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CHICAGO (AP) - Hillary Rodham Clinton fondly recalled her childhood in Illinois Saturday night when she returned to receive the states top honor from Gov. Pat Quinn.

The former first lady, who is mulling whether to run for president in 2016, was one of seven people receiving the Order of Lincoln medallion during a ceremony at the Field Museum.

The 66-year-old Clinton, described by Order Chancellor Thomas Johnson as perhaps the most famous woman in the world, was heralded for her accomplishments advocating for health care reform, her campaign for president and her work as the countrys chief diplomat. But she did not speak of them.

Instead, Clinton remembered growing up in leafy, suburban Park Ridge, and trips to the beach in Chicago. She recalled playing mushball_a local twist on softball - which uses a 16-inch ball. She joked its a game that does not exist anywhere else in the universe.

I am so grateful for the experiences that I had growing up here - the quality of education and opportunity that I was given, the support that I saw at every turn, said Clinton, 66. To have the chance to come and be with so many of the people who have made this state such an exceptional place in honor of the greatest president who has ever served our country, is very special indeed for me.

In a statement released before the ceremony, Quinn said Clinton has personified the best of Illinois and the United States through her decades of service. He cited her work championing human rights, democracy, civil society and opportunity for women.

Clinton, born in Chicago, ran for president in 2008 and served as U.S. senator from New York and secretary of state under President Barack Obama. Although she hasnt said whether shell run in 2016, she is considered a likely dominant front-runner should she jump in.

Clinton has said she will decide whether to seek the White House again later this year and plans to embark on a national tour in June to promote Hard Choices, a memoir about her State Department years.

Others recipients Saturday included attorney and Federal Communications Commission chair Newton Minow, the Rev. Donald Senior, former Catholic Theological Union president; composers Bernard Rands and Augusta Read Thomas, who are married, and businessmen John Canning and Glenn Tilton.

The eighth recipient, Duke University Basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, was honored at a Saturday afternoon luncheon, due to a scheduling conflict in Durham, North Carolina later that evening.

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Hillary Clinton recalls Illinois youth at ceremony

May 2, 2014 10:13pm

Senator Tim Kaine has joined a growing list of top Democratic Senators who are ready for Hillary Clinton.

During a speech Saturday morning at a South Carolina Womens Democratic Council breakfast, the Virginia Senator will pledge his support for former Secretary of State Clinton should she decide to run for president in 2016, according to excerpts of his prepared remarks obtained by ABC News.

Kaine, a former chairperson of the Democratic National Committee and former governor of Virginia, a swing state, will also announce that he has joined Ready for Hillary, the SuperPac encouraging Clinton to run and will urge others to do the same.

Pledge your support right now so that Hillary Clinton will know that, should she take this step, there are millions of us ready to take the field with her and make sure she wins, Kaine says.

In 2006, Kaine endorsed then-Senator Barack Obama over Clinton in the presidential primary, which he acknowledges in his prepared remarks.

I made my decision early because I knew somethinghe was the right person for the job but getting there would be hard, he says of his early support for Obama.

For the same reason, Kaine says, he is giving an early endorsement to Clinton, citing the extra challenges women face to achieve top leadership spots in this country.

Kaine joins a growing group of Democratic leaders who have urged Clinton to run in 2016.

Caroline Kennedy, the Ambassador to Japan and daughter of former president John F. Kennedy, told ABC News last month she would absolutely support Clinton in 2016. Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, and both Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill and New York Sen. Chuck Schumer publicly announced their support for a Clinton campaign last year. And in October it was revealed that every one of the 16 female Democratic senators signed a secret letter to Clinton encouraging her to run.

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Virginia Senator Pledges Support for Hillary Clinton in 2016

WASHINGTON, May 3 (UPI) -- Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has yet to formally announce any plans to run for president in 2016, but that won't deter Sen Tim Kaine, D-Va., from issuing an endorsement.

Secretary Hillary Clinton is the best person to be our 45th President for many reasons, Kaine will say in prepared remarks shown in advance to CNN. She is a classic American optimist with the background and experiences necessary to lead this country in a very complicated world.

Speaking later today at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in South Carolina, Kaine will endorse Clinton's still-assumed presidential bid, joining fellow Senator Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and the pro-Clinton super PAC Ready For Hillary in the former first lady's camp.

Kaine's endorsement carries added historic weight as he was among the first politicians to endorse then-Senator Barack Obama over establishment favorite Clinton in the 2007 Democratic primaries.

I sure hope a lot of folks will make plain to her that as she's trying to decide, 'Hey, if you run, we're all behind you. I really hope people do that. But I don't have any illusion that it'll just be a one-candidate race. Competition isn't bad, and there might be some competition.

The Jefferson-Jackson Dinner is an annual event held by the South Carolina Democratic party.

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Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia endorses Hillary Clinton for president

Hillary Clinton will receive a full-throated endorsement for president Saturday from Sen. Tim...

Hillary Clinton will receive a full-throated endorsement for president Saturday from Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., in South Carolina, a key early primary state.

Clinton, who has acknowledged she is weighing whether to run for president, has not yet declared her intention. But Kaine, speaking in Columbia on Saturday, will nevertheless offer his stamp of approval, calling Clinton a "classic American optimist with the background and experiences necessary to lead this country in a very complicated world."

"Our country will have no shortage of challenges to tackle in the future. ... And the very list of challenges on the table tells us who the next president should be," Kaine is expected to say Saturday at a South Carolina Womens Democratic Council breakfast. "Thats why I stand with you today to encourage Hillary Clinton to run, to pledge my support for her candidacy if she does and to ask you to make that same pledge."

The early, prominent show of support for Clinton could be politically important to Kaine, who did not back Clinton in her last bid for president. When he was Virginia's governor, Kaine officially endorsed then-Sen. Barack Obama for president in February 2007, but told Obama privately much sooner, in 2006, that he intended to back him over Clinton.

"I made my decision early because I knew something he was the right person for the job, but getting there would be hard," Kaine plans to say. "And I figured that the sooner I started helping him in Virginia, the more helpful I would be."

"Im stating my support for Hillary Clinton today for the same reason," he will add. "Shes the right person for the job."

Kaine also will urge support for Ready for Hillary, the super PAC that has been working to build a nationwide network of Clinton's supporters.

Kaine was in South Carolina to keynote the annual South Carolina Jefferson Jackson Dinner, a major event on the Democratic Party's calendar in the state that usually draws presidential hopefuls.

In November, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., used a similar speech at an Iowa Democratic dinner to endorse Clinton and urge her to run.

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Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine endorses Hillary Clinton, Ready For Hillary in South Carolina

WASHINGTON (CNN) Virginia Sen. Tim Kaines trip to South Carolina this weekend to address the state Democratic Partys Jefferson-Jackson Dinner comes with dash of 2016 presidential intrigue.

A Spanish-fluent former Democratic Party chairman and one-time governor from an emergent swing state in the South, Kaines understated political skills and sterling reputation among party insiders would make him an instantly credible White House candidate, if a dark horse.

Of course, thats if Hillary Clinton doesnt run. And Kaine will make it known on Saturday that he plans to support to Clinton in 2016 if she decides to embark on a White House bid, according to Democrats familiar with his plans.

Kaine is to announce at a South Carolina Womens Democratic Council breakfast in Columbia that he is joining Ready for Hillary, a pro-Clinton Super PAC thats been laying political groundwork for the former Secretary of State should she seek the 2016 nomination. Hes also set to deliver a short speech extolling Clintons qualifications for the White House.

Secretary Hillary Clinton is the best person to be our 45th President for many reasons, Kaine will say, according to prepared remarks provided to CNN. She is a classic American optimist with the background and experiences necessary to lead this country in a very complicated world.

Kaine was one of Barack Obamas first public supporters, and one of few top-tier Democrats to oppose Clinton, after Obama announced his upstart presidential campaign in 2007.

I was and am proud that I was an early supporter of our great President, Kaine will say on Saturday. I made my decision early because I knew somethinghe was the right person for the job but getting there would be hard. And I figured that the sooner I started helping him in Virginia, the more helpful I would be.

Im stating my support for Hillary Clinton today for the same reason, he will say. Shes the right person for the job.

If Clinton decides not to run, Kaine will be making the most of his South Carolina jaunt with a packed political schedule that will introduce him to key Democrats in the state.

Along with the breakfast and the J-J Dinner, Kaine attended Rep. Jim Clyburns annual Fish Fry, a casual yearly meet-and-greet for Democratic activists and officials, on Friday evening in Columbia.

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Tim Kaine to endorse Hillary Clinton for president unless