Since we're reading about the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum this week, I would be remiss if I didn't point out it made the news - in a very small way - in the wake of Springfield businessman William Cellini's conviction on charges growing out of the federal investigation into corruption in the administration of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
It came Tuesday (Nov. 1) wjem Kurt Erickson of the Bloomington Pantagraph wrote a sidebar on what some consider to be Cellini's image in a painting in the ALPLM's Civil War exhibit:
State officials say a likeness of William Cellini standing behind Abraham Lincoln in a painting on display at the 16th president's library and museum here will not be removed, despite Cellini's conviction Tuesday on federal corruption charges.Cellini's isn't the only likeness in the paintings. The Pantagraph mentions another" "On a separate mural depicting Washington D.C. when the Civil War ended is a likeness of Cellini's wife, Julie, a key benefactor of the museum and longtime member of the state's historic preservation board." And there's at least one more. Tom Schwartz, Illinois' state historian at the time the museum was built, is also painted into the crowd celebrating the Union victory at the end of the Civil War.
In a testament to the clout Cellini has wielded in state government for years, the 76-year-old Springfield power broker is shown standing over Lincoln's shoulder as the duo wait for vote totals to come in for Lincoln's successful re-election bid in 1864.
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But that's all unofficial.
"The artist and the exhibit designer never divulged the models they used for those paintings," David Blanchette of the Historic Preservation Agency told the Pantagraph. "Some people see a likeness there. Some people don't,"
There's a story on Cellini's verdict in Tuesday's Chicago Tribune by reporters Annie Sweeney, Rick Pearson and John Huston. Their lede gives the gist of it:
William Cellini, Illinois' ultimate political insider who for more than four decades worked quietly behind the scenes to amass wealth and power, was convicted Tuesday for joining an age-old conspiracy scheme that demanded campaign cash for access.It goes on to give one of the more objective accounts I've seen of Cellini's career.
A federal jury convicted the 76-year-old longtime Republican lobbyist and fundraiser of agreeing to use his considerable power at an Illinois teachers pension board to help put the squeeze on a Hollywood producer who wanted to continue to do business with the state.
While such a pay-to-play scheme is sadly all too familiar for Illinois, the conviction of a figure who had built such formidable clout in the background of Illinois politics and government was notable to federal prosecutors who spent the last eight years trying to unravel the criminal actions of the scandal-plagued Blagojevich administration.
2 comments:
Well it seems as though Cellini fits right in with the Illinois politicians. I believe that even though he was guilty and has recently been sentenced, the painting of him and Lincoln should remain in the museum. He is part of Illinois, just as Lincoln was part of Illinois, and the museum represents our state. He is probably thankful that the museum feels simliar to the way I feel about the subject. He seems like he was a hard-working man, and though he had some wrong-doings, he had some positive gestures as well.
Thoughtful comment (more thoughtful than the editorials in the Trib and the Sun-Times)! I was sorry to see that Bill Cellini got caught up in all the mess around Gov. Blagojevich. As you suggest, he did a lot of good for Springfield (Cellini, not what's-his-name). I'm volunteering at ALPLM these days, and I'm going to look for that picture the next time I go in for a shift.
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