Sings go up marking central Illinois as a Lincoln gateway

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (AP) - One central Illinois community is now an official gateway to a collection of counties in the heart of the land of Lincoln.

The (Bloomington) Pantagraph (http://bit.ly/2duw3s7) reports that signs along interstates are now up marking the Bloomington-Normal communities as gateways to the 42-county Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area. They inform motorists that they're entering a national heritage region closely associated with the 16th president.

The chairman of the Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition board of directors, Guy Fraker, says many of Lincoln's allies that played central roles putting him in the White House were from Bloomington. The director of Bloomington-Normal Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Crystal Howard, adds that the signage should boost efforts to attract more tourists.

The other designated gateway communities include Alton, Quincy, Danville, Charleston and Springfield.

___

Information from: The Pantagraph, http://www.pantagraph.com