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Senate candidate's supporters insulted
Rick Pearson's October article comparing and contrasting Dick Durbin and Al Salvi (see page 30) wasn't what I expected. I quickly realized that his article was more of a "put-down" towards Salvi supporters than an objective comparison of the two candidates. With such distinct differences between the two, this article could have easily been written without the insults. David Zimmer man Morton

"Lincoln's District" really the current 18th
Michael Hawthorne's profile of the 20th Congressional District and the race between John Shimkus and Jay Hoffman was a very well-written and informative piece (see October 1996, page 26).

It did, though, perpetuate a prevalent myth in the Springfield area that the current 20th District is largely the district that Abraham Lincoln represented during his one term in Congress.

Congressman Lincoln's district was made up of 11 counties in central Illinois. The current 20th District contains only one complete and one partial county that Mr. Lincoln represented.

The remaining nine full and one partial counties make up the heart of the current 18th District, which has 14 counties. The representative for the 18th is Ray LaHood. Even a good chunk of Springfield itself, Lincoln's hometown, is represented by Mr. LaHood.

It is worth noting that the current 18th District has a strong legacy of leadership on Capitol Hill that has extended beyond Mr. Lincoln.

Former House Minority Leader Bob Michel of Peoria represented this district for 38 years. Former Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen of Pekin represented this district before his days in the Senate. The man Dirksen beat for his Senate seat was former Senate Majority Leader Scott Lucas, who hailed from Havana, which is in the 18th. Former Congressman Paul Findley represented and now resides in Jacksonville, which is in the 18th. Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and Congressman Ed Madigan was from Lincoln, also part of the 18th.

I realize that Mr. Lincoln's home lies within the 20th and that it is easy to surmise that it is largely the district he represented, but that is untrue. Much of the district he represented, and many of the areas where he practiced law (Morgan, Cass, Menard, Logan counties) lie well within the current 18th Congressional District.

Tim Butler
Communications director for
U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood Peoria

40 / December 1996 Illinois Issues