The Weekly Post
Thursday April 19, 2018 Vol. 6, No. 8 Hot news tip? Want to advertise? Call (309) 741-9790
“We Cover The News of West-Central Illinois With A Passion” Serving the fine communities of Brimfield, Dahinda, Douglas, Duncan, Edwards, Elmore, Elmwood, Farmington, Kickapoo, Laura, Monica, Oak Hill, Princeville, Williamsfield and Yates City
Whiskey thwarted plot to rob Lincoln’s Tomb
Area ballots from the March 20 primary election were not very far from the final statewide results, according to the Statements of Cast Ballots reported after canvassing by Fulton and Knox County Clerks and the Peoria Election Commission. The most noticeable difference was in the race for Democrats’ nominaFor The Weekly Post
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FARMINGTON – The City Council on Monday approved an ordinance to offer a residential redevelopment opportunity to city residents who live outside the Tax Increment Financing district to help improve properties and eliminate blight. Inside The Council on • Elmwood High April 2 passed a simi- School will honor lar measure for 90 Elmwood Scholars. Page 7. landowners within TIF boundaries. • Pondering spring “We don’t want to time gardening exclude people who blues. Page 12. live in neighborhoods not in the TIF district,” said City Administrator Rollen Wright. Like the original TIF deal, the new program will reimburse 75 percent of verified expenses up to $2,000 for approved applications, and it will continue through April 30, 2019. The differences are that this program has a $25,000 cap, compared to $50,000 for TIF’s redevelopment plan, and that this program will be For The Weekly Post
Lincoln’s Tomb in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield. Oak Ridge Cemetery is the nation’s second-most-visited cemetery behind only Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. Photo by The State Journal-Register.
They had to spring their money man. “Big Jim” Kennally, a St. Louis Irishman who led Midwestern counterfeiters, according to Thomas J. Craughwell’s book, “Stealing Lincoln’s Body,” brainstormed a solution. They would snatch Lincoln’s body, bury it in the Indiana Dunes, then ransom it for $200,000 and Boyd’s pardon and freedom. His minions in Lincoln moved to Springfield to implement the plan. As a front, they opened a saloon and dance hall – just a block west of the current Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. When the criminals weren’t running the saloon, they posed as tourists to case Lincoln’s tomb. With their preparations finished
Area ballots similar to statewide results By BILL KNIGHT
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Farmington will assist residential refurbishing
CRAZY CRIMINAL CAPER
It was July 3, 1876 – the eve of our country’s first centennial. Everyone in Springfield would be celebrating downtown. No one would be near Oak Ridge Cemetery. It was the perfect time to steal Abraham Lincoln’s body. The incredulous plot was hatched by Midwestern counterfeiters who had been shut down when their expert bill engraver was jailed. Benjamin Boyd’s bills were the best in the Midwest, possibly the country. In 1875, he was captured in Fulton, found guilty, and sent to the Joliet penitentiary for 10 years. Without his plates, the criminals who made and passed the counterfeit bills were out of business.
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tion for Attorney General, where former Gov. Pat Quinn fared better than the lesser-known Chicago State Sen. Kwame Raoul. That said, Republican ballots cast indicate a greater turnout by GOP voters, if not registered voters. Comparing races for Governor and Attorney General, for example, Princeville Precinct 1 and Radnor Precinct 3 had lopsided Republican Continued on Page 14
around mid-June, the Logan County boys relaxed. They spent the night at a Springfield brothel and toasted their upcoming riches. In his well-oiled state, the gang’s leader boasted to one of the ladies that they were going to steal “old Lincoln’s bones” and ransom them. He even told her when. She told the chief of police, who warned John Carroll Power, the tomb’s custodian. He told the Lincoln Monument Association, local friends and peers of Lincoln’s who were in charge of the tomb. They did nothing. In a book he wrote about the crime (“History of an Attempt … ”), Power explains: “It seemed to them so incredible Continued on Page 10
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Primary Election Voting by Weekly Post Precincts Precinct Gov. (D) Gov. (R) AG(D) AG (R) 18th Cong.(D) Auditor Peoria Co. Board 16 (R) (# Ballots Cast) Pritzker/Kennedy Rauner/Ives Raoul/Quinn Harold/Grasso Rodriguez/Deters Rotherham/Thomas Windish/Harding Brimfield (192) 30/23 58/54 22/31 66/35 27/18 39/22 65/50 Elba (74) 9/1 26/16 0/8 19/18 Elmwood 1 (138) 28/14 28/40 9/25 37/22 21/24 26/31 47/22 Elmwood 2 (125) 25/11 31/39 5/20 38/25 19/20 23/23 56/15 Elmwood 3 (154) 22/11 64/37 8/20 55/32 16/23 22/25 69/31 Farmington 1 (114) 24/17 32/24 10/14 34/18 Farmington 2 (33) 7/3 13/7 0/7 8/11 Farmington 3 (42) 16/4 9/10 1/8 5/12 Farmington 4 (36) 11/5 6/12 0/7 6/9 Farmington 5 (122) 38/16 32/21 17/16 25/23 Farmington 6 (86) 33/7 19/15 12/20 15/15 Jubilee 1 (132) 16/18 39/40 6/13 38/27 24/15 18/22 45/30 Jubilee 2 (158) 29/12 40/60 11/19 57/38 21/21 30/15 55/46 Kickapoo 1 (219) 44/20 57/72 14/30 67/45 31/26 35/36 29/24 Kickapoo 2 (202) 37/14 64/65 19/25 65/51 33/19 31/24 37/47 Kickapoo 3 (115) 35/15 35/16 11/23 23/20 20/26 30/28 Millbrook (63) 6/6 17/26 1/8 23/17 10/2 7/8 Princeville 1 (84) 3/4 35/28 3/5 40/18 8/4 9/9 Princeville 2 (118) 23/12 43/29 7/19 37/25 24/8 21/12 Radnor 1 (121) 18/10 39/36 2/18 48/22 18/18 24/13 22/50 Radnor 2 (147) 26/12 42/45 2/19 38/41 28/16 23/30 5/11 Radnor 3 (192) 28/9 78/56 11/17 72/46 25/15 22/24 43/83 Rosefield 1 (147) 12/5 66/42 7/8 54/42 10/10 8/20 75/42 Rosefield 2 (146) 17/7 67/42 5/14 62/34 15/10 14/14 77/35 Salem (223) 41/15 47/30 11/29 39/34 Truro (134) 18/7 34/25 4/9 29/26 -