ILHistory

No Foolin’: On April 1, 2007, the Illinois General Assembly passed Senate Resolution 255, designating every April 1 in Illinois as "Cheap Trick…

On March 25, 1931, Illinois, and the nation, mourned the loss of suffragist and civil rights icon Ida B. Wells. But before she became a crusader for women’s rights, Wells came to national attention as a crusader against lynchings of African Americans in the South.

March 17, 1937: Illinois Attorney General John E. Cassidy declared that all pinball machines were to be outlawed as gambling devices. He called them…

On March 12, 1966, just five minutes into the third period against the New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawk Bobby Hull scored his 50th goal of the season.…

Before coal, before oil, even before corn, the biggest and busiest industry in Illinois was salt. This once-booming enterprise was located just southeast…

Carl Sandburg, author, journalist, folk singer, and poet of the people, appointed Poet Laureate of Illinois.

No longer considered a planet, but always number nine in our hearts. This week in Illinois history, we celebrate the discovery of Pluto by Streator native Clyde Tombaugh.

Brave. Courageous. Bold. All words used to describe legendary Western lawman Wyatt Earp. But novels, films and TV shows often overlook his reckless youth in Illinois, where he earned a reputation as a thief, swindler and pimp.

A popular Chicago Mayor and champion to the city's overlooked immigrant communities is struck down by an assassin’s bullet, a bullet that was meant for someone else.