Pokorski, 53, covered higher education and edited the Sunday books page for the newspaper but was best known for his coverage of local history, notably Lincoln research.

"We have lost a treasured and respected member of our newspaper family, a writer whose work added great depth to the daily content of The State Journal-Register," editor Barry Locher said. "Not only was Doug's work enjoyed and appreciated by everyday newspaper readers, but it was respected by Lincoln scholars, historians and academics as well."

David Blanchette, public information officer for the state Historic Preservation Agency, said, "Doug's knowledge and appreciation of history was unparalleled among members of the news media. The readers of The State Journal-Register who love and appreciate history have suffered a terrible loss today."

Pokorski, of Springfield, was married to Diana Lehmann and was the son of Jeanne and the late Robert Pokorski of Lincoln.

A 1973 graduate of Michigan State University with high honors in communications, Pokorski joined The State Journal-Register news staff in 1984. He had previously been a free-lance writer and photographer, including a stint as a correspondent for The State Journal-Register, covering Logan County, where he grew up.

Pokorski won a number of awards for his education coverage, including a first-place national award from the Education Writers Association for "Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door." The five-part series on school finance, written with staff writer Doug Finke in 1989, was credited with helping spur passage of a temporary tax increase for education.

But it was for reporting on Abraham Lincoln and other historical topics that Pokorski came to be recognized well beyond central Illinois.

Kim Bauer, Lincoln curator for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, said he routinely posted links to Pokorski's work on the Abraham Lincoln Association Web site for historians around the country to read.

"His reporting really was national in scope, especially with Lincoln," Bauer said. "He was truly a clearinghouse for the historical community, at least the Lincoln historical community."

Ed Russo, who retired this spring as director of the Sangamon Valley Collection at Lincoln Library and official city historian, said he watched Pokorski grow from a journalist covering a range of topics to essentially a historian doing primary research in his own right.

It was the launch of a 365-day history series in 1999 - A Springfield Century - that was the turning point, Russo said.

"That's when he got hooked and got serious about research and knowing what would really interest readers," Russo said.

The daily series covered everything from early women journalists to long-forgotten humorous chapters in local history like an effort to develop a wingless chicken.

Pokorski broke new ground with the series, including identifying a previously overlooked victim of the Springfield Race Riot of 1908.

In recent years, Pokorksi wrote a popular weekly history column, "Springfield Stories," for Heartland magazine. He was in demand as a speaker on historical topics and was currently serving as president as the Sangamon County Historical Society.

One speech at Lincoln Library on "Springfield's Godfather Frank Zito" drew such a crowd that Russo found himself having to turn people away.

"The more I got to know Doug, the more I respected him," Russo said.

Sometimes, families would contact Pokorski wondering what to do with old photographs or other historical artifacts, and he frequently would urge them to donate them to the Sangamon Valley Collection, according to Curtis Mann, a librarian who is acting manager of the local history collection.

Pokorski did much of the research about individuals buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery for an annual cemetery walk there sponsored by the Sangamon County Historical Society, said Mann, who is secretary of the group. Pokorski had hoped to compile the Oak Ridge profiles into a book, Mann said.

Pokorski did author one book, "Death Rehearsal: A Practical Guide for Dealing with the Inevitable."

Kathryn Harris, vice president of the historical society and division manager for library services at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, said she always turned to Pokorski's column first thing on Fridays.

"I consider him not only a personal friend, but a friend of history and a supporter of Illinois history and someone who wanted to teach us our history," she said.

In addition to his historical reporting, Pokorski was a member of the reporting team that won a first-place James S. Copley Ring of Truth Award for coverage of the Flood of '93. Among his other awards were five Benjamin Fine awards for Outstanding Education Reporting from the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

"He will be missed a great deal by his family, his colleagues and State Journal-Register readers who have come to know him through his work," Locher said.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Associate editor Rosalynne Harty can be reached at 788-1533 or rosalynne.harty@sj-r.com.