1860. The Republicans were the first political party to meet in Chicago. Favorite son Abraham Lincoln captured the nomination on the third ballot in the original "Wigwam." Located at Lake and Wacker, the wooden hall was built in six weeks. It was finished just in time for the convention and furnished with chairs borrowed from Chicagoans' homes.

President: Harry Truman, Warren Harding

Start Point: Chicago - 11km Walk (YR0783) Jan 1-Dec 31

Sponsoring Club: AVA-IL, Illinois Volkssport Association

History Lesson: Blackstone Hotel - President's Hotel 636 S. Michigan Avenue. And while the history made inside the former high-end Michigan Avenue hotel right now lies dormant, efforts to convert the building into luxury residences are conjuring the ghosts of American presidents. Located at Michigan and Balbo, the Blackstone hosted a dozen U.S. presidents before it was shuttered in 1998 due to code violations. And if you've got $7.95 million, the Blackstone's Presidential Suite--where Commanders-in-Chief ranging from Teddy Roosevelt to Jimmy Carter kicked off their shoes--could be yours.
Or maybe you'd prefer the Smoke-filled Room--the original smoke-filled room. Located on the Blackstone's eighth floor, the Smoke-filled Room got its name--and launched a cliche--in 1920. Politicos who had gathered in town for the Republican National Convention convened a private meeting to choose Warren G. Harding as the party's nominee. As the meeting ended, and the king-makers came shuffling out of the room, so too did a cloud of cigar smoke. A reporter from the Associated Press was standing nearby and wired a dispatch that read: "Harding of Ohio was chosen by a group of men in a smoke-filled room." Thus was born an American political saw.
One floor up from the Smoke-filled Room, the Grecos showed off the Presidential Suite--a set of three rooms that served as the Second City's presidential headquarters from 1910 until President Carter's last stay. A plaque on the wall lists those who've spent the night away from the White House.
"It's probably the only private building where two presidents were selected," Greco said.
In fact, the second left a larger mark on history than the first. In 1944, Franklin Roosevelt, calling from his whistle stop train, was told by an aide calling from makeshift party headquarters in Blackstone suite 708-09 that stubborn fellow guest Harry Truman was reluctant to be nominated as FDR's running mate. The president blasted back, "Well you tell him if he wants to break up the Democratic Party in the middle of the war and maybe lose that war, that's up to him."
"Roosevelt convinced Truman," John Greco said. "One month after the inauguration, Roosevelt died, and Truman became president. The actual decision to go with him happened here."

President: Abraham Lincoln

Start Point: Springfield - 10km Walk (YR058) Jan 1-Dec 31

Sponsoring Club: AVA-IL, Illinois Volkssport Association

History Lesson: This route passes many historical sites: Lincoln's Tomb, Illinois Vietnam Veterans Memorial, State Capital, Dana Thomas House, Lincoln's Home and Lincoln-Herndon Law Office. Note: ID card required to enter Capital Building.

Updated March 21, 2005