SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Schoolchildren in central Illinois and their spare pennies have ensured that a piece of Abraham Lincoln history will return home for the Illinois Bicentennial .
The Illinois Proud Penny Drive in Sangamon County gathered more than 18,000 pennies from 60 schools during a two-week campaign.
The money will go toward purchasing a Sangamon County “minute book” from 1835 to 1838. It contains a statement attesting to Lincoln’s “good moral character” to allow him to practice law.
Leland Grove Republican Rep. Sara Wojcicki Jimenez (woh-JISS’-kee hih-MEH’-nehz) and Illinois Bicentennial commission Rikeesha Phelon (rih-KEE’-shuh feh-LAHN’) announced the totals Tuesday.
Jimenez and Phelon say the Sangamon County Bar Association and Staab Funeral Homes each contributed $1,000 apiece toward the purchase. The document will be donated to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum .
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