•July 11, 2018•

By Lenore Sobota
Of the Pantagraph

Illinois may be known as the Land of Lincoln, but it’s another president with Illinois roots who offers lessons to which people today can more easily relate, say officials of Ronald Reagan’s alma mater.
Reagan graduated from Eureka College in 1932. He went on to become a sports broadcaster, movie and television actor, governor of California and the 40th president of the United States.
“The Reagan story is the quintessential Illinois story,” said Michael Murtagh, the college’s vice president for institutional advancement. “He is a person who came from small-town Illinois and made a difference in the world.”
As noted by Mike Thurwanger, head of the Reagan Leadership Program at the college: “One of the things he offers is the understanding that an individual from humble beginnings can rise to a position where he has an impact on the world.”
While not downgrading the importance of Abraham Lincoln, Murtagh notes: “Lincoln grew up in a log cabin. … People can’t relate to that.”     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.