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The Council for Health and Human Service Ministries (CHHSM) is affiliated with the United Church of Christ (UCC). Based in Cleveland, Ohio, CHHSM offers various programs for people of all ages to more than 400 communities. Their key values include serving the Lord, welcoming everyone, and fighting the injustices and prejudices of the world. The term Diakonia means to serve. Diakonia has a long history with the church. It is heavily based on Christ’s teachings and his service to people. This term is also the name of an international organization for ministries.

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Before he was the 40th President of the United States, Governor of California, or even an actor, Ronald Reagan spent his time in Illinois. Born in 1911 in Tampico, Illinois, Reagan's poor family moved around the state many times. Finally, the family settled down in the town of Dixon in 1920. Reagan attended the local high school and graduated in 1928. He stuck around the area for college, attending Eureka University and graduating in 1932. Reagan finally left the area for Iowa, where he was hired to be a radio sports announcer.

Due to his origins in Illinois and the Presidency, many drew a comparison from Reagan to Abraham Lincoln during his campaigns. Lincoln served as a Senator for the state before rising to the Presidency. In 1955, the official state slogan of Illinois became "Land of Lincoln." Due to these similarities, the phrase was also applied to Ronald Reagan, resulting in "Illinois, Land of Reagan."

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Adlai Stevenson was born in 1835 and grew up to study law. He became interested in politics during the Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858. Stevenson began his long history in U.S Politics at the age of 25 as a master in chancery, which is an aide in a court of equity. He was a two time congressman, from 1875-77 and 1879-81. In 1885, he was appointed the Assistant Postmaster General by Grover Cleveland, who was a friend of a friend. His political career varied and he fell in and out of favor of Republicans and Democrats, but Adlai eventually ran with Grover Cleveland as the Vice President on the ticket for Cleveland’s second term. Adlai was seen as someone who could unite all the factions of the Democratic party. They won the 1892 election with voting day on November 1st. Adlai ran a few unsuccessful campaigns for President, Vice President, and even the Governor of Illinois before retiring to a private estate in 1908.

 His grandson, Adlai Stevenson II, served as Illinois Governor twice and unsuccessfully ran for President twice in the 1950's while his great grandson, Adlai Stevenson III was a U.S senator from 1970-1981 and ran unsuccessful campaigns to be the Governor of Illinois in the 1980's.

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Despite a failed presidential campaign in 1960, Nixon successfully ran again in 1968, becoming the 37th President of the United States. Prior to his presidency, Nixon served as a Republican representative in the House and Senate. Nixon won re-election in 1972 by a record landslide, beating Democratic opponent George McGovern. 

Although Nixon initially escalated America's involvement in the Vietnam War, he did manage to bring home the majority of U.S. troops by 1973. As the Watergate scandal erupted in mid-1973, Nixon—facing certain impeachment, lack of support from his own party, and criminal charges—had no choice but to resign. On August 9th, 1974, Nixon became the only president in American history to resign from office. Nixon's vice president, Gerald Ford, pardoned Nixon from criminal charges once he assumed the presidency. Nixon died at the age of eighty-four from a severe stroke in 1994. 

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An impressively long and successful career in the United States military coupled with the bravery and loyalty demonstrated in Bataan during World War 2 led for Americans to rally behind General Douglas MacArthur for the Republican candidate for presidency against Roosevelt. Signs and other campaign items began appearing in 1942, just after MacArthur and his family were airlifted out of the Japanese attack on Bataan in the Philippines.

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"Go with Mac" is a slogan supporting General Douglas MacArthur as a hopeful presidential candidate for the election in 1952. His supporters were located in seven different states and were listed under several different political parties, including: Christian Nationalist, America First, and Constitution. MacArthur did not have enough support to become a viable candidate in the election. The election itself was during the red scare and many Americans were worried that communists would infiltrate the American government. 

General Douglas MacArthur had a memorable military career. He was awarded the status of five-star general in 1944, a temporary rank established by Congress so that the United States officers had a similar rank to allied officers. MacArthur also won the medal of honor, and became famous for leading the United Nations in the Korean War. General MacArthur saw the Korean War as an opportunity to stop the further spread of communism. He wanted to continue pushing back North Korean forces and suggested bombing some Chinese cities. President Truman’s priority was saving lives and avoiding a larger war in Asia, even if that meant signing a ceasefire along the 38th parallel. President Harry Truman removed General MacArthur from military command in 1951 for insubordination when the general ignored direct orders from the president and instead continued pushing North Korean troops farther north.

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Ike and Dick are nicknames for Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard M. Nixon, President and Vice President of the United States of America from 1953-1961. Eisenhower was Supreme Allied Commander during World War II and used that success to win the Republican nomination in 1952. He chose California Senator Nixon as his running mate in part due to his youth (age 39) and his strong anti-communist positions. The pair won their first term in a landslide over Democrats Adlai Stevenson and John Sparkman. They won again in 1956 against Stevenson and Estes Kefauver.

The Eisenhower/Nixon administration was seen as a time of American prosperity. They were responsible for the Interstate system, negotiated the end of the Korean War, and signed the first major Civil Rights action into law. The administration also stressed the importance of stockpiling nuclear weapons in response to the Cold War.

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In 1952, World War II veteran Dwight D. Eisenhower (Ike) ran for President of the United States on the Republican ticket. California congressman Richard Nixon was Eisenhower's Vice President nominee. Owing to Eisenhower's continued popularity after WWII and outgoing Democrat Harry Truman's unpopular handling of the Cold War, Eisenhower and Nixon won in a landslide victory in both 1952 and later in 1956.

Under Eisenhower, the interstate highway system was created, the quality of life for middle-class white Americans improved, and Alaska and Hawaii were added to the Union. Nixon devoted nearly his entire eight years to foreign policy affairs. His most famous event being an impromptu debate with Soviet Premiere Nikita Khrushchev in Moscow known as "The Kitchen Debate." Eisenhower's two terms are remembered today as being some of the strongest in the twentieth century.

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Vice President Hubert Humphrey and his running mate, former Governor of Maine, Edmund Muskie, ran on the Democratic ticket in 1968. The primary was a contentious one, with Humphrey securing the lead after Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination. During the 1968 election, Humphrey suffered several setbacks that lead to his defeat and Richard Nixon securing the Presidency.

Humphrey’s biggest challenge was that he was Vice President for Lyndon B. Johnson who shockingly decided to not run for reelection. Lyndon’s unpopular views about continuing the war in Vietnam haunted Humphrey throughout his run. Compounding this issue was the Democratic Governor of Alabama, George Wallace, who ran on a third-party ticket and siphoned votes that would otherwise go to Humphrey. All this led to a Nixon win who secured 301 electoral college votes to Humphrey’s 191.

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Richard Nixon, after being chosen to lead the Republican ticket for President, announced Spiro Agnew as his running mate in 1968. Nixon sought someone to counter his energy and the relatively unknown Governor of Maryland was perfect for the role. The lack of name recognition was seen as an asset by Nixon, who wanted a bland, but mysterious, running mate.

Both men would not go on to finish their terms after being elected. Nixon famously resigned after the Watergate scandal in 1973. Months prior, Agnew himself had resigned after pleading no contest to charges of tax evasion and bribery.