Ravinia Music Festival – Highland Park, Illinois 
            Nationwide commissioning of up to ten chamber music compositions each embedded with or framed by words of Lincoln.  Performances in schools and public venues will enhance the historical and artistic landscape of Illinois.  Commissioned pieces will be performed by Ravinia’s Steans Institute for Young Artists alumni as part of its Touring Program in presentations at elementary and high schools and public concerts throughout the state.  Ravinia will implement a competition that will award commissions to the winners with a special emphasis on Illinois composers.

Lincoln-Douglas Debate Site – Alton, Illinois
            Provide interpretative signage to nine sites with Lincoln historical significance around the greater Alton area including the existing debate site monument and to promote significant stories that transcend into the larger Civil War history.

Lincoln-Douglas Debate – Jonesboro, Illinois
Two statues to be the initial centerpiece of the Jonesboro Lincoln-Douglas Debate to create interest and general additional funding for courtyard, interpretative signs, interpretative center and further projects.  This low-income area will benefit culturally, educationally and monetarily from the statues and attraction they will generate.  Jonesboro is the only Lincoln-Douglas Debate Community without statues.

Lincoln-Douglas Debate – Quincy, Illinois
Quincy legacy project initiative involves improvements to the site of the 6th debate between Lincoln and Douglas.  Enhancements to the site include adding a raised limestone base to the existing monument; a plaque bearing information regarding the monument’s history and sculptor will be added.  New flag poles illuminated from below and bearing the Illinois flag and the 1856 U.S. flag will be installed on either side of the redeveloped site. 

Prairie Fire – WILL-TV – Urbana, Illinois 
            WILL-TV’s series of features on Lincoln’s life on the Eighth Judicial Circuit.  Interview of historians and re-enactments will tell the story of Lincoln and his fellow lawyers in the 1850’s.  WILL-TV’s audience includes the cities of Decatur, Champaign-Urbana, Springfield, Charleston, Mattoon, Bloomington/Normal and Danville.  The features will be distributed to a national PBS audience. 

Lincoln Road Scholars – Illinois Humanities Council – Chicago, Illinois
            This project targets small to mid-sized nonprofit organizations without a significant programming budget, without access to humanities scholars, and/or without a development staff.  This project will especially target these humanities programs in communities of 2,500 populations or less.  Project will produce, market and enhance a two-year, six person roster of Lincoln-related humanities programs.  The Bicentennial Commission will fund one year of the two year proposed program.  Communities will be able to offer high quality humanities programs, free of charge. 

Menard County Tourism Council – Petersburg, Illinois
            Partial funding of this program will assist in the development and coordination of program and touring map that tells the story of Lincoln’s life in Menard County.  The full project will catalogue, map and coordinate the Menard County Lincoln Sites with those established historical and cultural assets within the region.  It will serve to protect and preserve the actual Lincoln history that is captured in artifacts and architecture.  The portion to be funded by the Illinois Bicentennial Commission is for other costs related to this project: site interpretation, signage, multi-media equipment and programming. 

Black Metropolis Convention & Tourism Council – Chicago, Illinois
            This Stephen Douglas community is primarily an African American neighborhood involved in developing Bronzeville as an international cultural heritage tourism destination.  Develop interpretative materials to promote and educate the current generation on Camp Douglas and its role in the Civil War, the Soldiers Home, the Stephen A. Douglas Monument and Tomb; Confederate Soldiers Mound; Douglas Elementary School; and Griffin Funeral Home of Confederate Soldiers Tributes & Relics.  Funding will also be used for street banners, web page development and event programs.

Lincoln Douglas Debate Site – Freeport, Illinois
            Funding to assist the community to continue its enhancement of the debate site.  Enhancements include: creation of 13 wayside exhibits; updating of paving of streets and walkways; additional lighting, benches; landscaping.  The enhancement program is designed to create an environment in which visitors and tourists can gain an appreciation of the events surrounding the Lincoln-Douglas debates.

Land of Lincoln Statewide Read – in cooperation with Northern Illinois University,
DeKalb, Illinois and partnering with the Illinois Library and Information Network
Patterned after the “city wide reads” program in Washington, D.C. and Chicago, the program will recommend that readers across the state, through their local libraries, participate in reading Richard Carwardine’s book, Lincoln; A Life of Purpose and Power.  A study guide pamphlet will be sent to libraries statewide; prepare a list of Lincoln scholars who are willing to travel to venues across the state to present lectures and host book discussions.  Readers are encouraged to visit the locations in the book.  The author will be invited to participate in a panel discussion.

Lincoln Log Courthouse – Macon County, Illinois
            Repair of roof and replacement of rafters on this historic landmark, the only log courthouse where Abraham Lincoln practiced law in a young lawyer.  The log cabin is used for many interpretative and educational programs in Macon County.

Early American Museum – Mahomet, Illinois
            Creation of DVD featuring Abraham Lincoln’s life as an attorney traveling the 8th judicial circuit –focusing specifically on Champaign County and east central Illinois.  Replication of DVD will be disseminated to educators, museum and courthouse visitors and tourists throughout central Illinois. Funding is also requested to update the A/V equipment in the Early American Museum which will allow the DVD to be presented in a format to be fully appreciated by viewers.

Evans Public Library District – Vandalia, Illinois
            Expansion of a project currently underway:  The current project created educational kits for children emphasizing the period that Lincoln served in the Illinois State Legislature in Vandalia.  Additional third grade educational kits and two additional fourth grade educational kits will be created.  They will be available through interlibrary loan through school and public libraries to residents of the State of Illinois.

Vermilion County Museum Society – Danville, Illinois
            Development of exhibit reflecting Lincoln’s life in Vermilion County.   Phase one of the project: the exhibit will be taken into each of the 47 private and public schools in Vermilion County.  In phase two of the project the exhibit will be transported to each of the 9 libraries in Vermilion County.  While in the libraries it will be utilized as part of the summer reading program.  It will be accompanied by handbooks and updated lists of coming events related to Vermilion County Bicentennial and State of Illinois activities.