ILHistory

In July, 1917, East St. Louis prepared for a Fourth of July celebration featuring long parades, a Civil War reenactment and the dedication of a new Civil War monument. Local newspapers joked about which poor horse would carry the city's 300-pound mayor. But festivities were about to be interrupted by one of the country's deadliest race riots ...

Sherb Noble opens the world's first Dairy Queen in Joliet, Illinois, on June 22, 1940.

On June 16, 1979, Rich Koz made his TV debut on WFLD in Chicago as horror host "Son of Svengoolie."Each week, Svengoolie, with his thick ghoulish makeup,…

This week's slice of history is a uniquely American invention: processed cheese.The U.S. patent for processed cheese was issued to James L. Kraft on June…

Seventy-eight years ago, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League had its first day of league play. The women's league was founded, in part,…

On May 23, 1900, the world's first portable Ferris wheel, known as "Big Eli," made its debut. Its inventor, William Sullivan, launched an amusement ride…

On May 17, 1955, the Illinois General Assembly approved the official state slogan: "Land of Lincoln." Before that, Illinois was known as the Prairie…

On May 15, 1903, Illinois established the nation's first eight-hour workday . . . for children. The new law also set a 48-hour weekly limit on child…

The story of the Haymarket Riot of 1886 actually begins 20 years earlier. After the Civil War, Chicago's labor unions had been pushing for an eight-hour…

On April 28, 1941, Illinois Congressman Arthur Mitchell argued before the U.S. Supreme Court that African Americans were entitled to railroad…