PRESIDENTAL CONNECTIONS

Election Day is upon us. 

In the past 244 years, the United States has had 58 Presidential Elections. Illinois became a state in 1818: 42 years after the birth of the U.S. and Chicago was founded 15 years later. Although it missed out on the early elections, the state has been an integral part of the nation's history.

In 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected 16th President Of The United States. Although he was born in Kentucky, Illinois became his home in 1832. Lincoln lived in Springfield, and he was nominated as the  Presidential candidate at the 1860 Republican Convention in Chicago. After his assassination in 1865, Lincoln's funeral procession moved through Chicago and what would later be known as Grant Park was used as a staging area for the event.

Ulysses S. Grant was elected President in 1868. Born in Ohio, Grant lived in Galena, Illinois at the time of his election. A national hero, Grant has many monuments in the state and the downtown Grant Park, "Chicago's front yard", was named for him.

Ronald Reagan, the United States 4oth president, wa elected to the office in 1980. He was born in Tampico, Illinois, grew up in Dixon, and attended Eureka College in Eureka Illinois. He left the state in 1932.

The 44th President was Barack Obama. Born in Hawaii, Obama moved to Chicago in the 1980's and was elected in 2008.  His victory rally took place in Grant Park.  

The Obama family still owns their home in the Chicago neighborhood of Hyde Park.

The current office holder, Donald Trump, was elected as the 45th President in 2016. He  has no real connections to the state of Illinois. However, he does have a building in the middle of downtown Chicago. The site of the former Sun-Times newspaper building, The Trump Tower is now a recognizable feature of the Windy City's skyline and will be for the foreseeable future.

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