Illinois: Land of Leaders

PRESIDENTS | State is great for visiting stomping grounds of chief executives

If Barack Obama is elected president, he'll be the country's fourth head honcho to have called Illinois home. You can learn more about the other three -- Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant and Ronald Reagan -- by taking a trip along Illinois' new Presidential Trails.

Each trail is based on landmarks and attractions related to that president's time in Illinois, which spanned more than 30 years in the case of Lincoln.

Grant moved to Galena in 1860 to work at his dad's leather shop. He soon moved on to bigger and better things -- like becoming a Civil War hero and the nation's 18th president.

Reagan lays claim to being the only prez actually born in Illinois, in the town of Tampico near the Iowa border. The Reagan clan bounced around the state before settling in Dixon, which Reagan considered his hometown. I consider it a town full of bad swimmers, seeing as how Dutch reportedly saved 77 lives there as a lifeguard.

Capitalizing on this year's election buzz, the Illinois Tourism Bureau on Monday debuted its Presidential Trails at www.enjoyillinois.com.

The Web site includes details about the presidential points of interest, scenic drives, autumn events and bookable "3-Day Getaways" near each of the three trails.

After Nov. 4, the tourism folks just might need to add a fourth.

Illinois' oldest operating hotel located in downtown Galena opened in 1855 and served as Grant's presidential campaign headquarters. Lincoln was a guest here, too; (815) 777-0090; www.desotohouse.com.

Galena residents gave this Italianate home as a gift to Grant when he returned a Civil War hero in 1865. Grant lived here during his 1868 presidential campaign, visiting for the last time in 1880. Costumed guides give tours twice a day, Wednesday-Sunday, from April through October; (815) 777-0248.

Reagan's former middle school is now a history and research center that includes a Reagan history room, Reagan movie posters and a large portrait of the Great Communicator -- made entirely out of Jelly Bellys. Open year-round, Monday-Friday; (815) 288-5508; www.dixon historiccenter.org.

Every day until Nov. 1 you can tour the restored home the Reagan family lived in from 1920-23 and stroll through the yard where the 40th president played football and raised rabbits with his older brother, Neil; (815) 288-5176, www.ronaldreaganhome.com.

A dozen log cabins, stores, mills and a school are part of this reconstruction of the village where Lincoln spent his early adulthood and was eventually elected to the Illinois General Assembly after a failed bid in 1832. Interpreters explain what life was like in the early to mid-1800s. Site is open Wednesday-Sunday; (217) 632-4000, www.lincolnsnewsalem.com.

Reagan's alma mater, Eureka College, boasts the largest collection of Reagan memorabilia outside the Reagan library in California. Drop by the nearby Peace Garden, commemorating his 1982 speech dubbed "the Beginning of the End of the Cold War"; (309) 467-6407; www.eureka.edu/campus/museum.htm.

This $145 million complex opened with great fanfare in 2005. The museum continues to impress visitors with its ability to bring the 16th president to life through interactive exhibits, movies and an extensive collection of Lincoln memorabilia; (800) 610-2094; www.alplm.org.

The only home Honest Abe ever owned, it was home to the Lincoln family from 1844 until Lincoln was elected president. Rangers give free guided tours daily of the house, which is at the center of a four-block historic site; (217) 492-4241; www.nps.gov/liho/.

Various Lincoln sites are the backdrop for this 90-minute walking tour that focuses on factual history but weaves in some mysterious lore as well; (309) 221-5579, www.spring fieldwalks.com.