SHELBYVILLE - A life-size statue of Abraham Lincoln preparing to debate Shelbyville attorney Anthony Thornton outside the Shelby County Courthouse has the blessing of the Shelby County Board.

The board approved placing the statue "Let's Debate" on Wednesday morning after a presentation from Shelbyville attorney Whitney Hardy and Decatur artist John McClarey. The statue will be permitted on the courthouse grounds and be covered by the county's insurance policy.

"We're glad the county board agreed," Hardy said.

"Let's Debate" is the project of the Shelby County Lincoln Heritage Committee. The group wants to put a statue at the courthouse and various storyboards around the area celebrating Lincoln's presence in Shelby County, most notably his August 9, 1856, debate with Thornton. They hope the work will be included in Illinois' "Looking For Lincoln" historical project. The statue in bronze and storyboards will cost $150,000.

The Shelby County Board didn't commit any funding to the project, but Hardy expects to ask individual townships to contribute. In addition, the Lincoln Heritage Committee is raising funds from individuals and groups.

McClarey's clay model for the statue is the fourth proposal. This version includes a beardless Lincoln resting his foot on a stone base as he looks towards the courthouse. Thornton, standing behind the leaning Lincoln, gestures to the courthouse. The statue would be placed on the south side of the courthouse on the west side of the main staircase.

"This posturing gives Thornton the preeminent place in the statuary composition due to his initiative in extending an invitation to Lincoln to participate in a 'joint discussion' at what was then the second courthouse of Shelbyville," McClarey said. "Their body language suggests magnanimity of spirit, a leadership quality common to both men. The whole tenor of the meeting is one of friendly as well as serious discussion between two political rivals."

The Rev. David Middleton of Shelbyville was also at the presentation. Middleton plays Lincoln and Hardy plays Thornton during historical debate reenactments staged in Shelbyville. The idea for the reenactments came from the late Patricia Tolly, a Shelbyville city council member and history aficionado who based the original reenactment on a portrait of that debate by Shelbyville artist Robert Root that hangs on the main courtroom wall in the courthouse.

Hardy said Shelbyville's place in Lincoln history is assured. The sixteenth president tried cases and visited Shelbyville at least a dozen times.

Sharon Mosley can be reached at sharonhrnews@yahoo.com.