In Freeport, Illinois, just beyond the somnolent downtown, a small park near the Pecatonica River is wedged next to the public library. In the mid-19th century, however, land along the shore stretched ...

JONESBORO, Ill. (KFVS) - The Heartland is steeped in history, and one moment that occurred almost exactly 167 years ago serves as a prime example. In 1858, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas engaged ...

FREEPORT, Ill. (AP) _ This is the 'Pretzel City,' thanks to German bakers who settled here in the 1850s. It's appropriate, given the way a lightweight named Abraham Lincoln twisted up a political ...

Lincoln and incumbent senator Douglas squared off, of course, in the most famous debates in American history. The Illinois encounters would reshape the nation's bitter argument over slavery, transform ...