Hot item today on the New York Times, Fox News and elsewhere is whether the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation paid $6.5 million on a top hat that may not be Abraham Lincoln's after all.
The FBI and experts are questioning whether the claims associated with the hat in the museum are credible.
If the hat is not what it is claimed to be, it could be devastating to the Springfield museum, since the hat is coming closer and closer to being auctioned off.
So Chicago State Rep. Ann Williams is calling a meeting to discuss what happened to the museum's finances and why it is in such dire financial straits:
UPDATE x1 – Second Press Release says now the Committee Chairman has postponed the hearing – no date released at this time.
Press Release: House Committee to Hold Hearing October 12 on Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation
CHICAGO – The Illinois House Committee on Tourism will hold a hearing at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, October 12 at the Michael A. Bilandic Building to review allegations of financial mismanagement on the part of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation (ALPLF), the nonprofit entity tasked with raising money for the taxpayer-supported Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, State Representative Jeanne Ives, R-Wheaton, announced today.
Ives made the announcement after speaking with Representative Ann Williams, D-Chicago, Chairperson of the Tourism Committee. The Committee will also schedule a follow-up hearing in Springfield during the Fall Veto Session of the General Assembly in November.
Recent media reports have highlighted the Foundation’s massive debt and controversy surrounding the authenticity of a stovepipe hat purported to have belonged to Lincoln, which is part of the collection at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield.
“We will work together on a bipartisan basis to get to the bottom of this matter and provide Illinois taxpayers with the transparency and accountability they deserve,” Representative Ives said. “A lot of unanswered questions remain about how the Foundation has managed their funds and how they intend to pay off their debt.”
Representative Ives has also filed legislation, House Bill 5958, to make the ALPLF subject to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Open Meetings Act laws. Doing so would disclose all the Foundation’s financial records and meetings to the public.
