Here's what's open and what's closed on Abraham Lincoln's birthday and Presidents Day

Steven Spearie, State Journal-Register
·3 min read
The Abraham Lincoln statue in front of Union Station on Jan. 25, 2023.
The Abraham Lincoln statue in front of Union Station on Jan. 25, 2023.
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State of Illinois and Sangamon County employees will have the next two Mondays off from work.

That's because Abraham Lincoln's birthday, which is Feb. 12, falls on a Sunday, so it will be observed on Monday.

Feb. 20 is Presidents Day, which is also referred to as George Washington's birthday.

Because Presidents Day is a federal holiday, federal buildings and courts will be closed, and there is no mail delivery. Most banks are also closed.

What's closed Monday for Lincoln's birthday?

State of Illinois offices and courts and Sangamon County offices and courts are closed Monday in observance of Lincoln's birthday.

City of Springfield offices, including Lincoln Library and the administrative offices of Oak Ridge Cemetery, also observe Monday as a holiday but work on Presidents Day. Lincoln Library is open on Sunday and Feb. 19.

What's closed Feb. 20 for Presidents Day?

Federal offices and courts, State of Illinois offices and courts and Sangamon County offices and courts are all closed in observance of Presidents Day.

District 186 schools and offices are closed. The board of education has been moved to 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 21. The board meets at 1900 W. Monroe St.

There are no classes at Midwest Technical Institute on Presidents Day, but offices are open.

Colleges

The University of Illinois Springfield, Lincoln Land Community College, Illinois College and Blackburn College are all open and are in session for both Lincoln's birthday and Presidents Day.

Sangamon Mass Transit District

Sangamon Mass Transit District buses will run regular schedules for both holidays.

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum will have free admission Saturday and Sunday.

The ALPLM is teaming team up with Compass for Kids and Lincoln Library, to host a read-a-thon on Saturday. Community leaders will read their favorite children’s books during the live, day-long event, which can be enjoyed in person or online. The event’s purpose is to collect books and donations for Compass for Kids.

Donors can drop off new books at the ALPLM or Lincoln Library. Books or gift cards can be purchased at the Springfield Barnes & Noble, 3111 Veterans Pkwy., and donated there. Another option is buying an online gift card and emailing it to enrichment@compassforkids.org.

ALA birthday banquet

Author and political insider Sidney Blumenthal will headline the Abraham Lincoln Association Birthday Banquet at the downtown President Abraham Lincoln Hotel at 7 p.m. on Feb. 19.

Blumenthal's five-volume biography, "The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln," is nearing completion with the last two books, covering 1860 to 1865, on their way. Blumenthal's talk in Springfield will address the yet-to-be-published works.

Banquet tickets are $95. Reservations can be made at www.abrahamlincolnassociation.org or by calling (217) 546-2656.

“In the Houses of Their Dead” by Terry Alford.
“In the Houses of Their Dead” by Terry Alford.

Benjamin P. Thomas Symposium

The Benjamin P. Thomas Symposium will be held beginning at 10 a.m. at the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel on Feb. 19.

The luncheon speaker is author Terry Alford ("In the Houses of Their Dead").

The symposium luncheon at the hotel at 12:15 p.m. is $35. Reservations can be made at www.abrahamlincolnassociation.org or by calling (217) 546-2656.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, left, in Springfield on Jan. 19 at the Springfield NAACP building. At right is Rosena Washington, the mother of Earl L. Moore Jr., who was the victim of a Dec. 18 homicide in Springfield.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, left, in Springfield on Jan. 19 at the Springfield NAACP building. At right is Rosena Washington, the mother of Earl L. Moore Jr., who was the victim of a Dec. 18 homicide in Springfield.

Springfield NAACP banquet

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump will address the Lincoln-Douglass Freedom Fund Banquet, sponsored by the Springfield branch of the NAACP, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel at 2:45 p.m. Feb. 19.

Crump is representing the family and estate of Earl L. Moore Jr., the victim of a Dec. 18 homicide in Springfield, in a wrongful death lawsuit.

Tickets are $75. For more information, visit the Springfield NAACP website.

The late playwright and author Ken Bradbury
The late playwright and author Ken Bradbury

'A Springfield Farewell'

“A Springfield Farewell," a play imagining a conversation between Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln before their departure from Springfield for Washington, D.C. in 1861, will be staged at the Lincoln Home Visitor Center at 5:30 p.m. Friday and at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Randy Duncan and Pam Brown will interpret the couple. The play was written by the late Ken Bradbury of Arenzville.

Admission is free.

Contact Steven Spearie: (217) 622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

Bust of Abraham Lincoln
Bust of Abraham Lincoln

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: What's open and what's closed for Lincoln's birthday and Presidents Day