X-Nico

99 unusual facts about Illinois


1921 APFA season

The Staleys, who moved from Decatur, Illinois, to Chicago before the season, were named the APFA Champions over the Buffalo All-Americans.

96th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment

The original officers were Colonel Thomas E. Champion of Warren, Illinois and Lieutenant Colonel Issac L. Clarke of Waukegan, Illinois.

Acosada

However it was not until 1 June 1966 that the film premiered in the USA in Champaign, Illinois.

Alfred Babcock

In 1850, Babcock moved to Illinois and settled in Galesburg, Knox County, Illinois where he continued the practice of his profession until his death in 1871.

Andy Studebaker

Born September 16, 1985, Studebaker spent much of his childhood in Congerville, Illinois.

Ayers, Illinois

Ayers, Carroll County, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Carroll County, Illinois

Basement Jack

And on a stormy night, in the town of Downers Grove (most likely Downers Grove, Illinois), the killer and his prey would find one another and as they hunt one another the citizens would have to fight to survive the blade of Basement Jack.

Beatmania IIDX 14: Gold

The build was first seen at a location test at Brunswick Zone Naperville in Naperville, Illinois.

Bloomfield, Illinois

Bloomfield, Scott County, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Scott County, Illinois

Buda Engine Co.

Buda Engine was founded in 1881 by George Chalender in Buda, Illinois to make equipment for railways.

Buffalo Grove ambush

The Buffalo Grove ambush occurred near Buffalo Grove, Illinois, a small, unincorporated settlement in present-day Ogle County.

Carpenter Park

Carpenter Park is a 322-acre (1.3 km²) park on the north bank of the Sangamon River on the far north side of the city of Springfield, Illinois.

Casey Claw

It was originally developed by Mark Casey in 1993, a former marching member and drum sergeant of the The Cavaliers of Rosemont, Illinois.

Cecil Bothwell

Bothwell was born 1950 in Oak Park, Illinois, lived in several states and held several jobs in the area of Asheville, North Carolina.

Chaim Kreiswirth

In 1947, he moved to the United States and from 1947 to 1953 served as Rosh Yeshiva at the Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Illinois.

Chester R. Davis

Davis died in 1966 of a heart attack in his home in Wayne, Illinois.

Chicago Garter Snake

It was described by Edward Drinker Cope in 1892, and can be found in the vicinity of rural waterways in northeastern Illinois, such as Piscasaw Creek in Boone County and McHenry County, Illinois.

Chicagoland Television

The channel began operations on January 1, 1993, originally broadcasting out of studios located in the Chicago suburb of Oak Brook.

Cy Touff

Cyril James Touff (March 4, 1927, Chicago – January 24, 2003, Evanston, Illinois) was a jazz bass trumpeter.

Danville New Tech High

Danville New Tech High School is a school located in Danville, Illinois.

Dennis Vaske

Dennis James Vaske (born October 11, 1967 in Rockford, Illinois) is a retired American ice hockey defenseman.

Domasi

The Shallow Well Project funded by the First Presbyterian Church of Urbana in Urbana, Illinois, United States is providing safe drinking water for the villages around Domasi.

Donald L. Moffitt

Moffitt previously served as Knox County Treasurer from 1984 to 1993, Knox County Board Chairman from 1982 to 1984, Knox County Board member 1978 to 1982, Knoxville, Illinois Alderman 1977 to 1978, Mayor of the City of Oneida, Illinois from 1972 to 1975, and an Oneida Alderman from 1971 to 1972.

Edward Breathitte Sellers

Born and reared in slavery, somehow prior to his matriculating at Wheaton College, he moved to Illinois and listed Shawneetown, Illinois as his home.

Edward C. Bosbyshell

Bosbyshell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1822 and spent some of his early adult life in Calhoun County, Illinois, "where, in an overflow of the rivers, he lost his entire property."

Edward E. Wilson

Moving to Chicago, he filled the post of assistant state attorney for Cook County, Illinois, from 1912 until his retirement in 1947.

Ellyn

Glen Ellyn, Illinois, affluent village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States

Francena H. Arnold

Francena Harriet Long was born Sept. 9, 1888, on a farm near Literberry, Illinois, to James Harvey Long and Hannah Cox Long.

Frederick J. Kapala

He was an assistant state's attorney of Winnebago County, Illinois from 1976 to 1977, and was in private practice in Rockford, Illinois from 1977 to 1982.

Furniture Style

The magazine was based in Lincolnshire, Illinois, at Vance Publishing's corporate headquarters; it was founded in October 1996.

Genoa-Kingston High School

Genoa-Kingston High School is a public high school located in Genoa, Illinois.

Gilman, Clinton and Springfield Railroad

It provided service from Springfield, the state capital, to Gilman, a junction point on the main line of the much larger Illinois Central Railroad.

Gregory Perino

His fascination with the past and his innate ability to locate and meticulously excavate prehistoric cemeteries and burial mounds soon led him into a career as a self-taught professional archaeologist, first with the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma; then with the Foundation for Illinois Archeology in Kampsville, Illinois; and finally with the Museum of the Red River in Idabel, Oklahoma.

Harding Tomb

The memorial is also important in American history because it is the last of the elaborate presidential tombs, a trend that began with the burial of President Abraham Lincoln in his tomb in Springfield, Illinois.

Harmonica gun

Commencing in 1834 in Quincy, Illinois, he began to make harmonica guns and more conventional revolving rifles.

Henry S. Magoon

Born in Monticello, Wisconsin, Magoon attended the Rock River Seminary, Mount Morris, Illinois, and was graduated from the Western Military College, Drennon, Kentucky, in 1853.

Horton Smith

When he resigned as head professional of Oak Park Country Club in River Grove, Illinois, in 1936, his brother Ren replaced him at the club.

Illini West High School

Illini West High School, or IWHS, is a public four-year high school located at 600 Miller Street in Carthage, Illinois, a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, in the Midwestern United States.

Illinois's 19th congressional district

The district became obsolete for 2013's 113th Congress, as population growth in Illinois was slower compared to other states.

Isaac N. Morris

He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1835 and commenced practice in Warsaw, Illinois, in 1836.

J. Frank Duryea

On November 28, 1895, Frank Duryea won the first motor-car race in the United States, a 54-mile loop along the lakeshore from Chicago to Evanston and back again.

Jimtown, Illinois

Jimtown, Champaign County, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Champaign County, Illinois

Joe Rutgens

Joseph Casimiere Rutgens (born January 26, 1939 in Cedar Point, Illinois) is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins.

Johan Engholm

Several descendants of Johan Engholm emigrated to the US (mainly Illinois) in the beginning of the 20th century.

John Baricevic

Justice Baricevic presides over the Twentieth Judicial Circuit (Fifth Appellate District) in Illinois for the counties of Monroe, Perry, Randolph, St. Clair, and Washington.

John Fritchey

Fritchey was one of many candidates who ran for former US Representative Rahm Emanuel's seat in Illinois's 5th congressional district special election, 2009.

John Shastid House

A few of Pike County's other sites include the address restricted Naples Mound 8 and New Philadelphia Town Site as well as the Massie Variety Store in New Canton and the Lyman Scott House in Summer Hill.

John Wilson Ruckman

Biographies, however, usually list his place of birth as Sidney, Illinois (Champaign County).

Jonathan Blitstein

Jonathan Blitstein (born 1982 Lincolnshire, Illinois) is an American playwright, and indie filmmaker.

Julius Sterling Morton

 Sterling Morton High School District, located in Berwyn and Cicero, Illinois.

Justin Tranter

Justin Tranter and his three older brothers were raised by his parents in Lake Zurich, Illinois.

Kid Capri

Kid Capri also made an appearance as Rakim's DJ during the Rock The Bells 2008 show on July 19, 2008 in Tinley Park, Illinois.

Legality of piggybacking

David M. Kauchak was the first person to be charged with "remotely accessing another computer system" in Winnebago County.

Lemuel Milk

Born in New York, Milk came to Illinois after purchasing a large tract of land in Iroquois County.

Madison Kocian

Kocian's senior career started in 2013, at the Secret U.S Classic, held at the Hoffman Estates, Illinois, where she placed 7th all-around but managed a silver on the bars, scoring 14.450.

Mary's River Covered Bridge

The bridge was built in 1854 as part of a plank toll road connecting Chester to Bremen; the bridge allowed agricultural products to be transported to Chester, a significant port on the Mississippi River.

Megan Kane

Kane attended Lutheran High School in Springfield, Illinois.

Mercer County High School

Aledo residents began offering educational opportunities to their children in the mid-19th century.

Midwest League

In 1976 the Midwest League contracted from ten teams to eight when teams in Danville and Dubuque were eliminated.

Mike Errico

Errico also showcases his skill as a guitarist in an intricate arrangement of the Tom Waits classic, "Johnsburg, Illinois." "The song has such an aching quality to it, and I just needed to arrange it, so I'd always have it with me," Errico says.

Miles Henry Davis

In the late 1940s, Davis purchased a 160-acre estate in Millstadt, Illinois.

Milledgeville High School

MHS serves the communities and surrounding areas of Milledgeville, Chadwick, Lanark, Mt. Carroll, Savanna, and Thomson.

Minooka High School

The district, is largely composed of the communities of Minooka and Channahon, and also includes portions of Shorewood, Joliet and Troy.

Moon Mullins

Frank Henry Willard was born on September 21, 1893 in Anna, Illinois, the son of a physician, who early on determined to become a cartoonist.

Mount Lowe Railway

The railway was sold at auction to a Mr. Valentine Peyton of Danville, Illinois, who personally came to California to run the operation.

Muskego, Wisconsin

When Marriott's Great America (now Six Flags Great America) opened in 1976, it lured people away from Muskego, and into Gurnee, Illinois.

Newton Gang

Notable enough for the 1924 train robbery near Rondout, Illinois (the world's largest at the time), the brothers gained a second round of fame in retirement, when they participated in a 1975 documentary film, and then a more in-depth oral history project that eventually was published in book form, possibly one of the clearest records of a criminal career of the period, as told by the participants.

Osco Drug

Also in 1968, Osco's headquarters relocated from Melrose Park, Illinois to Franklin Park, Illinois.

Owen Scott

Born on a farm in Jackson Township, Illinois, Scott attended the common schools, a private school in Kinmundy, and the State normal school in Normal, Illinois.

Philo, California

Two versions of how Philo was named are current: first, that its founder Cornelius Prather named it after his favorite female cousin; second, that he named it for his former home at Philo, Illinois.

Pleasant Rowland

Rowland was born in the Chicago area and grew up in Bannockburn, a suburb north of Chicago.

Popcorn

At least six localities (all in the Midwestern United States) claim to be the "Popcorn Capital of the World": Ridgway, Illinois; Valparaiso, Indiana; Van Buren, Indiana; Schaller, Iowa; Marion, Ohio; and North Loup, Nebraska.

Prentice Marshall

In 1959, Marshall, then a resident of Wheaton, Illinois, ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat for state's attorney in DuPage County, a Republican stronghold.

Ralf Henricksen

Murals were also commissioned to him as part of the Treasury Section of Fine Arts at the Stanton (IL) and Monroe (Michigan) Post Offices.

Reptile centre

A Burmese Python at the reptile centre Serpent Safari in Gurnee, Illinois was billed as the heaviest living snake in captivity.

Reuben Ellwood

He attended public schools in New York before moving to DeKalb County, Illinois with his family when he was fifteen.

Roanoke High School

Roanoke High School (Illinois) — a public school in Roanoke, Woodford County, Illinois, also known as Roanoke Victory High School or Roanoke Township High School, and consolidated with Benson High School in 1957 to form Roanoke-Benson High School

Rock Creek, Illinois

Rock Creek, Hardin County, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Hardin County, Illinois

Rockford East High School

Rockford East High School is a comprehensive four year high school in Rockford, Illinois.

Ron Wells

Ron Wells, (born October 2, 1961, in Rantoul, Illinois) is a former American football player.

Rosemary Mulligan

In the fall of 2009 Mulligan announced her intention to run for Republican Committeeman of Maine Township Maine Township, Cook County, Illinois against incumbent Mark Thompson.

Sherman Barton

Sherman "Bucky" Barton (born February 2, 1875 in Normal, Illinois - July 11, 1947 in Chicago, Illinois) was an Outfielder in the Negro Leagues.

Shirley Allen

Shirley Allen, of Roby, Illinois, is a former nurse whose family's 1997 attempt to have her involuntarily committed led to a 39-day standoff (described by some as a "siege") with Illinois State Police and other law-enforcement agencies.

Stanley Girard Schlarman

After serving as chaplain to a local Catholic hospital, he became a pastor in St. Rose Township and later in Cairo.

Susan Headley

Born in Altona, Illinois in 1959, Headley claims to have dropped out of school in the eighth grade after a difficult childhood.

Teco pottery

Nearing the end of his life, William D. Gates constructed a residence just north of Crystal Lake, Illinois named "Trail's End" symbolizing his decreasing involvement in the company.

The Great Santini

Believing that the film's title - giving the perception that it was about circus stunts - would be the problem, it was tested as Sons and Heroes in Fort Wayne, Indiana, as Reaching Out in Rockford, Illinois, and The Ace in Peoria, Illinois.

Trend Is Dead! Records

Records (stylized as tREND iS dEAD! records) is an independent record label based out of Normal, Illinois, United States.

U.S. Route 67 in Illinois

The Roseville Bypass was one of the last bypasses for this section and was completed in 2002.

Union Pacific Northwest Line

The line runs from the Ogilvie Transportation Center in downtown Chicago to endpoints in McHenry, Illinois and Harvard, Illinois, with the McHenry branch served only during weekday rush periods.

W29CI-D

W29CI-D is a low-power religious television station in Salem, Illinois, broadcasting locally on channel 29 as an affiliate of 3ABN.

Wally Lemm

During the first season of play, the Oilers captured the league's first-ever title, but Lemm resigned after the season, returning to Libertyville, Illinois to work in the sporting goods industry.

Wauconda

Wauconda Township, Lake County, Illinois, a township in Lake County, Illinois, United States

WBKM

WBKM-LP, a low-power television station (channel 46) licensed to Chana, Illinois, United States

WHBF

Where Historic Black Hawk Fought, a reference to Chief Black Hawk whose tribe occupied the land that is now Rock Island, Illinois, United States, and the namesake for the WHBF broadcasting stations in Rock Island

William Harrison Holly

He was an assistant state's attorney of Cook County, Illinois from 1914 to 1916, thereafter returning to private practice in Chicago until 1933.

William McKendree

In 1830, he lent his support to the Lebanon Seminary, Lebanon, Illinois.

WLMM

WLMM-LP, a low-power radio station (103.9 FM) licensed to Channahon, Illinois, United States

WVMC

WVMC (AM), a defunct radio station (1360 AM) formerly licensed to Mount Carmel, Illinois, United States


1992–93 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team

After sitting out a season, Andy Kaufmann returned for the 1992-93 campaign and helped lead Illinois to a 19-13 record and trip to the

Bessemer Park

Bessemer Park is a public park in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. Created in 1904, it was named for Henry Bessemer, the inventor of the eponymous steelmaking process.

Candace Kroslak

Candace Kaye Kroslak (born Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, July 22, 1978) is an American actress of Slovak descent, probably best known for her role as Lindy Maddock in the Swedish-American soap opera Ocean Ave.

Classical 24

WNIU, broadcasting from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois, is another full power FM that carries Classical 24 on a full-time basis.

Cook County Courthouse

Richard J. Daley Center, the location of the Court of Cook County, Illinois

Craig Virgin

Additionally, Virgin remains the record-holder in Illinois Boys Cross Country, running a 13:50.6 in 1972, which has only been approached by within five seconds by Chris Derrick in 2007 (13:51.8) and Lukas Verzbicas in 2010 (13:53.8)

Douglas Otto

Otto then was the superintendent of schools for the North Scott School Community District in Eldridge, Iowa and the Rockridge Community Unit School District in Taylor Ridge, Illinois.

Eric Sedler

As a leading member of the Issue Department for the Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, Sedler worked with House leadership and state legislators to develop communications programs to advance the caucus agenda.

Fab Lab MSI

Fab Lab MSI (Fabrication Laboratory at the Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago), Illinois) - The Fab lab MSI is a small scale workshop that uses various machines to create both prototypes for individuals and small projects for museum members and visitors.

Frederick Lucian Hosmer

Frederick Lucian Hosmer (1840-1929) was an American Unitarian minister who served congregations in Massachusetts, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, and California and who wrote many significant hymns.

Frederick Lundin

In 1908 Lundin was elected as a Republican Congressman to the 61st United States Congress from Illinois' 7th congressional district, a Chicago seat.

Girard incident

Specialist Third Class Girard, a 21-year-old enlisted man from Ottawa, Illinois, used a grenade launcher mounted on an M1 rifle to fire an empty casing at Sakai, which killed her.

Hopewell, Illinois

Hopewell, Illinois is the location used by author Terry Brooks in his fantasy novel Running with the Demon.

Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago

The Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago is part of The Art Institutes, a system of for-profit proprietary colleges focusing on creative industries.

Illinois Route 119

Illinois 119 begins at a junction with US 136 and Illinois 1 in rural South Ross Township east of Henning.

Illinois Route 150

SBI Route 150 originally ran from the U.S. 51/60/62 bridges south of Cairo north to Hamel (located northeast of Saint Louis, Missouri) on what is now Illinois Route 3, the portion of Illinois 150 from Chester to Steeleville, and Illinois Route 4.

Illinois Route 31

The bypass was even featured on the front cover of IDOT (Illinois Department of Transportation)'s Capital Improvements Plan during the Republican George Ryan years but was completely taken off the project list under Democrat Rod Blagojevich's administration.

Illinois State Fair

The Illinois State Fair was featured on the NBC-TV show The Great American Road Trip in July 2009.

Jacques Gravier

In 1696 Gravier was named to found the Illinois mission among the Illinois, Miami, Kaskaskia and others of the Illiniwek confederacy situated in the Mississippi River and Illinois River valleys.

Janet Lewis

Lewis was born in Chicago, Illinois, and was a graduate of the University of Chicago, where she was a member of a literary circle that included Glenway Wescott, Elizabeth Madox Roberts, and her future husband Yvor Winters.

John Burgmeier

John Burgmeier (born October 24, 1974 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American anime voice actor, ADR script/head writer and the son of voice actress, Linda Young.

John W. N. Watkins

The Unity of Popper's Thought. In Paul A. Schilpp (ed.): The Philosophy of Karl Popper, Book I. La Salle, Illinois 1974 (Open Court), ISBN 0-87548-141-8, pp.

Lakeview College of Nursing

An affiliation with the Illinois Teacher's College in Charleston (now Eastern Illinois University) provided additional on-campus instruction.

Luke Stannard

After college, Stannard continued training at Illinois for another year, working as an assistant for Justin Spring.

Mary Bartelme

Mary Margaret Bartelme (July 24, 1866 – July 25, 1954) was the first woman appointed Cook County Public Guardian in Illinois, and the first women elected judge in a court of high jurisdiction in that state.

Mary Odilia Berger

The congregation, through SSM Health Care, today operates in Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.

May 26–31, 2013 tornado outbreak

The tornado continued causing damage in residential areas before crossing the Missouri River into St. Louis County and Earth City, Bridgeton, and the northern side of Maryland Heights as it moved along Interstate 70 near its intersection with Interstate 270.

Mitchigamea

In 1673, Marquette and Joliet needed a translator from Miami-Illinois to understand the Michigamea; most contact was in Plains Sign Language.

Quercus × warei

The hybrid is named for the American dendrologist George Ware, former Research Director at the Morton Arboretum, Illinois.

Roberts Stadium

Lanphier Park, also known as Robin Roberts Stadium at Lanphier Park, Springfield, Illinois, USA

Salpointe Catholic High School

The Board of Members consists of the members of the Provincial Council of the Society of Mount Carmel of Illinois (The Most Pure Heart of Mary Province of the Carmelite Order).

Samuel Mason

By 1797, he moved the base of his river piracy further downriver to Cave-in-Rock on the Illinois shore.

Silver carp

By August 2009, they had become abundant in the Mississippi River watershed from Louisiana to South Dakota and Illinois, and had grown close to invading the Great Lakes via the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

Sludgeworth

Sludgeworth is an American punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois consisting of Dan Schafer (vocals), Adam White (guitar), Dave McClean (guitar), Mike Hootenstrat (bass), and Brian Vermin (drums).

Spalding High School

Spalding Institute, later Academy of Our Lady-Spalding Institute, now consolidated as Peoria Notre Dame High School in Peoria, Illinois

Stacey Cole

She recorded individual season highs of kills (28 v. Wester Illinois), attacks (3 games; 46 v. IUPUI, 4 games; 66 v. Western Illinois, 5 games; 60 v. UMKC), Digs (14 v. Oral Roberts), Aces (4 games, 6 v. Western Illinois; 5 games, 6 v. UMKC).

Stanley Steemer

The company sponsors the NASCAR "30-lap Stanley Steemer NASCAR Late Model" race held at Rockford Speedway in Rockford, Illinois.

Steadfast Networks

Steadfast Networks is a Chicago, Illinois-based Internet Service Provider primarily focused on Shared Hosting, Dedicated Servers and Colocation.

Step pyramid

The largest earthen work step pyramid of this type in North America is Monk's Mound, located in present-day Cahokia, Illinois.

Teco pottery

The American Terra Cotta Tile and Ceramic Company was founded in 1881; originally as Spring Valley Tile Works; in Terra Cotta, Illinois, between Crystal Lake, Illinois and McHenry, Illinois near Chicago by William Day Gates.

Treaty of Prairie du Chien

By this treaty, the tribes ceded to the United States an area in present-day northwestern Illinois and southwestern Wisconsin, as well as the areas currently occupied by the cities of Wilmette and Evanston.

Tri-state area

Three other prominent areas that have been labeled tri-state areas are the Cincinnati tri-state area, including Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana; the Pittsburgh tri-state area, covering parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia; and the Chicago tri-state area, also known as Chicagoland, which includes Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.

Violence Policy Center

The primary foundation donor to the VPC is the Joyce Foundation, which also supports other gun violence prevention organizations including the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence and the American College of Preventive Medicine.

WGEN

WGEN-FM, a radio station (88.9 FM) licensed to serve Monee, Illinois, United States

William T. Major

He founded the First Christian Church (affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) denomination) and built the city's first public meeting hall, Major's Hall, which hosted an early convention of the Illinois branch of the Republican Party and became best known as the site of "Lincoln's Lost Speech".