Paul Powell's Nest Egg

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As Illinois Attorney General William Scott began an investigation into how Powell got the money and how much of it the state could collect in taxes, the chief beneficiary of Powell's estate was as bemused by the booty as the investigators. The Johnson County Historical Society Museum, newly endowed with $1.5 million of Powell's money, was unsure just how to spend the funds on its two-room display of historic farm tools, whose previous maintenance was $200 per year.