FILE - In this June 14, 2007 file photo, Abraham Lincoln's iconic stovepipe hat is photographed at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Ill. There's more to a $25 million collection of artifacts related to Abraham Lincoln than a stovepipe hat of questioned authenticity, advocates told a House committee Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018, in a plea for state money to slice the remaining debt and keep the throng of relics in the 16th president's hometown. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman File)
November 13, 2018 - 6:19 AM
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - An Illinois House tourism committee will open the General Assembly's fall session with questions about the future of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum .
The committee on Tuesday will question officials with the museum. Its fundraising foundation wants state tourism money to help pay off $9 million owed on a decade-old loan used to buy Lincoln artifacts. But questions about the authenticity of a stovepipe hat purportedly belonging to Lincoln have created negative publicity .
The fall session scheduled to consider legislation vetoed by the governor runs through Thursday and Nov. 27-29. Lawmakers might take up vetoes of legislation setting the minimum public-school teacher's salary at $40,000 , barring tobacco sales to those under 21 , and raising the limit on awards from the Court of Claims from $100,000 to $2 million.
News from © The Associated Press, 2018