MT. VERNON — As part of a ribbon-cutting celebration commemorating a new sculpture of Abraham Lincoln during his young attorney days, the Illinois Supreme Court will not only be in attendance for the event at the Appellate Courthouse here in September, but it will also hear at least one case prior to the ceremony.

And the judges will meet in the only active courtroom where Lincoln practiced and appeared, according to Mark Hassakis, Mt. Vernon Lincoln Bicentennial Committee Chairman.

“This may be the first of Supreme Court visits [to the Appellate Courthouses],” remarked Hassakis, who added that with discussion of plans to renovate the courthouse in Springfield, the justices may see this as an opportunity to visit all the appellate courthouses in the state. “We’re the first visit,” he said.