Land of Lincoln, Built for Tomorrow

How Abraham Lincoln’s idea of legacy shapes responsible development in Illinois communities

This reflection was originally published in Sea Isle News in recognition of Presidents’ Day. You can read the full third-party feature here.

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Responsible development in Illinois is rarely about the moment in front of you. In Illinois and in communities across the country, it means making land use, infrastructure, and financial decisions that will define a place long after the decision is made. The meeting ends. The applause fades. What remains is the lasting impact of choices made in council chambers and committee rooms, often under pressure and always under scrutiny.

Presidents’ Day brings Abraham Lincoln back into focus, but not merely as a historical figure. Lincoln once wrote, “I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true.” That distinction between winning and being true is not philosophical rhetoric. It is practical guidance for public leadership. Winning is immediate. Truth is lasting. Responsible development in Illinois demands the latter.

Lincoln believed in infrastructure and economic expansion. He supported railroads and policies that connected markets across Illinois. He defended the Union and the rule of law. But he also understood consequence. He understood that leadership is measured not simply by what is built, but by what endures.

For James Vasselli, a municipal attorney in Illinois who advises cities and villages on land use and development, Lincoln is not an abstract symbol revisited once a year. “I like President’s Day,” he has said. “It’s Illinois. Land of Lincoln.” The remark may sound casual, but it reflects something more substantial. Illinois operates under one of the most complex systems of local government in the country, with layered authority, home rule powers, special districts, and intergovernmental agreements that make every decision technical and consequential. Understanding the scope and limits of home rule authority is central to responsible development in Illinois. That complexity is not theoretical for Vasselli. It is the terrain he navigates daily.

Lincoln’s legacy is not confined to history books. It lives in the framework of governance that municipal lawyers, elected officials, and public administrators work within every day in the state Lincoln helped shape and the nation he helped preserve. Lincoln serves as a reminder that decisions made for a community outlive the people who make them. The central question is whether leaders are strengthening the future or merely satisfying the present.

The Weight of Legacy

Presidents’ Day often prompts reflection on legacy. In local government, however, legacy is not measured in statues or speeches. It is measured in debt schedules, infrastructure commitments, maintenance obligations, and land use approvals that shape daily life for decades.

When asked how leaders should think about legacy, Vasselli is direct: “The decisions aren’t their own. We have to think about the village’s children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Twenty years is a short time frame for a city or village.”

Responsible development in Illinois is not simply what a community builds. It is what it obligates future residents to carry. That obligation often includes financial commitments and tax decisions that require disciplined oversight and clear proof, not promises.

Lincoln governed with the knowledge that history would judge his decisions. Local officials leave something quieter but no less enduring: financial statements, zoning maps, and capital plans that continue shaping communities long after today’s leaders have left office.

The real test is whether a decision will still make sense when its architects are no longer there to defend it.

The Temptation of the Clever Deal

In municipal work, the difference between being bound to win and being bound to be true is not academic.

“The cute quick deal is nice for your ego,” Vasselli has observed. “But the transparent one that people are on board with is really the one that you want.”

Short term political wins can be seductive. Ribbon cuttings photograph well. Announcements generate excitement. But when development becomes performance rather than stewardship, credibility is placed at risk.

Leaders who chase approval instead of durability ultimately lose trust. And once that trust erodes, rebuilding it is far more difficult than earning it in the first place. Lincoln understood that authority without trust cannot stand. In local government, trust is the foundation that allows growth to occur responsibly.

Courage and Guardrails

Growth requires courage, but it also requires discipline — a principle we have previously explored in our discussion on strategic restraint in municipal governance.

Lincoln was not opposed to economic expansion. As a railroad lawyer, he understood the transformative power of infrastructure. Yet he was measured in his approach.

Vasselli echoes that balance when advising municipal clients. “First, we have to make sure we’re compliant with all laws and regulations. Full stop. Second, you need the right team in place that can operate at warp speed.”

Speed is not the enemy. Incompetence is. “You can’t allow speed to cloud your judgment.”

Local leaders today face urgency from multiple directions, including public pressure, market timelines, and heightened scrutiny. Fear may enter the room, but fear, when used correctly, is a tool for caution, not paralysis.

Responsible development in Illinois moves forward. It simply moves forward with structure, legal compliance, and expertise at the table.

Ego and Restraint

Ego poses a different risk.

Vasselli recalls a municipality that built an unnecessary new village hall, financed through bonds that financially strained the community for years. It was, in his words, built “for ego and vanity rather than prospect.”

Lincoln rejected vanity politics and carried the moral weight of decisions instead of chasing admiration. In local development, ego can disguise itself as vision.

Responsible development asks fundamental questions. Is this necessary? Is it sustainable? Who will pay later?

If the answer is future residents, leaders must be certain the benefit justifies the responsibility.

Development as Discipline

Development is never a single vote. It is a system.

Lincoln surrounded himself with strong voices and competing perspectives because he understood that strength comes from discipline, not uniformity. Municipal development similarly requires coordination across ordinances, approvals, financing, infrastructure planning, and public engagement.

Vasselli often describes it as a painting: multiple colors working together in balance, not too much and not too little, to produce a stable and successful outcome.

Responsible development in Illinois is orchestration, not improvisation.

The Currency of Trust

Trust underpins all of it.

Lincoln governed a fractured nation and knew that trust, once broken, is difficult to restore. “Deposits can be made daily,” Vasselli has said, “but one withdrawal takes out the whole balance.”

When residents feel development is happening to them rather than with them, resistance grows. Transparency, communication, additional hearings, accessibility, and active listening are not symbolic gestures. They are foundational to constructive conversation in local government.

Lincoln did not govern with universal agreement. He maintained legitimacy through disciplined transparency and fidelity to principle. Municipal leaders face the same responsibility today.

The Human Dimension

For all the scale and complexity of municipal development, its most meaningful impacts are often personal.

When asked what development decision made him most proud, Vasselli did not cite a major commercial project or bond issuance. Instead, he spoke of helping a single mother renegotiate a short sale so her children could move into a stronger school district.

“What really made me the happiest,” he said, “was that I changed the family and the trajectory for two little boys.”

That is the human dimension of responsible development. Not square footage. Not tax increment charts. Not ribbon cuttings.

Trajectory.

Communities are not built in headlines. They are built in futures.

The Unfinished Work

If Lincoln were advising a board on a major project today, the guidance would likely be measured: be careful, be diligent, and do not allow fear to dictate decisions. Leadership requires courage, but it also requires restraint.

Responsible development in Illinois is not anti growth, anti risk, or anti change. It is pro future, pro law, and pro community.

At Gettysburg, Lincoln reminded the nation that it is for the living to be dedicated to unfinished work.

Local government is unfinished work. Every zoning map. Every bond issuance. Every infrastructure decision. Each one continues something that began before and will extend beyond the present generation.

Presidents’ Day is not simply remembrance. It is a reminder of responsibility.

The enduring question is not whether a project moves quickly or receives applause. The enduring question is whether its impact will strengthen the community long after the moment has passed.

That is the true measure of responsible development in Illinois.

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A first-person version of this piece is also available on Medium.