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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Moen1305, post: 157516, member: 2544&quot;]You were close Eddy but the building depicted is the Sears Tower not the John Hancock.&nbsp; They do resemble each other though and many people get them mixed up.&nbsp; The Sears Tower is the much taller one.</p><p><br /></p><p>Ryan unveils design for new Lincoln commemorative quarter</p><p><br /></p><p>by Juliet Martinez</p><p>October 08, 2002</p><p><br /></p><p>Gov. Ryan unveiled the design of the new Illinois commemorative quarter Tuesday, showing a young Abraham Lincoln framed by a silhouette of the state and flanked by the Chicago skyline and a farm scene.</p><p><br /></p><p>The coin was designed by Thom Cicchelli, 41, of south suburban Beverly. Cicchelli is a package designer from south suburban Beverly who enters design contests in his spare time.</p><p><br /></p><p>Cicchelli, Gov. Ryan, and Chicago Federal Reserve President Michael Moskow presented the new design at the Chicago Federal Reserve.</p><p><br /></p><p>Cicchelli said his goal in crafting the design was to include Abraham Lincoln in the Land of Lincoln. He called Lincoln this state&#039;s greatest citizen and representative, a symbol of freedom, equality, opportunity and integrity.</p><p><br /></p><p>The commemorative quarter will help Illinois students connect to the state&#039;s heritage, Ryan said. &quot;I am proud that Lincoln is standing boldly in the center of the design. His resolve and example mean a great deal to people in Illinois and around the world.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>Cicchelli said he chose to depict Lincoln as a young man in order to emphasize the beginning of Lincoln&#039;s public service career. The image on the coin is based on a sculpture by Avard Fairbanks that shows Lincoln with a book in one hand and an ax in the other, symbolizing his time in New Salem, Ill., when he decided to abandon his life as a laborer and study law.</p><p><br /></p><p>The statue is located in New Salem, at the New Salem State Historic Site.</p><p><br /></p><p>Cicchelli was accompanied by his mother, Carol Ahrens, and other family members. Ahrens said she found out Monday night that her son&#039;s design had been chosen. &quot;You could&#039;ve knocked me over,&quot; she said. &quot;I was flabbergasted, just flabbergasted. [And] definitely very proud.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>Another Cicchelli design appeared in the &quot;Suite Home Chicago&quot; contest that placed whimsical couches around downtown Chicago.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Illinois quarter is part of the 50 State Quarters Program, a 10-year series of commemorative state quarters. The first was issued in 1999, and five quarters will be issued each year until 2008, in the order of their ratification of the constitution and entry into the union.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Illinois commemorative quarter will be released in January. As the 21st state of the union, Illinois&#039; commemorative quarter will be the 21st of the series.</p><p><br /></p><p>The design was selected from more than 6,000 entries. Major themes in the designs entered included Abraham Lincoln, <span style="color: red">the Sears Tower</span> and prairie plants and animals. A committee of 14 teachers, state personnel and coin experts chose five finalists in April, and then decided on Cicchelli&#039;s design.</p><p><br /></p><p>Our former Gov. Ryan is now doing time in Federal prison rather than selecting state quarter designs.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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