sites

Ulysses S. Grant Home 500 Bouthillier St., Galena; go to granthome.org or call 815-777-3310.

Ulysses Suites

214 S. Bench St., Galena; 303-8835694 or info@ulyssessuites.com; www.ulyssessuites.com/ — Seven rental suites, including a Presidential Suite as a tribute to Grant, in the J. G. Schmohl building (built around 1850 and housed the Grant Hotel from 1895 to 1932).

Desoto House Hotel

230 S. Main St., Galena; 800-343-6562 or 815-777-0090; desotohouse.com —

Opened in 1855, the oldest operating hotel in Illinois was once home to Grant’s presidential campaign headquarters, in rooms 209 and 211.

Matt Zumdahl

It may not seem like it at first glance, but Herbert Hoover’s early stomping grounds are actually closer to Lake Carroll than Lincoln’s.

Born in West Branch, Iowa which is about a 45-minute drive west of the Quad Cities — Hoover lived in the quiet village from his birth in 1874 to 1885, when he moved cross-country to Oregon. Hoover wore many hats in national government before his election to the presidency, but he would find a place in the history books as the man in the Oval Office as the country spiraled into a Great Depression.

Despite Hoover’s place in history, West Branch remembered him well enough to preserve his neighborhood from his days living there. Hoover had such great admiration for his hometown that he chose it to be the location of both his official Presidential Library and Museum and his burial plot on the museum site.

The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum is where his official papers are, and where many mementos of his public and private life are located within museum exhibits. Hoover’s pre-presidential life took him to places from China, where he owned a gold mine during the Boxing Rebellion in 1900, to Belgium, where he was chairman of a commission for food relief during World War I.

201 Parkside Drive, West Branch, Iowa; go to hoover.archives.gov or call 319-643-5301.

MULE™ PRO LINE OF CAPABILITY AND STRENGTH

Freeport Kawasaki

3086 Route 26 N. Freeport, IL 61032 815-235-7549

FreeportHondaKawasaki.com

KAWASAKI CARES: READ OWNER’S MANUAL AND ALL ON-PRODUCT WARNINGS. ALWAYS WEAR PROTECTIVE GEAR APPROPRIATE FOR THE USE OF THIS VEHICLE. NEVER OPERATE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF DRUGS OR ALCOHOL. PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT. THE KAWASAKI MULE™ SIDE X SIDE IS AN OFF-HIGHWAY VEHICLE ONLY, AND IS NOT DESIGNED, EQUIPPED OR MANUFACTURED FOR USE ON PUBLIC STREETS, ROADS OR HIGHWAYS. OBEY THE LAWS AND REGULATIONS THAT CONTROL THE USE OF YOUR VEHICLE. ©2019 KAWASAKI MOTORS CORP., U.S.A.

The president whose birthplace is nearest Lake Carroll is Ronald Reagan, whose ties to both his birthplace of Tampico and hometown of Dixon are well-celebrated in both communities.

Reagan was born Feb. 6, 1911, above a downtown tavern in Tampico. In 1914, the Reagans then moved away and lived in Chicago, Galesburg and Monmouth before returning to Tampico in 1919. In 1920, they moved to Dixon and lived in several houses, including one at 816 S. Hennepin Ave., which would later become the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home.

At Dixon High School, Reagan participated in many sports and activities, with football becoming his favorite. As a varsity football player, his travels took him to schools in the Rock River Valley

Conference for games on the gridiron in cities such as Sterling, Rock Falls, Rochelle, Morrison and Mount Morris. Reagan graduated from high school in 1929 and from Eureka College in Eureka in 1932. During his time in high school, and after, Reagan worked a summer job as a lifeguard at nearby Lowell Park for seven years, where’s he’s said to have rescued 77 people from the Rock River.

Reagan’s sports interests helped launch his acting career, which helped launch his political career. After graduating from Eureka, Reagan was hired as a sportscaster for WOC-AM for Big Ten Conference college football games. That gig didn’t last long before Reagan joined WHO-AM in Des Moines in 1933, where he broadcasted Chicago Cubs baseball games based on transmitted play-by-play.

Reagan made several visits back to Dixon and Tampico before his retirement from public life in the early 1990s.

Birthplace of Ronald Reagan

111 S. Main St., Tampico; go to tampicohistoricalsociety.com/R Reagan Birthplace Museum.html or call 815-622-8705

Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home

816 S. Hennepin Ave., Dixon; go to yaf. org/dixon-reagans-boyhood-home or call 815-288-5176

Reagan Statue

Heritage Crossing Riverfront Plaza on River Street in downtown Dixon — A bronze statue of Reagan on horseback

Dixon Telegraph Museum

113 S. Peoria Ave. Dixon; 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Tuesday-Thursday; housed in the Dixon Telegraph office, this mini-museum features photos and other items relating to Reagan’s time in Dixon.

Dixon Historic Center

Fifth Street & Hennepin Avenue, 815-2885508 — Housed in a former school that Reagan and his brother, Neil, attended, the restored building features displays and artifacts on Reagan’s life. Future displays will include Smithsonian traveling exhibits.

Other sites have links to Reagan, from the library that issued him his first library card to his family’s church. Go to dixongov.com/dixon-community/reagans-roots.html for a list recent president had several real estate holdings in Chicago for many years, but his most prominent one is a 92-story hotel, Trump International Hotel and Tower, which is the second-tallest building in the city.

Obama’s life in Chicago took him from community organizer on the city’s South Side to Illinois State Senator. Since Obama’s presidency was rather recent, not many permanent places have been established to honor his legacy, but that’s changing. The Barack Obama Presidential Center (artist concept sketch, below) is under construction in the Jackson Park neighborhood, near the Museum of Science and Industry. The Center is scheduled for completion in 2025.

In 2015, the Chicago Tribune published a guide of spots important to Obama’s life in the Windy City; some locations include ...

1400 E. 53rd St. — The Baskin-Robbins where Obama and the former Michelle Robinson had their first date in 1989.

5234 S. Blackstone Ave. — The barber chair that Obama sat on at the Hyde Park Barber Shop for haircuts is on display.

532 W. 95th St. — The former location of the Trinity United Church of Christ, where Barack and Michelle married on Oct. 3, 1992.

6300 E. Hayes Drive — Where Obama played pickup basketball games while living in Chicago.

5046 S. Greenwood Ave. — The Obamas’ current home.

The hotel was originally planned to be the tallest building in the world when first conceived in 2001, but that plan was scrapped after the Sept. 11 attacks. In 2004, Trump also hosted a TV series, “The Apprentice,” and its first-season winner, Bill Rancic, was tabbed to lead the hotel’s construction, which was completed in 2009.

With 339 rooms, the building is home to the tallest occupied space in the city, having surpassed the John Hancock Center upon completion. Upon Trump’s election to the presidency, the hotel’s ownership under The Trump Organization name was led by his sons Donald Trump, Jr. and Eric Trump.

Rhett Coatney

Financial Representative

Rhett Coatney

Financial Representative

105 S Broad St Lanark, IL 61046 rhett.coatney@countryfinancial.com

815-493-2544

Insurance and Financial Services

“COUNTRY Financial®” is the marketing name for the COUNTRY Financial family of affiliated companies (collectively, “COUNTRY”), which include COUNTRY Life Insurance Company®, COUNTRY Mutual Insurance Company®, and their respective subsidiaries, located in

1020-568HC_16697-2/1/2023