By Mark Rhoads –
Tonight the nonpartisan Illinois State Society of Washington, DC will host a birthday party for President Ulysses S. Grant who lived for many years in Galena, Illinois. Speakers will include Rep. Cheri Bustos (D) and Rep. Randy Hultgren (R) who represent districts that include parts of Galena.
Grant was born in Ohio but lived with his wife Julia Dent Grant in Galena after his first tour of duty in the Army where he worked for his father's tannery business. Mr. Ulysses Grant Dietz, who is the great-great grandson of President Grant, sent a letter to the Illinois State Society praising the new 2017 biography of President Grant by historian Ron Chernow which Dietz says dispels some myths about the 18th President and accurately reveals his positive role in American history.
The Illinois State Society was founded in 1854 and the president this year is former Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Streator).
