Abraham Lincoln served as the first attorney for the Bloomington Board of Education, being retained on May 19, 1857 by Board of Education member, Owen Reeves to compel the city to levy a tax providing a school fund. Lincoln was a personal friend of Reeves and fellow Board member C.P. Merriman and seemed a logical choice. Lincoln succeeded in obtaining the necessary levy from the City of Bloomington without litigation. There was no record of payment recorded.
DN-0007081, Chicago Daily News negatives
collection, Chicago Historical Society