Next Monday marks 175 years since the Illinois and Michigan Canal opened. A year of celebrations will start. Canal Corridor Association Executive Director Ana Koval says there will be a special speech in three places Monday.
The Abraham Lincoln actor’s events will be in Joliet at 11am, Morris at 1:30pm, and Ottawa at 4pm. The Joliet and Morris events will be at the downtown courthouses in those cities. The Ottawa event will be in Washington Square.
On Wednesday next week, Father Thomas Koys of St. James at Sag Bridge Church in Lemont will deliver a mass as Father Jacques Marquette.
In May, a canal stories series will start with a goal of telling 175 historical accounts linked to people and places along the canal. Koval says people can still submit canal stories and the organization is still researching some suggestions.