President invited to visit region to see site of deadly 1908 race riots FacebookTwitterEmail A west-central Illinois congressman is inviting President Joe Biden and other federal officials to visit his district. Republican U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis extended the invitation to Biden and Interior Secretary-designate Deb Haaland to see the 1908 Springfield Race Riot Site. “The site and its artifacts were unearthed during construction of the Carpenter Street segment of the Springfield Rail Improvements Project and consists of the remains of five homes that were burned during the 1908 Springfield Race Riot, one of the worst race riots in our nation’s history,” Davis said.