Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Sunday was a day for veterans at the Illinois State Fair.

A brief ceremony Sunday afternoon included Illinois Army National Guard Brigadier General Lenny Williams outlining how serving in the armed forces is educational. “Military service teaches us discipline, accountability, and leadership. It teaches how to work with people who may be very different from you. It teaches how to remain calm when circumstances are difficult. It teaches how to make decisions with incomplete information.”

Anthony Vaughn, assistant director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, noted 2026 is the 250-th birthday of the U.S.A. Pointing to the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence – “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” – Vaughn said author Walter Isaacson declared this to be “the greatest sentence every written” – and that is the title of his new book.

Springfield Mayor Misty Buscher read a proclamation to honor Brenda Jefferson’s forty-year career connected to American Legion Post 809 in Springfield.