X-Nico

100 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.

2005–06 St. Louis Blues season

Peoria Rivermen (AHL) - Peoria, Illinois Posted 46-26-0-8 Record, lost in 2nd round of playoffs

Acosada

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

Adam's Ribs

Hawkeye and Trapper go down to try to negotiate them from a stubborn supply sergeant, who is willing to help once he finds out where they're from (as he lives in Joliet, a Chicago suburb, and is a huge fan of Adam's Ribs).

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.

Archer Avenue

Outside Chicago, Archer Avenue/Road passes through the villages of Summit, Justice, Willow Springs, and the southern edge of Lemont before terminating on the north side of Lockport.

Ayers, Illinois

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

Beatmania IIDX 14: Gold

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

Best Country Today

Beginning as one of the original Satellite Music Network formats over 20 years ago, its studios and offices were located in Mokena, Illinois, just outside of Chicago.

Brown County High School

Brown County High School, or BCHS, is a public four-year high school located at 500 East Main Street in Mount Sterling, Illinois, a small city in Brown County, Illinois, in the Midwestern United States.

Buda Engine Co.

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

BYD Company

US operations are limited to sales and marketing and can be found in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, and San Francisco, California.

Calvin B. Hoover

Hoover was born in Berwick, Illinois to John Calvin Hoover and Margaret Delilah Roadcap Hoove.

Canadian Martyrs

The martyrs are honored at Camp Ondessonk, a Catholic summer camp in Ozark, Illinois, where each unit of cabins is named after one of the martyrs.

Carlisle Trost

Admiral Carlisle Albert Herman Trost, USN (born April 24, 1930 in Valmeyer, Illinois) is a retired United States Navy officer who served as the Navy's twenty-third Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1 July 1986 to 29 June 1990.

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.

Central Street

Central Street (Evanston, IL), a major east-west road and shopping district in Evanston, 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.

Clint Frank

Clinton E. Frank died at the Evanston Hospital in Evanston, Illinois after a brief illness.

Dale Barnstable

Dale Barnstable (born 1925) is an American retired basketball player from Antioch, Illinois who was banned from the NBA for life in 1951 for point shaving.

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.

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.

E. Woolsey Peck

In 1867, he moved to Sycamore, Illinois then to Rockford, Illinois and then back to Tuscaloosa, Alabama.He was elected chairman of the Military Reconstruction Convention of 1867.

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 E. Wilson

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

Edwin R. Ridgely

Born near Lancaster, Illinois, Ridgely attended district school in the winter months.

Elgin Racers

The Windy City Dawgs were an International Basketball League team based in Palatine, Illinois.

Ellyn

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

For the Lonely Lest the Wiser

For the Lonely Lest the Wiser is the first EP but second release from Wauconda, Illinois rock outfit Dr Manhattan.

Francis Clay

Born and raised in Rock Island, Illinois, he started playing jazz, professionally at the age of 15, played drums behind many of the biggest names of 20th century popular American music.

Fred Holstein

Fred began playing around Chicago in the 1960s, first at places like the Old Town Pub and a bar in Morton Grove called Scot's Cellar.

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.

Genoa-Kingston High School

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

George E. Coghill

Born in Beaucoup, Illinois, to John Waller and Elisabeth Tucker Coghill, George started college at Shurtleff College in Alton, Illinois.

Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard

After he walked for 75 miles in a single night to warn the town of Danville of an impending raid by Indians, he earned the nickname "Pa-pa-ma-ta-be," or "Swift-Walker."

Heinen's Fine Foods

On August 22, 2012, after two years of market and distribution logistics research, the company opened its first store outside the Greater Cleveland area in The Shops at Flint Creek in Barrington, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.

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.

Herb Hake

Herbert V. Hake, son of Henry and Louisa Hake, was born August 10, 1903, in Hoyleton, Illinois.

Howie Crittenden

He was head basketball coach at Metropolis High School in Metropolis, Illinois and Calloway County High School in Murray, Kentucky.

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 Route 103

Route 103 begins at a junction with U.S. Route 24 in Woodstock Township in southern Schuyler County, northeast of Ripley.

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.

James Bullough Lansing

James Martini was born on January 14, 1902, in Greenridge, Nilwood Township, Macoupin County, Illinois to parents Henry Martini of St. Louis, Missouri, and Grace Erbs Martini of Central City, Illinois.

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.

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.

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.

Kate Booth

At her husband's wish, Katie and the children travelled with him to the cult leader John Alexander Dowie's Zion City, a township about 40 miles north of Chicago.

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.

Kohl McCormick Early Childhood Teaching Awards

The awards have been restricted to teachers in Cook County in Illinois, but beginning in 2008, the honor will be extended to DuPage County as well.

Kumler

Kumler, Illinois, ghost town in West Township, McLean County, Illinois, USA

Legality of piggybacking

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

Macon County, Illinois

Milam (former, now defunct, after merger with Mount Zion Township)

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.

Mentor Graham

William Mentor Graham (1800 - 1886) was an American teacher best known for tutoring Abraham Lincoln and giving him his higher education during the future US President's time in New Salem, Illinois.

Midwest League

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

Milam Township, Macon County, Illinois

Milam Township is a former township which was located in Macon County, Illinois.

Miles Henry Davis

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

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.

Nation of Celestial Space

The Nation of Celestial Space (also known as Celestia) was a micronation created by Evergreen Park, Illinois, resident James Thomas Mangan.

Network Solutions

During January, 2006, Network Solutions acquired e-commerce solutions company MonsterCommerce co-founded by Stephanie Leffler and Ryan Noble in Belleville, Illinois.

Osco Drug

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

Penny Bernard Schaber

Schaber was raised in Mundelein, Illinois and remained in Illinois to complete her Associate and Bachelor’s of Science degree from Southern Illinois University.

Peotone High School

Peotone High School or PHS, is a four-year high school located approximately 1 mile east of Interstate 57 near the intersection of Corning Ave and Rathje Rd in Peotone, Illinois, a village located 43 miles (69 km) south of Chicago, Illinois and 16 miles (25 km) north of Kankakee, Illinois, in the United States.

Peru, Nebraska

The first attempt to settle the community occurred in 1853 when some residents of Peru, Illinois.

Peter Newell

A native of McDonough County, Illinois, Newell built a reputation in the 1880s and 1890s for his humorous drawings and poems, which appeared in Harper's Weekly, Harper's Bazaar, Scribner's Magazine, The Saturday Evening Post, Judge, and other publications.

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.

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

Roger Sedarat

He was born in Normal, Illinois to an Iranian father and American mother, and grew up in San Antonio, Texas.

Roy Vernon Scott

Scott was born to Roy J. Scott and the former Edna Dodson in Wrights, an unincorporated community in Greene County in west-central Illinois.

Russell Schulz-Widmar

Born into a family of German and Dutch immigrants, Russell Schulz grew up northwest of Chicago, near the village of Hebron, Illinois.

Ryan Weemer

Ryan G. Weemer is a former Marine from Hindsboro, Illinois, who was tried in a military court for war crimes that were allegedly committed while he was on active duty during the Iraq War.

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.

Shop 'n Save

Shop ’n Save was founded in 1979 as a grocery store in Belleville, Illinois, near St. Louis, Missouri.

Sverre Lassen-Urdahl

Sverre Lassen-Urdahl (1913–2005) was a Norwegian alpine skier, born in Lake Forest, Illinois, United States.

Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas

One of the quotes from this Tablet, "The source of all learning is the knowledge of God, exalted be His glory" was chosen by Shoghi Effendi to adorn one of the doors on the House of Worship in Wilmette, 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.

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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.

Ulysses F. Doubleday

He was interred in the Bloomington Township Old City Cemetery, Bloomington, Illinois.

Uncle Tupelo discography

The discography of Uncle Tupelo, an alternative country band from Belleville, Illinois, consists of four studio albums, two compilation albums, three demo tapes, and five singles.

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.

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, Illinois, a village in Lake County, 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 Burton Roy

William Burton "Bill" Roy (born on 4 December 1958 in Versailles, Illinois) is a retired lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force and former U.S. Olympian in skeet shooting.

Winnetka, Los Angeles

Later Weeks renamed the colony Winnetka, after a farm he owned in Winnetka, Illinois.

WLMM

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

WXJO

In March 2000, the station changed call signs to the current WXJO, previously used on what is now WFUN-FM 95.5 Bethalto, Illinois.

Yorkville High School

Yorkville High School, or YHS, is a public four-year high school located in Yorkville, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States.


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.

Buffalo Grove ambush

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

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.

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.

Charles Woodward

Charles Edgar Woodward - (1876 – 1942), United States federal judge, and formerly Attorney-General of Illinois

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.

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)

Dan Douglas

He is a former president of the Washington County Farm Bureau and a board member of the Illinois River Watershed Partnership though the Illinois River does not reach Arkansas.

Dunkle

Dunkel, Illinois, unincorporated community in Christian County, Illinois, USA

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.

Frank Bonilla

Bonilla spent his first years of high school attending a Franciscan high school in Illinois, where he showed academic and leadership skills.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

James Edgar

Jim Edgar, former secretary of state and governor of Illinois

James Harrod

A contemporary of better known explorers like Daniel Boone, George Rogers Clark, Benjamin Logan, and Simon Kenton, Harrod led many expeditions into the regions that now form Kentucky and Illinois.

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.

Jewelers Building

35 East Wacker - in Chicago, Illinois, built in 1925-1927, designed by Joachim G. Giaver and Frederick P. Dinkelberg

Jill Gulseth

In April 2005 Gulseth represented Illinois in the Miss USA 2005 pageant held in Baltimore, Maryland, wearing clothing she had made herself, and placed third runner-up to Chelsea Cooley of North Carolina.

Jocelyn Brando

Jocelyn and Marlon Brando and their sister Frances grew up mostly in the Midwest—in Omaha, Nebraska, Evanston and Libertyville, Illinois, though the family also spent time in California.

Johan Engholm

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

Labor and Employment Relations Association

It originally consisted of about 100 researchers (economists; management, human resources, and labor relations researchers; attorneys, historians and sociologists) from 30 universities, including California-Berkeley, Columbia, Cornell, Illinois, Massachusetts (several campuses), MIT, Michigan, Michigan State, Northeastern, Rutgers, Stanford and UCLA, as well as universities in Canada and the United Kingdom.

Lybster

However, during the American Revolution, following some victories in the Ohio and Illinois territories, Patrick Sinclair felt it was necessary to move Fort Michilimackinac from its exposed location on the northernmost point of the lower peninsula of Michigan to Mackinac Island.

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.

Northfield, Illinois

This department is Accredited by CALEA, and was one of the first in the State of Illinois to become so accredited.

Octodad

The team behind the original Octodad consisted of eighteen students attending the DePaul University of Chicago, Illinois, eight of whom went to form Young Horses Inc, the team behind its sequel Dadliest Catch.

Olney Township, Nobles County, Minnesota

Finally, on June 15, 1874, the board accepted the suggestion of pioneer settler R. W. Moberly that the township be named after Olney, Illinois, county seat of Richland County, Illinois.

ORDVAC

J. P. Nash of the University of Illinois was a developer of both the ORDVAC and of the university's own identical copy, the ILLIAC, which was later renamed the ILLIAC I. Donald B. Gillies assisted in the checkout of ORDVAC at Aberdeen Proving Ground.

Pecatonica, Illinois

Pecatonica is the hometown of Hacks Auction, Northern Illinois premier auction house and J&J Tumbling and Trampoline which has produced several world class athletes, including 1988 Woman's Tumbling World Champion Megan Cunningham Gearhart (later a coach) and National Trampoline Team member Michael Devine.

Quercus × warei

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

Richtree Market

Richtree has announced plans to open one new location in Chicago, Illinois, in the Westfield Old Orchard Mall.

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).

Sergio McClain

McClain's father, Wayne, coached Manual High School during its title run, and after Sergio graduated from Illinois, Wayne joined Bill Self's staff as an assistant coach, where he continued to work under Bruce Weber, eventually following Weber to Kansas State.

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

Stanley Steemer

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

State Farm Downtown Building

The building is listed as a contributing property to the National Register of Historic Places listed Bloomington Central Business District, a historic district encompassing much of downtown Bloomington, Illinois.

Sunset Ridge School District 29

Sunset Ridge was the top middle school in Illinois in ISAT testing in 2005, and is always one of the top two public schools in the State of Illinois.

The Felix Culpa

For their second release, The Felix Culpa released THOUGHTCONTROL (2005, Common Cloud Records) - an EP/DVD combo that featured 4 new songs, a video for "A Murderer" (Commitment), a live set at the Knights of Columbus, Arlington Heights, IL, and roughly 2 hours of random tour footage.

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.

Tylman

Stanley D. Tylman (1893–1982), professor of dentistry (1920–1962), University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry

WBLN

WYZZ-TV, a television station (channel 43) licensed to Bloomington, Illinois, United States, which used the call sign WBLN from 1982 to September 1985

WDDD

WDDD-FM, a radio station (107.3 FM) licensed to Johnston City, Illinois, United States