Honoring the State of Illinois' 200th Anniversary

October 2018

Honoring the state of Illinois’ 200th anniversary Iroquois County’s Times-Republic — Illinois Bicentennial

Page 1

A special publication from Kankakee Valley Publishing.

Saukenuk was once home to Black Hawk, more than 6,000 Sauk

By Roger Ruthhart Island, wrote a report detailing the Indian villages When they did use arrows, they had metal tips, not Saukenuk was well-known as one of the largest Na- within his jurisdiction. stone. Their village on the shore of the Rock River tive American villages in North America, but one of Two miles up from the mouth of the Rock River was was a thriving metropolis during the summer. In fall, its residents, the warrior Black Hawk, was even better the “grand Sauk village where the principal chiefs, crops from their farms were stored in food pits and known. braves and warriors reside, ... and where all the afthey crossed the river and wintered in southern Iowa Although born in Saukenuk, which was located fairs pertaining to the Sauk Nation of Indians were and Missouri – returning to Saukenuk in the spring. where Rock Island stands today, his father Pyesa and transacted,” Forsyth wrote. “Indeed, I have seen many Unknowingly, the end of this lifestyle had been mother Summer Rain and other relatives could trace Indian villages, but I never saw such a large one or assured in 1804 when a few chiefs – possibly plied their ancestry back thousands of years. According such a populous one.” with alcohol – signed a treaty in St. Louis in which to their oral traditions, both the Sauk and Meskwaki Behind the town, on the side of the ridge, were the they agreed to move west of the Mississippi River in tribes were living in Canada 12,000 years ago at the Sauk gardens which Black Hawk indicated extended exchange for $1,000 a year, at such time as settlers time of the last glacial retreat. Many centuries later about 2 miles. Forsyth estimated the Sauk had about arrived seeking to live on the land. they were displaced from their Canadian home by the 800 acres under cultivation.

In 1830 the Sauk and Fox were ordered to leave Iroquois.

Saukenuk had a north-south and an east-west their villages in Illinois and move to Iowa. Black The Sauk and Meskwaki migrated through New esplanade that formed a “T.” The east-west road Hawk and others refused to accept the terms of the England and New York to 1804 treaty that the Sauk and Meskwathe area near Niagara Falls. ki had not been involved with.

By 1640, the Meskwaki had In the winter of 1830, the tribes left settled at the west end of Lake but faced a winter of near starvation.

Erie, near present-day Detroit, In spring 1831, Black Hawk defied and the Sauk near Saginaw the government order and returned to Bay in Michigan.

Saukenuk and planted crops.

In 1701, the decades-long war The settlers who had now occupied began between the French and the old village were alarmed. Illinois the Meskwaki, which almost Gov. John Reynolds sent 1,500 men led to the tribe’s extinction. to move the tribes out. On June 20 the Weakened, they joined the volunteer army moved on Saukenuk.

Sauk and together they miWhen the militia arrived at Saukenuk, grated to the Mississippi River, they found fresh footprints and fires where for nearly 100 years the still burning. The Sauk had left without tribes lived in their own vila fight. The militia burned the lodges, lages and farmed, hunted and destroyed the crops and vandalized the traded. main cemetery and dug up graves, acThe two tribes were sepacording to a letter from the new Indian rate nations. The Meskwaki agent, Felix St. Vrain, to Indian superwere the smaller of the two, intendent William Clark. numbering about 1,600. In Fearing he would be pursued, Black Rock Island, the Meskwaki Hawk went to Fort Armstrong and sued This statue of the warrior Black Hawk looks out over the had a village located across for peace. He got it, under the terms from Arsenal Island in what is Rock River Valley from a perch next to the lodge at Black that he would stay out of Illinois. now downtown Rock Island.

Peace lasted until the next winter Hawk State Historic Site in Rock Island.

In the days before the locks when the Indians, unable to grow crops and dams, the river was 17 in the less tillable land, once again feet lower than today. Fort Armstrong loomed 30 feet was defined by the river and the bluffs. It intersected faced starvation. In 1832 the Indians again crossed above the river, according to Beth Carvey, retired his- with a longer north-south avenue that was lined with into Illinois, marking the second year of the Black torian at the Black Hawk State Historic Site. many lodges. At one end was a gathering area and the Hawk War. Over the years, the Sauk had several cities called council lodge. We know there were as many as 100 or There were numerous skirmishes and Black Hawk’s Saukenuk. In 1808, the decision was made by the more lodges at one point, and Saukenuk was home to people, on the verge of starvation, fled into Wisconsin.

Sauk nation to consolidate smaller villages into the as many as 6,000 – perhaps more.

They were finally trapped at Bad Axe Creek where city now known as Saukenuk, located near the Rock For most of the years that the Sauk and Meskwaki they were slaughtered. Black Hawk and other leaders River in Rock Island. Its location is near the Black lived on these lands, their life was an idyllic one. were captured and the militia killed old men, women Hawk State Historic Site, home to the John Hauberg They lived peacefully in their villages with occasional and children, as well as 150 braves.

Indian Museum which commemorates the lifestyle of skirmishes with other Indian tribes. They traded with “When I call to mind the scenes of my youth and those who lived at Saukenuk. the French and fought alongside the British, providthose of later days – and reflect that the theatre on According to Ferrell Anderson, a local archaeologist, ing a lifestyle that was partially Indian and partially which these were acted had been so long the home the Meskwaki village was made up of two rows of European. of my fathers, who now slept on the hills around it, I huts – about 30 total – located where downtown Rock The Sauk lived what might be described as an afcould not bring my mind to consent to leave this counIsland is today. fluent lifestyle by Indian standards. Many of the Sauk try … for any earthly consideration,” Black Hawk In 1824, Thomas Forsyth, the Indian agent at Rock dressed in European clothes and hunted with rifles. wrote in his autobiography.

Page 2

Iroquois County’s Times-Republic — Illinois Bicentennial

October 2018

Getting your kicks on Route 66 The Mother Road offers amazing sights as it winds through Illinois

By The State Journal-Register staff Perhaps it is the yearning for yesteryear that endears so many to Route 66.

Who wouldn’t want to jump into a classic car and explore the United States, stopping at shiny new service stations to pump gas into your vehicle, or sip a cold drink from the soda shops that dot the roadway?

Such sepia-toned wishes of driving the Mother Road in its heyday could prompt many of us to start packing for a trip.

Ford had been mass-producing vehicles for a little more than a decade when Route 66 was commissioned on Nov. 11, 1926. It was one of the original highways within the U.S. Highway System, its 2,448 miles starting in Chicago before arriving on the West Coast in Los Angeles (and later the Santa Monica Pier).

By 1985, Route 66 had been removed from the federal highway system, as the entire road had been replaced by the Interstate Highway System.

But it’s still possible to get an idea of what the roadway looked like: Just stop in Lexington to take a trip down “Memory Lane,” a 1-mile stretch of the original 1926 alignment of Route 66 pavement. It was turned into an interpretive trail and is open year-round to pedestrians and bicycles. There, people can delight in the restored vintage billboards and signage.

Despite it not being part of the Interstate Highway System, every year thousands still travel Route 66 to explore the communities that make up America’s Main Street.

Just a small area of Route 66 in Illinois can net some fun experiences. Take Macoupin County: Stop in Girard for a handmade soda at Doc’s Soda Fountain, which opened in 1929 as part of Deck’s Drug Store.

Take in the 22-foot-high granite monument in Mount Olive of Mary Harris “Mother” Jones, known for her work as an organizer for the United Mine Workers. And, if you’re willing to go off the beaten path, you can find the 34 separate bird tracks an errant turkey left on the wet highway cement in the 1920s (find them south of Nilwood on Donaldson Road).

Any road trip should include visits to the many giant characters that call various Route 66 communities home. The Gemini Giant still towers over Wilmington. He holds a rocket and wears a space helmet — unlike his counterpart, the Lauterbach Man in Springfield, which holds an American flag and wears a stocking cap. Both are 28-foot “Muffler Man” creations from International Fiberglass, which were made as a promotional tool for auto shops.

Of course, the 19-foot fiberglass man holding a hot dog in Atlanta shouldn’t be missed either (too bad it’s not closer to the giant catsup bottle that served as a

water tower in Collinsville). And don’t forget to stop in Lincoln to see the 12-foot-tall Abraham Lincoln on a 24-foot-tall covered wagon.

There are too many amazing sights to be seen on the Mother Road to list them all. But we offer a few suggestions for those who hop on the roadway at its starting point near Lake Michigan in Chicago and head southwest as they aim to get their kicks on the portion of Route 66 that travels through Illinois.

Texaco Station, 417 W. Waupansie St. in Dwight Ambler’s Texaco in Dwight is a shining example of the domestic-style gas stations along Route 66 during the mid20th century.

Built in 1933, the station had wood clapboard siding, an arched roof and residential windows adorned with shutters and flower boxes. Three Texaco gas pumps out front were sheltered by a canopy.

In 2002, it was donated to the village of Dwight, which, with the help of the National Park Service, restored it and turned it into a visitor center.

changed to Beer Nuts.

Funks Grove Pure Maple Sirup, 5257 Historic U.S. 66 in Shirley/Funks Grove

Production of Funks Grove Pure Maple Sirup has been a family operation since the mid-1800s on land just off Route 66 between Shirley and Bloomington.

In early spring each year, the maple trees are tapped and the sap is processed into the sweet product that has made this business a favorite stop among Route Route 66 logo 66 travelers. Tours of the facility are available. at the rear of

(Above) The fills the wall the Route 66 Hall of Fame International Route 66 Mother Road Festival, Downtown & Museum in Pontiac.

(Below)The Gemini Giant Springfield More than 1,000 classic cars and has stood over Route 66 in tens of thousands of spectators annuWilmington since 1965. ally attend the three-day International Route 66 Mother Road Festival in downtown Springfield. This year’s is scheduled for Sept. 21-23.

There always has been food, special guests and musical entertainment. But from the Friday night cruise and restoration-parts vendors to the classic restored cars, trucks and motorcycles lining the curbs, it has been the motors that matter.

Route 66 Association Hall of Fame & Museum, 110 W. Howard St. in Pontiac With the world’s largest painting of the Route 66 shield on the outside and thousands of artifacts inside, the Route 66 Association Hall of Fame & Museum in Pontiac is a shrine to the starting stretch of the Mother Road.

The current incarnation opened in a former firehouse in 2004 and honors people and places that made significant contributions to the history and character of the road.

Beer Nuts, 103 N. Robinson St. in Bloomington Travelers have been able to find Beer Nuts since 1937.

That’s the year Arlo Shirk and his father, Edward Shirk, bought a small confectionery store in downtown Bloomington, along with the recipe for a special glazed peanut. In 1950, the Shirks packaged the first bag for a local liquor store, calling them “Shirk’s Glazed Peanuts.” Three years later, the name was

Sky View Drive-In Theatre, 1500 N. Old Route 66 N in Litchfield The Sky View Drive-In Theatre in Litchfield is the last operating drivein on Historic Route 66 in Illinois.

According to its website, the Sky View opened in the spring of 1950 and has been in operation each season since then. The Sky View is a seasonal operation and is usu ally open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from early April until midOctober.

Rabbit Ranch, 1107 Historic Old Route 66 in Staunton Henry’s Rabbit Ranch got its start in Staunton when founder Rich Henry’s daughter, Emily, had a pair of rabbits that quickly multiplied.

Since Emily lived in a single-room apartment, her father decided to help her out by establishing the Rabbit Ranch for the rabbits and their offspring. Today, the Rabbit Ranch is home to hundreds of rabbits that visitors can interact with (and VW rabbits, too). The ranch also contains Route 66 memorabilia.

amily Tree F y M

Dennis Clatterbuck

Darin Clatterbuck

227 W. Walnut Watseka, IL 60970

Iroquois County Genealogy Society 103 West Cherry St., Watseka, IL 60970

815-432-3730

iroqgene@gmail.com www.iroquoiscountygenealogy.org

October 2018

Iroquois County’s Times-Republic — Illinois Bicentennial

Page 3

Abraham Lincoln pivotal figure in securing Springfield as state capital

By Kate Schott would move the capital to Springfield. He had the backOf the State Journal-Register ing of eight legislative colleagues of the Whig Party who When state lawmakers head to the Capitol to do the were called the Long Nine, as their aggregate height was 54 people’s business, they travel to Springfield. But that wasn’t feet, according to the history provided in the 1975-76 Blue always the case.

Springfield became the state’s third capital city in 1839. And the story of how Springfield became the capital is a tall tale … well, it’s a tale with an outcome scripted by nine tall men.

Illinois has been governed from three cities and six buildings (one that was rented and five that were owned by the state), as told in an article in the 1975-76 edition of the legislative Illinois Blue Book. Kaskaskia was the first state capital after Illinois was admitted to the union in 1818, with the 29 House members and 14 senators in the first General Assembly of Illinois working in a rented two-story brick building at a cost of $4 per day.

Yet by December 1820, the second General Assembly was meeting in a new building in a new capital city, Vandalia, which was a more central location within the state’s original 16 southern counties. Lawmakers agreed Vandalia would remain the capital city for at least the next 20 years.

But it didn’t take long for many Illinois lawmakers - including a young state legislator who would go on to become the nation’s 16th president - to cite location as they began petitioning for the capital to be moved again.

The argument this time for relocating was that the capital should be closer to the geographical Construction began on the current Capitol center of the state.

In 1833 the General Assembly decided to ask 1868 and was finished in 1888. voters, via the next general election, to weigh in on where the capital should be, according to the Blue Book.

Book history. Vandalia, Jacksonville, Springfield, Peoria, An opponent to Springfield as the new location was a Alton and the state’s actual geographical center were the legislative foe Lincoln knew well; Stephen A. Douglas, options. Although Alton emerged with a slim majority, the who also was serving in the General Assembly and wanted results were ruled inconclusive.

Jacksonville to be the state capital. And the people of The idea of moving the capital continued to percolate, Vandalia weren’t about to give up easily: They built a new with talk put into action during the 1836-37 legislative brick statehouse in an attempt to keep the legislature where session when Abraham Lincoln introduced legislation that it was.

That effort was for naught, as after four balloting attempts Springfield received the majority of votes needed to move the state capital. There have been allegations over the years that the Long Nine traded favors in order for Springfield to emerge triumphant, although Sen. Paul Simon in his book “Lincoln’s Preparation for Greatness” disputed that notion.

Regardless of how the decision came to pass, state government began operating in Springfield by the end of 1839.

Work began in 1837 on a new Capitol building on the Springfield Town Square, with the first Capitol building providing room for the state House and Senate, the governor and other elected officials, as well as housing the Illinois Supreme Court, according to the book “A. Lincoln: His Illinois,” published by The State Journal-Register in 2008.

As the state’s population grew, so too did its government, and within a few decades a bigger building was needed to accommodate the elected officials.

Construction began on the current Capitol building in 1868 and was finished in 1888, although lawmakers moved in about halfway through the construction process. The first building, now known as the Old State Capitol, remains and is often used for re-enactments, performances, rallies and political speeches.

As the state’s capital, Springfield has witnessed some of the most important building in political moments in Illinois history. It’s where Lincoln gave his “House Divided” speech, in which he condemned slavery. Almost 150 years later, it’s where Barack Obama announced in 2007 he was running for president of the United States.

Of course, it’s also where four governors who later went to prison on various charges served as chief executive of the state. And as long as Springfield remains Illinois’ capital city, it will continue to be where some of the most politically important decisions about Illinois are made.

Lincoln turns tide in debates against Douglas in Galesburg

By Owen W. Muelder Lincoln’s query by saying the people who settled a territory would determine whether or For the Register-Mail of Galesburg not slavery could exist there. Put back on his heels, he hoped his answer would satisfy all The Lincoln-Douglas Debates are among the most important events in the United State’s parties, but it failed. history.

The third debate, in mid-September in downstate Jonesboro, was poorly attended. In The seven debates were conducted throughout Illinois in the summer and fall of 1858. southern Illinois, slavery was popular with many citizens. Lincoln finally came out more Not only significant in their own time, the debates have since been recognized as an ultiforcefully in Jonesboro, but he faced a hostile crowd and was characterized by Douglas mate example of our political process - which has continued throughout the centuries as as a radical. This debate is considered by most scholars a somewhat inglorious affair. The most office seekers nationwide debate each other fourth debate, in Charleston, was on neutral every campaign season. ground for both men and is remembered as a Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln were stalemate. respectively the Democratic and Republican party On a chilly day at Knox College’s Old Main candidates for the U.S. Senate. The primary quesin Galesburg, the fifth debate on Oct. 7 drew tion these men discussed was whether slavery more spectators than any of the other six conshould be extended into the nation’s territories. tests. Lincoln scholars are nearly unanimous Lincoln was not an abolitionist, but he loathed in describing this debate as the one where Linslavery and looked forward to a time when it would coln found his legs, displaying a confidence he disappear. He also maintained that it should be forhad not shown before. bidden from being established in new states that deLincoln knew Galesburg was an abolitionsired to join the Union. Douglas defended the conist town, known for harboring fugitives on cept of “Popular Sovereignty,” whereby the people the Underground Railroad. Standing erect who resided in western territories should have the and self-assured on a stage above the crowd, right to decide if slavery would be allowed.

Lincoln spoke for the first time at length about The slavery question was so important then that the immorality of slavery. no other political issue was raised by either candi“I confess myself as belonging to that class Tablets of Abraham Lincoln and Stephen date during the debates. in the country that contemplates slavery as a Public oratory was popular in the 19th century; Douglas adorn the east entrance of Old Main moral, social and political evil,” he said. Paraboth candidates often used harsh language and phrasing Henry Clay, he accused Douglas of outspoken mud-slinging to characterize each other. on the Knox College campus in Galesburg. “blowing out the moral lights around us.”

People attending these contests also shouted out Lincoln biographer Benjamin Thomas derogatory comments and catcalls toward both men. Spectators came from every part of described the Galesburg contest as the turning point for Lincoln. One Boston newspaper Illinois to hear the speakers and newspapers throughout the country published detailed acreporter described Lincoln as “eloquent and bold.” Lincoln was so successful emphasizing counts. this moral theme in Galesburg that he repeated it at the sixth debate in Quincy.

The first debate, in Ottawa, was held on a blisteringly hot day in the third week of AuDouglas, often a heavy drinker, was described as “tight”and spoke slowly, hammering gust. Most historians agree Douglas put Lincoln on the defensive; consequently, the “Little home his contention that decisions about slavery should be left to local and state governGiant” appeared to be the winner. ments. In the final debate, at Alton, which was a rehashing of the previous points, DougHowever, at the second contest in Freeport, Douglas was put on the defensive. Lincoln las, his voice fraying, seemed worn down. An energetic Lincoln said the Declaration of asked Douglas how he could reconcile his “Popular Sovereignty” stance with the Supreme Independence applied to all men, not just some, and the slavery question was between right Court’s Dred Scott decision, which ruled that slaveholders had the right to introduce and wrong. slavery into the territories. If Douglas responded that he supported the Dred Scott decision In November, the state Legislature re-elected Douglas by 54 to 46, but the debates he would please Southerners, but if he stood by his “Popular Sovereignty” position, most catapulted Lincoln’s name and reputation across the nation; the Republican Party nomiSoutherners would never forgive him. nated him for the presidency two years later. His election victory proved to be a significant His reply that day has since been dubbed the “Freeport Doctrine.” Douglas responded to watershed in American history.

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Page 4

Iroquois County’s Times-Republic — Illinois Bicentennial

October 2018

President Ronald Reagan

Reagan’s Illinois: A place of honor, integrity, kindness that inspired a president

By Jim Dunn Of Sauk Valley Media On Feb. 6, 1984, President Ronald Reagan was riding high as he celebrated his 73rd birthday in Dixon, Illinois, the county seat of Lee County and the town where he lived as a youth for a dozen years starting in 1920.

More than half a century earlier, Reagan had ventured forth from his hometown to earn a bachelor’s degree at Eureka College, class of 1932 – not an easy feat during the Great Depression.

Then he became a radio sports announcer in Iowa, an actor in about 50 Hollywood movies, president of the Screen Actors Guild, a television personality, and spokesman for General Electric.

Turning to politics in the 1960s, he served as governor of California for two terms and, on his third try, was elected 40th president of the United States.

His hometown birthday bash in 1984 found Reagan – tall, handsome and known for his sense of humor – in good spirits as he addressed a crowd that packed Dixon High School’s Lancaster Gymnasium.

His speech came after he and his wife, Nancy, rode in a parade and lunched at his boyhood home, which local residents had rushed to renovate in time for the big day.

“Birthdays are special moments, and you’ve given me one today,” Reagan said. “But I must tell you, even though this is the 34th anniversary of my 39th birthday (the crowd laughs), those numbers don’t faze me at all. I believe Moses was 80 when God first commissioned him for public service.”

After more audience chuckles, Reagan continued: “And I also remember something that Thomas Jefferson once said. He said, ‘We should never judge a president by his age, only by his works.’ And ever since he told me that – (laughter) – I’ve stopped worrying. There are those who say I’ve stopped working.” (More laughter) Reagan, known as The Great Communicator for his TV addresses to the nation from the Oval Office, could afford to poke fun at himself.

He was feeling healthy and fit, nearly three years after being shot by John Hinckley in March 1981, barely two months after his inauguration.

The economy was growing again after a tough 1982 recession.

And his re-election chances looked good. Reagan, a Republican, would go on to receive 59 percent of the vote that fall and carry 49 states in a defeat of Democratic nominee Walter Mondale.

The former vice president had served under the man Reagan more narrowly defeated in 1980, President Jimmy Carter.

It was quite an accomplishment for the only president born in Illinois.

The son of Jack and Nelle Reagan, Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on Feb. 6, 1911, in a secondfloor Main Street apartment in the Whiteside County village of Tampico.

A conservative icon to many, a proponent of REAGAN

leaner government and a stronger national defense, Reagan served from 1981 to 1989 amid trying times.

Among them: Reagan’s firing in 1981 of 11,000 striking air traffic controllers; the 1983 explosion at a U.S. barracks in Beirut that killed 241 Marines and sailors; the 1986 space shuttle Columbia disaster; and the Iran-Contra scandal where arms were traded for hostages.

But in Reagan’s Illinois, folks remember the positives: a new spirit of optimism; economic expansion; the invasion of Grenada to oust leftist revolutionaries; and nuclear arms reduction treaties with the Soviet Union.

At the Ronald Reagan Birthplace, Tampico residents still serve cake every year on Reagan’s birthday. A few years ago, they erected a statue of Reagan as a boy playing on a cannon in the town park.

In Dixon, they’re fixing up Reagan’s boyhood home again. Numerous rehab projects were undertaken in 2017 to repair deteriorated parts of the house, built in 1891.

Down the street in a restored three-story brick school building, the Northwest Territory Historic Center preserves Reagan’s grade-school classroom and has a display of his movie posters.

Two statues commemorate Reagan: one portrays him wearing a suit outside the boyhood home, and the other, in the city’s downtown riverfront park, shows him, clad in riding clothes, astride a stallion – just as he appeared in a local parade in 1950.

An effort to erect a statue of young Reagan as a lifeguard at Dixon’s Lowell Park has yet to bear fruit. Over seven summers, he rescued 77 struggling swimmers from the Rock River.

Reagan’s tough stance against communism is recalled in Dixon’s downtown, where a replica of the Berlin Wall stands. Less than a year after he left office, the Cold War-era wall fell.

Reagan’s name would be preserved on everything from a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, to an airport, government buildings and roads, to Dixon’s own Reagan Middle School.

His post-presidency, which included publishing his memoir, “An American Life,” in 1990 and dedicating his presidential library in Simi Valley, California, in 1991, was dominated by his bout with Alzheimer’s disease. He bore the illness for nearly 10 years until his death in California on June 5, 2004. He was 93.

All that still lay ahead as Reagan stood at the Dixon High School podium on Feb. 6, 1984, and thanked “everyone who made this terrific day possible.”

The president praised the spirit of small-town America that had the nation “back on her feet and moving forward with confidence.”

And he said: “So, you see, the reason I came home today was not to celebrate my birthday, but to celebrate Dixon and America. Honor, integrity and kindness do exist all across our land.”

Honor, integrity and kindness are qualities that inspired a president. He learned to appreciate them in small-town Illinois – Reagan’s Illinois.

Ronald Reagan’s ‘quintessential’ story began at Eureka College

By Lenore Sobota Of the Pantagraph Illinois may be known as the Land of Lincoln, but it’s another president with Illinois roots who offers lessons to which people today can more easily relate, say officials of Ronald Reagan’s alma mater.

Reagan graduated from Eureka College in 1932. He went on to become a sports broadcaster, movie and television actor, governor of California and the 40th president of the United States.

“The Reagan story is the quintessential Illinois story,” said Michael Murtagh, the college’s vice president for institutional advancement. “He is a person who came from small-town Illinois and made a difference in the world.”

As noted by Mike Thurwanger, head of the Reagan Leadership Program at the college: “One of the things he offers is the understanding that an individual from humble beginnings can rise to a position where he has an impact on the world.”

While not downgrading the importance of Abraham Lincoln, Murtagh notes: “Lincoln grew up in a log cabin. … People can’t relate to that.”

Reagan, on the other hand, faced financial struggles, went to college on a “needy student” scholarship while also working, and had a father with a drinking problem, said Murtagh.

“His life struggles exemplify many of the life struggles our students still face,” he said. “He is proof that you

can overcome that kind of thing.

Reagan’s life is something students can relate to.”

Thurwanger said Reagan’s “Midwestern and Illinois values colored the way he approached things” and even some of his critics would like to see a return to some of what he was known for, such as his ability to “work across the aisle, which we don’t seem to be doing today.”

Signs of Reagan’s life both before and after his graduation remain on campus — and not just in the Reagan Museum that opened in 1994 in the Cerf Center.

There is the chapel where Reagan gave his first speech as a college freshman.

“The chapel hasn’t changed a lot,” said Murtagh “The pews have been removed but the feel is still there.”

But for Murtagh, “The Reagan Peace Garden stands out for me.”

Dedicated in May 2000, the garden contains a bronze bust of a smiling Reagan by artist Lonnie Steward and a 5-by-4-foot section of the Berlin Wall, given by the Federal Republic of Germany.

Around the base that holds the bust are quotes from Reagan’s 1982 commencement address, at which he outlined his plans for seeking peace with the Soviet Union and for strategic arms reduction, with a goal of “dismantling the nuclear menace.”

“Peace is not the absence of conflict but the ability to cope with conflict by peaceful means,” reads one of the quotes.

The impact of Reagan teaming with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev to end the Cold War is not lost on Thurwanger and Murtagh.

“Both of us are Cold War veterans,” said Thurwanger, noting that he and Murtagh each served in the military for 20 years. “I’m not sure the current generation has a full grasp of his importance” in ending the Cold War. A plaque in front of the section of the Berlin Wall contains the famous quote from Reagan’s 1987 visit to West Berlin: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”

Gorbachev dismissed the role that Reagan played in the eventual dismantling of the wall. But during a visit to Eureka College in 2009, the former Soviet leader said, “When all is said and done, he was a great man.”

Gorbachev is among many dignitaries, including former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who have visited Eureka College over the years because of the Reagan connection and the efforts of the Ronald Reagan Society at Eureka College to preserve his legacy.

Sheldon Public Library District

125 N. Fifth St.

Sheldon, IL

CELEBRATING 101 YEARS!

October 2018

Iroquois County’s Times-Republic — Illinois Bicentennial

Page 5

(Left) The first Decatur Staley team is photographed.

(Below) The original football helmet of Walter “Red” May is on loan from his son, Charles May.

Chicago Bears NFL franchise began in Decatur as the Staleys

By Justin Conn Of the Decatur Herald & Review A.E. “Gene” Staley’s successful corn manufacturing company in Decatur was already producing starch, glucose, sugar and syrup in 1919 when it added professional football to the assembly line.

Staley, owner of the Staley Manufacturing Co., would eventually make Decatur the “Soybean Capital of the World.” He was behind the creation of Lake Decatur, the Staley viaduct and the Staley Building (now the Tate and Lyle Building).

But Staley’s legacy will forever be linked with the NFL’s Chicago Bears, originally the Decatur Staleys — a football team that grew from Staley’s desire to dominate an industrial football league and expand his brand.

With no professional football league at that time and many former college football players working factory jobs, industrial leagues rose in popularity in the early 1900s — particularly in the college-football-crazy Midwest.

Staley, wanting to offer athletics as an outlet for his employees, decided in 1919 to form a team of his own. The first team was made up of the existing pool of Staley employees, though about half the squad had played in college. The team practiced and played at Staley Field — built and also used as a baseball facility.

After losing their first game, the Staleys won their next six games in the seven-game season, five in blowouts, to win the Central Illinois Championship.

One of those wins was a 41-0 drubbing of the Arcola Independents. Later that year, Arcola requested a rematch. Staley, though, found out that Arcola had hired Dutch Sternaman, a top player at the University of Illinois, to recruit some players — ringers. He refused to play them.

“Staley felt that was unfair — his players were just guys from the company,” Staley Museum Director Laura Jahr said. “He wasn’t willing to send his players in to be humiliated.”

But Arcola wasn’t alone. Many of the other teams in the industrial league the Staleys played in also hired workers because of their sports talent.

Staley didn’t want to be outdone, and began to think bigger than just the regional league.

He saw the Staleys as a way to spread the company name nationally and, in 1920, George Halas was hired as player and coach.

Halas was a 1917 Illinois graduate who had played football, baseball and basketball for the Illini before joining the Navy in 1918 and leading the Naval Academy to a Rose Bowl win against Notre Dame. He later joined the New York Yankees, but his career was cut short by injury and he went to work with a Chicago railroad.

Staley dispatched the company’s general superintendent, George Chamberlain, to hire Halas to coach and play for the team, and also recruit friends and recent college players.

“Staley and Halas came to the agreement that while the football players would have to work at the company, they would get two hours off from their duties each day to practice,” Jahr said. “Halas didn’t want to jeopardize his football reputation by fielding a team that wasn’t ready to play.”

Staley hired the players at a pay rate of $50 per week — a high wage in 1920. Suddenly, Sternaman — the player Staley refused to play against the year before — was a member of Staley’s team. Some of the 1919 roster was brought back, but they were joined by Nebraska All-American Guy Chamberlain along with several former Illinois and Notre Dame players

thanks to recruiting barnstorm tour by Halas.

Staley wanted a bigger stage for his players, so Halas reached out to the owner of a team, the Canton (Ohio) Bulldogs, who had just formed a league made up of several Ohio teams.

Halas convinced the members of that league to expand — it was called the American Professional Football Association — and it played the 1920 season with 14 teams.

The 1920 Staleys beat the Chicago Tigers 6-0 to win the Western Championship, then played the heavily favored Akron Indians to a scoreless tie in the championship game.

It soon became apparent, though, that paying the highest caliber players, but playing at a 2,500-seat facility in a small city, wasn’t going to be profitable long term.

Staley insisted he didn’t mind if the team lost money — his vision was advertising — but when the company didn’t perform well in 1920, shareholders began looking at the football team as dead weight.

The next year, in 1921, Staley agreed to bring in Halas and Sternaman as part owners of the team, and later Halas and Sternaman bought the remaining shares of the team from Staley for $100 and moved most of the team’s games to Cub Park in Chicago, which is now known as Wrigley Field, which was larger than Staley Field.

That season, still competing as the Staleys thanks to an advertising agreement between Staley and Halas, the Staleys won the APFA Championship, beating Buffalo 10-7.

After wearing their red jerseys and tan pants the first two games of the season in Decatur, when they moved to Chicago, Halas refitted his team in blue jerseys with orange stripes — the colors of his alma mater.

By then, the grumbling shareholders had been joined by the factory workers, who didn’t appreciate the high wages and preferential treatment the football players were receiving despite doing little to nothing to help everyday production.

A cartoon was produced in the Staley Journal showing “Ma Corn,” rocking her baby, “Football,” while her other children, “Corn Oil,” “Starch,” “Syrup,” “Glucose” and “Feed,” sat around her misbehaving. Mama Corn is saying, “Children keep quiet. You have done nothing but make noise since little brother came.”

In early 1922, Staley announced the company would no longer be in the business of professional football. He estimated pro football had cost the company $100,000.

“We could not get the crowds in Decatur or other small cities to permit us to break even,” Staley told the Decatur Herald in February 1922. “Our big football games were played in Chicago, where we could get metropolitan crowds.

“Considering everything, especially the interests of the stockholders, we did not feel warranted in keeping it up.”

In 1922, Halas renamed the team the Bears, and in the same year the APFA changed its named to the National Football League. Today, the NFL is the most popular sports league in the United States.

The Chicago Bears, according to the latest calculation by Forbes Magazine in 2017, are valued at $2.85 billion — seventh-most among NFL franchises.

Veterans Day facts and figures

V

eterans Day, once known as Armistice Day, was first celebrated on November 11, 1919, the anniversary of the end of World War I. In 1928, the United States Congress passed a resolution for Armistice Day to be an annual observation, and by 1938, the day became a national holiday.

Differing from Memorial Day in May, Armistice Day, which would be renamed Veterans Day in 1954 under President Dwight Eisenhower, pays tribute to veterans who survived various wars. Memorial Day commemorates those veterans who lost their lives.

Americans celebrate Veterans Day, while residents of Great Britain, Canada and Australia celebrate Remembrance Day. Those who want to learn more about Veteran’s Day can consider the following facts.

• According to the American Community Survey, there were 19.3 million military veterans in the United States in 2014. Of those, 1.6 million were female.

• California, Texas and Florida comprise the states with the largest number of veterans, equalling one million or more.

• Veterans consist of people who served in the military. This includes the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.

Veterans serve in times of war and peace.

• The word “veteran” comes from the Old English language and means “old, experienced soldier.” The first use of the word was documented in 1789.

• Although many veterans are working, and the average annual income of male veterans

is $37,000, some veterans continue to be unemployed. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the overall unemployment rate for veterans rose to 7.6 percent in January 2013. The unemployment rate of post-9/11 veterans or those who participated in the Gulf War reached 6.2 percent.

• Upon retiring or being discharged, veterans may need help acclimating to life outside the military. The Department of Veterans Affairs says about 30 percent of Vietnam War veterans have been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

• Between 1971 and 1977, Veterans Day was celebrated on the fourth Monday in October. It was changed back to its original date, November 11, in 1975 when President Gerald Ford signed bill S.331 into law. The change went into effect beginning in 1978.

• An American soldier was buried at the national cemetery in Arlington on November 11, 1921. His identity was unknown, and the gravesite is known as the “Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.” Each year on Veterans Day, the president or another high-ranking member of the government places a wreath on the grave. A guard from the Society of the Honor Guard stands watch over the grave.

Veterans Day occurs each year on November 11, marking the end of World War I. The day has evolved into a celebration and remembrance of the heroism of America’s brave soldiers.

Cong. Kinzinger and Rep. Bennett would like to thank all veterans for their dedication and service.

Tom Bennett Adam Kinzinger State Representative 106th District Pd. for by Friends of Tom Bennett

US Congressman IL-16th Pd. for by Kinzinger for Congress

Page 6

Iroquois County’s Times-Republic — Illinois Bicentennial

October 2018

Illinois is the heart of the U.S. Interstate system

Illinois and its Interstate system is key to the U.S. economic structure, serving its food supply, inland ports and trainyard hubs in the center of the county.

By Shane Nicholson then spanning from Champaign to Springfield, had been added to the state’s Of the Rock River Times growing highway system. Throughout this rapid transition of the Illinois’s highIts neighbor to the east may claim “The Crossroads of America” title, but by way system, the bane of existence for commuters in and around the Chicago nearly any measure, Illinois is the heart of the U.S. Interstate system. area came into existence: the Illinois Tollway.

Illinois has the third highest total of Interstate routes and mileage. Only New As the state struggled to complete modern highways during World War II, the York and California have more I-designated first tollway commission was established, Interstate timeline roadways, with 7- and 25-million more resibecoming the Illinois State Toll Highway dents, respectively. Only Texas and Califor- 1916: The Federal Aid Road Act is passed to establish a nationwide Commission in 1953. The initial three toll system of modern highways.

World War I prevents most of its funds nia routes cover more mileage, though those roads, completed by 1958 – the Jane Adstates are 5- and 3-times larger by territory. from being disbursed, and the Act passes out of law in 1921. dams, Tri-State and East-West Tollways – all 1918: A civil engineer during a presentation at The Congress Hotel in And the importance of the routes — many were eventually rolled into the Interstate Chicago proposes a 50,000-mile system of transnational highways. of which were designed to pass through or system as the nationwide spiderweb of su1921: The Phipps Act, a reconstruct of the 1916 act, targets funding for near Chicago, with its access to the global perhighways began to take shape. Today, the a nationwide series of interconnected highways. Gen. John J. Persheconomy — further spell out the importance ing follows up with a proposed map of roads considered of importance re-christened Toll Authority has added I-355 of Illinois as a hub of trans-U.S. travel. The to the national defense, with 20,000 miles of interconnected primary and state Route 390 among the ranks of its two longest treks of the Interstate system, administered roads. highways.

I-90 and I-80, pass through Illinois on their 1939: The Bureau of Public Roads Division under President Franklin By the early 1990s, the majority of the coast-to-coast journeys. And two key conRoosevelt issues a report, “Toll Road and Free Roads,” now considered modern Illinois Interstate system was comnections to the Gulf States, I-55 and I-65, plete. As the USDOT planned supplementary the first blueprint of the Interstate Highway System. reach their nadir in the Chicago area. Add 1941: The Toll Highway Authority is established as highway construc- highways in the 1960s and 1970s to fill in in I-57, I-64, I-70 and I-94 and an Illinois gaps between anchor roads of the original tion around Chicago stalls during World War II. driver can reach almost every population 1951: The Edens Expressway, the state’s first expressway and now part 1956 decree, Illinois laid down pavement center in the nation by navigating one inter- of I-94, opens north of Chicago. over its vast farmlands. I-24 was completed 1953: The Illinois State Toll Highway Commission is established, change. in the south of the state, and the state’s porreplacing the THA. “Illinois is at the heart of the country’s tion of I-64 was completed in 1974. State 1955: Inspired by his travel across the United States as a young Army interstate highway system,” the Illinois Route 5, the original moniker of the Eastofficer and his time in Germany during World War II, President Dwight Department of Transportation boasts. That West Tollway, saw a re-designation to I-88 was not without intent: When the Dwight D. D. Eisenhower announces plans for the modern Interstate system. in 1987 as Illinois sought to raise the speed 1956: The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 is signed into law, estabEisenhower National System of Interstate limit on the route connecting Chicago to the lishing the Interstate Highway System. and Defense Highways was authorized in Quad Cities.

1957: Construction of I-80 begins, with the modern Kingery Express1956, Illinois was the fourth most-populous With that, I-39 saw its first segment restate in the nation (Texas and Florida leaped way being the first section of Interstate open in Illinois. place the existing U.S. 51 from U.S. 20 out1958: The Northwest, Tri-State and East-West Tollways open. over Illinois in the rankings during the side Rockford to Rochelle. While IDOT had 1959: The original five tollway oases are opened. second-half of the 20th century). requested I-39 to stretch from the Wisconsin 1964: The Stevenson Expressway, one of the first portions of I-55 Illinois was a key part of the economic border to Marion County, the length of the completed near Chicago, opens. The earliest stretch of I-55 was a restructure of the country: Its endless fields claimed portion of U.S. 66. The St. Louis-Chicago connection was part proposed highway was shortened through a a critical part of the food supply; its inland number of revisions, with the final route endof the second phase of Interstates finished in the 1970s. port a means for the Midwest industrial ing at Bloomington. U.S. 51 was upgraded 1968: I-80 is completed. centers to reach the outside world; its train- 1969: I-180, a 13-mile spur in the center of the state, is completed, through to Decatur as part of the overhaul. yards the center by which the entire U.S. rail connecting I-80 to the Jones & Laughlin steel plant in Hennepin. The Since the completion of I-39 in 1992, Ilsystem operated around. linois has seen only one new Interstate: the plant closes soon after I-180’s completion and doesn’t re-open until It was natural, then, that the original Inter- 2002.

9/10ths of a mile I-41 in Lake County. That state plan released in 1955 saw key arteries 1971: I-57, Illinois’ longest Interstate at 386 miles, is completed near roadway came about as a construct of the originate and pass through Illinois, includWisconsin DOT re-purposing U.S. 41, from Paxton. ing I-55, I-57, I-64, I-70, I-74, I-80, I-90 and 1972: IDOT is formed following a decade-long study of Illinois’ trans- the north suburbs of Chicago to Green Bay, I-94. Illinois was cementing its place as the portation system. into an Interstate of its own. Its brief stint in 1978: The Eisenhower Expressway is re-designated as I-290. It was heart of the nation’s roads.

Illinois sees it paired with I-94 as it crosses formerly considered part of I-90, which was moved to the Northwest As the Interstate system began to take the state line.

Tollway and Kennedy Expressway. shape, Illinois’ road budget began its long All told, 24 routes — 13 primary and 11 climb to the present-day $14.1 billion figure. 1984: I-39 from Rochelle to Rockford is opened. secondary — compose the modern Illinois 1987: I-88, the former East-West Tollway renamed in honor of PresiMaintenance costs ballooned from $59.6 Interstate, covering some 2,500 miles. And million to $128.1 million during the 1950s. dent Ronald Reagan, is completed, reaching its west end at I-80 in East while Indiana may continue to lay claim to Moline.

A state commission recommended the forthat “crossroads” crown, as Illinois celmation of IDOT, bringing the transportation 1989: I-355 is opened in the western suburbs, alleviating traffic on the ebrates 200 years — with nearly 1,000 more Tri-State Tollway and creating another bypass route around Chicago. system, including the interstates, under a miles of blue-and-red-signed roadways than 1992: I-39 is completed. single office in Springfield. its eastern neighbor — its residents should 2009: I-490, a bypass around the west side of O’Hare International When IDOT formed in 1972, only I-64 know that it is still the true heart of AmeriAirport, is proposed. Construction is expected to begin in 2018. remained incomplete from the U.S. govern- 2015: I-41 is completed in northeast Lake County. The road runs only ca’s fascination with the highway. ment’s original Interstate plan, and I-72, 9/10ths of a mile in Illinois.

Congratulations!

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815-432-2416

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Celebrating 200 years as the 21st state.

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October 2018

Iroquois County’s Times-Republic — Illinois Bicentennial

Page 7

Illinois rivers helped feed economic growth in state

By Joseph Bustos Natural habitats for ducks, fish and mussels were negatively affected and populations Of the Belleville News-Democrat crashed, Wiant said. Eventually there were wildlife refuges established to give habitat to During the first century of the state’s history, the natural habitats along the Illinois River ducks to try to keep those population. helped spur fishing industries and had places for hunting.

“To maintain navigation, you need stable water levels. To get stable water levels you need The Illinois River was a habitat for bottom-feeding fish such as catfish, common carp and locks and dams. To keep the channel in place you need levees,” Wiant said. “Levees then smallmouth buffalo as well as mussels. The abundance of fish led to a commercial fishing cut off the backwater lakes from the natural hydrology of the river, and while you’re proindustry between Havana and Meredosia, according to the state museum. Towns had their ducing agricultural commodities, which are good things to be sure, the price you’re paying, own markets that processed and shipped fish to large Midwestern and Eastern cities from the natural habitats are deteriorated.” the 1890s to the 1950s.

Using the Illinois River, as well as the Mississippi River, as economic engines for the Sport hunters formed clubs and transportation of goods continues today. bought land along the Illinois River In recent years, there has been an effort to increase the amount of commodities to start duck hunting resorts manand goods that are moved down the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. aged by locals, according to the America’s Central Port has been awarded a $713,000 federal grant to help load state museum. containers on the Illinois River at Beardstown. The containers would be sent to However, there also was a deChicago to be loaded onto trains, or to St. Louis where containers would be placed mand to be able to transport goods, on trains, or continue down the Mississippi River on barges to New Orleans. The which changed life along the river. project is still in the planning stages.

Reports in the 1830s said the Cargill has grain elevators along the Illinois river, in locations such as Havana. river wasn’t navigable in 70 to Barges are loaded and then sent down the river and eventually connected to the 80 places during the low-water Mississippi River where they head toward the Gulf of Mexico where they are then months. A canal was eventually shipped around the world to places such as Europe and Japan. built between LaSalle and Chicago.

“There’s an immense amount of grain that is transported along the river today,” “The canal was instrumental in Wiant said. “So, if you look at Naples, and Beardstown, and Meredosia and HaChicago’s growth,” said Michael vana, the number of elevators of grain handling facilities in Havana is stunning.

Wiant, the interim director for the They do an incredible amount of transportation of grain from that point.”

Illinois State Museum. “There’s a Steamboats on the Illinois River.

According to the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative, nearly $5 billion recognition there, navigability on in annual revenue and 20,000 jobs are generated by commercial navigation on the the river would give vitality to the Mississippi River. economy of Illinois.”

In 2015, 35 million tons of goods moved on the Mississippi River through the St. Louis Towns along the Illinois River, such as Naples, Grafton, Peoria and Beardstown, are the area, according to data provided by the St. Louis Regional Freightway, which is a freight earliest communities in the region to be established. Ottawa had deposits of silica sand, that district and comprehensive authority for freight operations and opportunities within eight would be transported into Chicago for construction. counties that compose the St. Louis metropolitan area.

“You could begin to see the river as an artery that literally feeds the heart of the city,” “It’s a combination that adds up to the St. Louis region having inexpensive barge freight Wiant said. rates for the handling of fertilizer, steel, manufactured goods, coal, petroleum products and Levees eventually were built along waterways to keep the river in place, and maintain agricultural commodities,” said Mary Lamie, executive director of the freightway. a channel. That infrastructure decision also eventually drained floodplains and backwater The St. Louis area, and the freightway district, has touted how one-third of all the river habitats, which led to those areas becoming land for row-crop agriculture. freight traffic from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Cairo, Illinois, goes through the St. Louis “The river is largely, by the early part of the 20th century, engineered to handle that trans- region. portation issue that is having vitality,” Wiant said. “But it comes at a price of not only the The St. Louis Regional Freightway is promoting the Mississippi River between Illinois natural powerhouse of the backwater lakes, things like commercial fishing industries are and Missouri as the “Ag Coast.” Ports in the St. Louis area are the northernmost ice-free affected negatively. It changes the character of the river profoundly.” and lock-free access ports to and from the Gulf of Mexico.

Illinois’ long romance with trains endures Railroads made Chicago, stealing commerce from steamboat hubs like St. Louis. But it’s a love-hate relationship in the suburbs and Chicago today.

By Marni Pyke Of the Daily Herald Trains brought Abraham Lincoln’s body home to Illinois, transported southern blacks escaping Jim Crow laws to Chicago, and now carry a labor force of thousands between the suburbs and downtown Chicago daily.

Freight, passenger and commuter trains pass through the Chicago area at the rate of 1,300 a day, Illinois Department of Transportation says, and rail lines fan out in every direction.

“People in Illinois are as intimately tied to railroading as anywhere in the country,” DePaul University transportation professor Joseph Schwieterman said. “Millions live close to busy rail lines, use commuter or intercity passenger trains, or cross busy sets of tracks every day, giving them a strong psychological connection to railroads.”

But being the rail hub of the nation also has its downside: Meager funding for commuter rail, crossing delays, and freight gridlock are among the challenges facing the state in the 21st century.

The first train to appear in the Chicago metro region was a Galena & Chicago Union Railroad steam engine dubbed the “Pioneer” in 1848, according to the Encyclopedia of Chicago.

One of its first destinations was the settlement of Elmhurst, foreshadowing a regional commuter rail service under Metra that made 78.6 million passenger trips in 2017.

“Our legacy suburbs developed along the railroads. In many respects they owe the initial growth to the railroads,” railroad historian and Metra Chairman Norm Carlson said.

Prior to railroads, “shipping was the only way to move bulk commodities,” Carlson explained. “‘Interior’ delivery was limited to what the horse or mule could carry or pull.”

Initially, Midwestern railroads were built to link the nation’s interior with waterways, like the Mississippi River, and St. Louis was pegged as the gateway to the West. Chi-

cago gained traction “in large measure to the access to Lake Michigan,” Carlson said.

Railroads began sprouting like dandelions to feed growing demands.

“From moving crops to market to moving raw materials in and finished products out, the railroads connect the economic activity of the state,” Carlson said.

Schwieterman noted “everyone knows that railroads are a huge part of Chicago’s history, but many don’t fully appreciate that other places, including Decatur, Galesburg, Effingham and Rock Island, were rail junctions of enormous importance, as well.”

As of 2018, the Chicago region absorbs almost 500 freight trains daily or 25 percent of traffic in the United States.

But outdated infrastructure where railway tracks intersect or cross busy roads mean trains can spend as much time in Chicago as it takes to reach either coast. Efforts to untangle the rail spaghetti — expediting trains and improving safety — will cost $4.4 billion and are about 40 percent complete.

Both Metra and Amtrak are suffering from lackluster funding amid demands for better service from riders. Yet, despite the budget drought for commuter rail, Illinois’ highspeed rail project to begin service between Chicago and Springfield with speeds of 110 mph is expected to finish this year.

“Chicago remains the workhorse of our country’s railroad industry,” Schwieterman said. “That keeps rail lines in our state unusually vibrant and busy.”

Railway fans greet a vintage Nickel Plate 765 or “Berkshire” steam locomotive traveling near Libertyville in 2016.

Illinois! 200 years young

Congratulations Illinois

Looking forward to a bright future!

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815-429-3007

Managed by Gardant Management Systems

QUALITY SERVICE PROVIDER FOR THE DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED

Page 8

Iroquois County’s Times-Republic — Illinois Bicentennial

October 2018

Happy

Birthday