Senator Dick Durbin urged Quincy residents Friday to develop the city's Abraham Lincoln connections and join a Central Illinois effort to celebrate the life of the nation's 16th president.

Durbin gathered with an overflow crowd at the John Wood Mansion to encourage the community's participation in the Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition. This project involves a coordinated effort to tell Lincoln's story through a series of historical exhibits, events and attractions in communities across the middle of the state.

Durbin and his fellow Democratic senator, Barack Obama, and U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Peoria, have introduced legislation to establish the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area. The legislation calls for providing up to $10 million in federal funding over 10 years to make grants available for preservation, education and economic development activities in the heritage area.

Durbin said $500,000 in startup funds already have cleared the Senate and will be considered by a conference committee. If approved, the money should be available Oct. 1 for Lincoln-related projects that have already been identified in the heritage area.

Durbin said he expects the legislation authorizing $10 million in additional funding to be considered soon in both chambers of Congress.

"It's not controversial, so with good bipartisan sponsorship we should be able to get it through the House and Senate," he said.

Passage of the bill would authorize up to $1 million a year in matching funds for assorted Lincoln projects.

Durbin urged Quincy residents to get involved by showcasing the community's ties to Lincoln.

"It's up to you to determine what that is going to be," he said.

Quincy is perhaps best known for being the site of the sixth of seven debates between Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas in 1858 while the two were campaigning for the U.S. Senate. Although Lincoln lost to Douglas in that campaign, the debates thrust him into the national spotlight and ultimately led to his presidential election two years later.

Lincoln also was an ally of John Wood, Quincy's founder and one-time Illinois governor. When Lincoln was running for the presidency,Wood allowed Lincoln to use his gubernatorial office in Springfield as a national campaign headquarters, according to Judith Winkelmann, executive director of the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County, which hosted Friday's program.

Durbin said the recent opening of the new Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield has created a wave of enthusiasm for communities involved in the Looking for Lincoln project.

"Lincoln's life is told from start-to-finish at the Lincoln Presidential Library, but people want to see the real thing," he said. "They'd like to go to the site of the Lincoln-Douglas debate in Quincy. They'd like to go to some of the homes in Pittsfield where Lincoln either visited or had friends living at the time — homes that are still standing. So as you go around this region of the country, you find a lot of reality history. It isn't just telling the story, it's showing people first-hand what happened."

Durbin made stops Friday in Quincy, Pittsfield, Beardstown and Jacksonville to see what each community is doing to develop and promote their Lincoln landmarks.

Former Quincy Mayor Chuck Scholz is heading a committee that's planning a major local celebration in connection with the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth in 2009. Scholz also serves as an advisory member of the national Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission headquartered at the Library of Congress.

Jim Mentesti, president of the Great River Economic Development Foundation, announced Friday that GREDF is donating $5,000 toward the development of Quincy's Lincoln bicentennial celebration and other activities that may become part of the Looking for Lincoln project.

Scholz said the national celebration of Lincoln's 200th birthday is going to be a "huge event" for the country, and he wants Quincy to have a big local celebration as part of the festivities.

He said planning needs to start "right away" because the local committee also will be gearing up for the 150th anniversary of the Lincoln-Douglas debate in 2008. Those festivities, he said, may include a re-enactment of the debate that may be televised nationally.

So far, 41 Illinois counties are involved in the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area. Nicky Stratton, director of the Looking for Lincoln project, said Quincy would make an ideal western "anchor" for the area because of its Lincoln ties — particularly the 1858 debate and the city's role in helping escaped slaves seek freedom through the Underground Railroad.

"You certainly have a Lincoln history," she told the crowd Friday.

Durbin said many communities are jumping on the Lincoln celebration bandwagon because of the pride that's still felt for the lawyer from humble beginnings who went on to become a beloved president during a time of great upheaval in the country.

"The excitement over the Presidential Library in Springfield is contagious," he said.

"There are a lot of people out there who want to be part of this Lincoln experience, and it doesn't have to be confined to Springfield or Washington, D.C. So this gives each community — and particularly those who love history — a chance to participate."