Will the "Ask Mr. Lincoln, presented by Julie and Bill Cellini" museum exhibit be renamed?

ALPLM cornerstone

It's very unlikely that the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield could have been built without the efforts of Julie Cellini.

Yesterday, her powerbroker husband, William, was found guilty of two corruption charges in a Chicago federal court; it is likely the last of the trials surrounding disgraced former Governor Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat.

But Bill Cellini was a Republican. Just like George Ryan, whose name is carved onto the cornerstone of the Lincoln museum. He's in prison now.

One of the exhibits at the museum is "Ask Mr. Lincoln, presented by Julie and Bill Cellini." When Little Marathon Pundit were there in 2007, she asked if Tom Hanks was related to our 16th president--Lincoln's mother was Nancy Hanks. "Yes" is the answer, distantly, although the actor is not a descendant of the Great Emancipator, in fact, the Lincoln line has died out.

When I visited the ALPLM web site a few minutes ago, I learned that "Ask Mr. Lincoln, presented by Julie and Bill Cellini" is still online and likely still inside the museum.

Closer to home, the Niles, Illinois village board voted last month to remove the "Blase Plaza" sign in front of its village hall. Its former, mayor Nicholas Blase--an amiable fellow, I've met him--served a year in prison for running a kickback scheme.

If it's good enough for Niles, it should be good enough for Honest Abe.

Julie Cellini, top center?

Oh, the George Ryan cornerstone? That needs to go.

The Cellini couple are believed to have been included in a Lincoln mural in the museum--the ALPLM doesn't acknowledge the likenesses are are in the painting.

I emailed the director of the museum with my questions about the Cellini exhibit.

UPDATE November 5: Prairie State Report has a pic of Bill Cellini with Lincoln.

Related posts:

Last of the Blago trials: Powerbroker Cellini found guilty on two of four counts
Review, Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever
Thirty hours in Lincoln's Springfield, Illinois
"My earliest recollection is of the Knob Creek place"
Abraham Lincoln birthplace site
The only statue of Lincoln in military dress is in Dixon, Illinois
Abraham Lincoln birthplace site's log cabin
Jonesboro, site of the third Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Book review: Andrew Ferguson's "Land of Lincoln: Adventures in Abe's America"

Technorati tags: politics history Americana Reagan Ronald Reagan travel travel blog republican Abraham Lincoln culture Democrats Blagojevich law legal crime cronyism museum Niles George Ryan