SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — President Obama's presidential announcement is now cemented in history on the grounds of the old Illinois state capitol.
On Thursday, Nov. 30, Gov. Pritzker, state lawmakers and others dedicated a historical marker on the grounds of the Old State Capitol in Springfield to commemorate President Barack Obama’s 2007 and 2008 presidential campaign announcements from the building’s lawn.
“On Feb. 10, 2007, a bright-eyed junior Senator from our great state stood at the Old State Capitol to begin his journey to the White House by laying out his vision for the United States: a vision where change was possible, progress was near, and hope would prevail above all,” said Governor Pritzker.
An estimated 17,000 people gathered on that day to watch Obama make his announcement. Eighteen months later, on August 23, 2008, Obama returned to the same site to announce that then-Senator Joe Biden would be his running mate.
“Then-Senator Obama recognized the relevance of the Old State Capitol to today’s world when he came here to make his two historic campaign announcements, and we honor him today not in spite of this building’s historic past but because of it," said David Joens, president of the Old State Capitol Foundation.
Obama chose to make his presidential announcement in Springfield because it was a reflection on the lessons he learned while working as a state legislator.