Honest Abe and Shoplifting?

I’m embarrassed for Springfield, Illinois after reading the news this morning in the State Journal Register saying that the executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum has been placed on administrative leave for alleged shoplifting at the local Target. I’m more embarrassed to read that Richard (Rick) Beard was caught shoplifting previously at Macy’s in Springfield too in February 2007. How exactly did that first offense get covered up and not reported over a year and a half ago, I wonder? With the upcoming Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration only four months away, this is not the kind of publicity Lincoln’s hometown should be receiving.

Abraham Lincoln and shoplifting just don’t go together in any way, shape or form. I am truly saddened by this news and the shadow it casts on the magnificent Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, the reputation of Abraham Lincoln himself and the city of Springfield. I think I felt the earth tremble this morning, and it wasn’t from another earthquake but instead must have been caused by Honest Abe rolling over in his tomb.