Sculptor John McClarey, a former Illinois high school history teacher with an international reputation as an artistic interpreter of Abraham Lincoln, created this statuary as a portrayal of friendly bipartisan debate between Abraham Lincoln and Anthony Thornton. McClarey has received many prestigious awards, including the Order of Lincoln in 2009, and his Lincoln statuary appears in Illinois cities including Vandalia, Charleston, Decatur, Springfield, New Salem, Taylorville, Hillsboro, Peoria, and Metamora. The positioning and body language of the two figures convey a spirit of friendly debate and suggest the need, then and now, to work together in a friendly and civil manner to find lasting solutions to common problems. Both Lincoln and Thornton are presented as exhibiting great magnanimity of spirit during the debate, and the work emphasizes the enduring timeliness of rational political discourse. Placed in front of the Shelby County Courthouse, the statuary also connects the past of Lincoln and Thornton to the ongoing present while linking the figures visually to the surrounding natural environment.