With Illinois among several states declining to send official representatives to an event in Washington backed by President Donald Trump to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary, a central Illinois museum says it volunteered to participate because “Illinois is as much a part of American history as any state.”

Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration said it was not sending any representatives to the “Great American State Fair” event, which starts June 25 and is sponsored by the group Freedom 250, but declined to give a reason. It’s no secret Pritzker and Trump have been ardent political enemies going back to their respective first terms in office.

But state officials said the Peoria Riverfront Museum plans to send a showcase to the 16-day event on the National Mall to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence consisting of, among other things, a pavilion that will highlight Illinois’ contributions to sports, architecture and agriculture, along with a hologram of prerecorded greetings from a number of Illinoisans from all over the state.

“We have a wall that a top graphic designer put together, a beautiful mural wall, sort of from the prairie to the cornfield, from Peoria to Chicago to various aspects of our great state,” said John D. Morris, president and CEO of the museum, which sits along the Illinois River about 130 miles southwest of Chicago. “We have corn stools that the kids will be able to sit on. We have handouts of Abraham Lincoln’s famous ambrotype image taken in Peoria. We were prideful to be able to put that forward and invited people from throughout the state to represent.”

Several other states with Democratic governors also are declining to take part in the event in an official capacity, including Connecticut, Oregon, Rhode Island, North Carolina, Washington and Massachusetts, according to The New York Times and other national news outlets. Some of the states have reportedly declined because of budgetary issues, and at least one has refused amid concerns of the event being too partisan. Vermont, whose Republican governor has been critical of Trump in the past, also is reportedly not participating in the event in an official capacity.

Previously, Trump decided to headline the event with a rally after several of the musical acts that were slated to perform pulled out.

The Riverfront Museum’s participation in the event, and its representation of Peoria, is highly appropriate in representing Illinois at the National Mall, Morris said, citing, for example, Peoria being the site of Lincoln’s speech in October 1854 — six years before he was elected president — when he came out forcefully against slavery, arguing enslaved people were human beings, not animals and, therefore, inherently had natural rights.

It was a speech, Morris argued, that reinvigorated Lincoln’s career and “changed the course of American history.”

“Illinois is as much a part of American history as any state. We’re not a part of the 13 original colonies. We weren’t there writing the Declaration of Independence, but what happens and what has happened in this state is pivotal to the entire country,” Morris said. “Lincoln came to Peoria at the invitation of some citizens in 1854 on Oct. 16, and delivered his first full-throated, all-out antislavery speech. Reinvigorated his political career, and I think it could be fairly argued, changed the course of American history.”

Morris said he learned about the museum’s opportunity to participate in the event about eight weeks ago, and the museum raised about $500,000 to fund its exhibition. Its presence in Washington is not being paid for with any public funds. Some of the costs include travel, registration, maintaining the exhibits and giveaways to the passersby.

Despite the current politically charged times, Morris insisted that the museum’s presence at the event was nonpartisan and meant to give Illinois a voice on the national stage.

“There’s always in a free society … the context of political discourse, and I respect that and celebrate that as a part of American liberty, the promise of liberty, but for us this is just about making Illinois proud,” Morris said. “And we’re going to (do) the best we can as a private, nonprofit, unique, national, multidisciplinary museum along a river called the Illinois.”

Separate from the Freedom 250 celebrations, the Illinois America 250 Commission is bringing together diverse perspectives to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence, according to state officials. Visit il250.org for more information about the Illinois America 250 Commission.