The Dirksen Congressional Center

10/28/2026

OLLI at Bradley University participants had a blast today speaking with Secretary LaHood during the final session of a four-week course looking at the members of Congress who represented Tazewell County from 1818 through 2009.

Last week, the Dirksen Center provided background for the class on the House tenures of Reps. Everett Dirksen and Harold Velde.

The final week of the course taught by Tazewell County Clerk John Ackerman focused on the tenures of Reps. Bob Michel and Ray LaHood, so who better to hear from than Secretary LaHood himself?

Secretary LaHood also joined an OLLI course last week discussing the current 2026 midterm elections, and the Dirksen Center has been taking a look at Dirksen's historic 1950 (midterm election) Senate race and Michel's historic 1982 (midterm election) House race against challenger G. Douglas Stephens.

(Photo courtesy of OLLI class participant Debbie Helmick.)

10/23/2026

It's a highlight of our October every year when OLLI at Bradley University comes to the Dirksen Center for a tour!

Our visitors had the chance to learn about the 51-year history of the Center as a repository for congressional papers, see some completed oral history projects, learn about the archive, and see displays on Sen. Dirksen's history with civil rights legislation (including the "red line" copy of the 1964 Civil Rights Act) and campaign memorabilia from Sen. Dirksen and Rep. Bob Michel.

(Photos via Dirksen Center and courtesy of OLLI member Bill Poorman)

10/17/2026

Sometimes you never know what familiar names you'll find in congressional records!

Earlier this week we posted about our newly digitized files from Ray LaHood's travels to Lebanon. Included in that series of documents is a letter of thanks LaHood sent to the Marine Corps, acknowledging to a superior officer the help he received on the trip from a lower-ranking military officer who accompanied the CODEL, Maj. Mike Walker.

Such thank-yous were (and still are) a regular part of LaHood's process after events.

This one was addressed to Col. John Kelly.

Sound familiar? Kelly was then serving as the Marine Corps commandant's liaison to Capitol Hill, fresh off his graduation from the National War College. He'd rise to become a four-star general before his retirement, and ultimately serve as White House chief of staff during the first Trump administration.

(Document from Ray LaHood Collection; headshot from public domain.)

10/15/2026

Ray LaHood never served on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. But when it came to the Lebanese diaspora in America – and to his family's ancestral homeland in the hills of Lebanon – the congressman remained active throughout his tenure.

That included frequent travel to the country, work with immigrants and fellow Lebanese Americans, receptions for visiting dignitaries from Beirut, and much more.

We recently finished digitizing hundreds of documents related to LaHood's congressional delegation travels to Lebanon and U.S.-Lebanese relations from 1995-2009. All are accessible on congressarchives.org, the American Congress Digital Archives Portal.

A sampling of the document includes a photo featuring Lebanese American members of Congress posing with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman; a letter from fellow Lebanese American U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall of West Virginia; a partial schedule from LaHood's congressional delegation trip in 1998 for the swearing-in of Lebanon's President Émile Lahoud.

(Photos from Ray LaHood Collection.)

10/09/2026

What did campaigning look like 70 years ago? Here are two scenes from Bob Michel's first election for Congress in 1956.

In the first, candidate Michel gets a little help and youthful energy from the then-current members of his Bradley fraternity, Sigma Nu, on the campaign trail.

While not used nearly as often today, billboards like those in the second image kept the candidate's name front and center in high-traffic areas of the community.

(Photos from Robert H. Michel Collection.)

10/02/2026

What a turnout! Well over 1,000 folks joined WGLT and the Dirksen Center — even on a rainy Thursday — to hear from former U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger.

The Illinois State University alum and former McLean County Board member shared plenty of memories and lots of thoughts about politics, current events, and foreign policy — as well as the importance of defending democracy in the U.S. and around the world.

Attendees got to screen his documentary, "The Last Republican," which focuses on the experiences he, his immediate family, and his congressional staff faced during one of the most divisive times in recent history in the aftermath of the 2020 election and during his service on the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.

The congressman also graciously took some time beforehand to visit with students, educators, and other members of the community — some of whom he's known for nearly four decades!

10/01/2026

Everett Dirksen's story is almost ready for a new generation! Listen to the latest "What's the Story, Pekin?" podcast to hear from children's book author Corrie Salmon and Dirksen Center executive director Tiffany White about the upcoming children's book, "Everett McKinley Dirksen: A Gardener, a Baker, a National Law Maker."

Copies of the book will be available in late October!

What's the Story Pekin? · Episode

09/30/2026

We're just a day away from this exciting event Thursday evening on the ISU campus with WGLT featuring a discussion with former six-term U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger and a screening of his documentary.

Reminder: Admission is free and open to all, no registration is required, but attendees must go through a security screening.

09/28/2026

Did you know this past weekend marked the 70th anniversary of President Dwight Eisenhower's 1956 campaign appearance in Peoria?

Ike's visit for a 30-minute policy address on agriculture came at a fortuitous moment for two local candidates. Sen. Everett Dirksen, seeking his first re-election to the Senate, was singled out by the president as an ally worthy of support just a few short years after Dirksen cast his lot with Eisenhower's 1952 presidential primary opponent. But Dirksen soon became a key White House ally.

Meanwhile, a young Bob Michel was seeking his first term in Congress and received quite a thrill to have his name uttered by the president just a few blocks from his home in the Uplands.

The 8:30 p.m. speech at Bradley University's Robertson Memorial Fieldhouse was before a crowd estimated at 10,000. It came after Eisenhower first was driven through Peoria's downtown to be greeted by a cheering crowd of office workers and families estimated in the tens of thousands.

(Photo from Everett M. Dirksen Collection.)

09/24/2026

We're just a week away from our next big fall event, co-hosting with WGLT a conversation with former U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger and viewing the documentary "The Last Republican."

The event is FREE and open to the public, no advance registration necessary. Click the link to hear more from Congressman Kinzinger about what to expect.

WGLT is excited to host a special event Oct. 1 at ...