Category Archives: State government

Ku Klux Klan rally at Illinois State Fairgrounds, 1922 (photo)

A Ku Klux Klan rally held in the Illinois State Fairgrounds Coliseum in October 1922 became a political flashpoint when Len Small sought a third term as governor six years later. The anti-Small Chicago Tribune published the photograph above on … Continue reading

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Springfield’s Ku Klux Klan legislator, 1920s

James H. Ashby didn’t mention his Ku Klux Klan membership when he ran for a seat in the Illinois House in 1924. But it was no secret – Ashby had already been identified in two lawsuits as one of the … Continue reading

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Oliver R. Barrett, Lincoln collector

Over a lifetime, starting at age 13, Oliver Barrett amassed an immense collection of documents, relics and source materials related to Abraham Lincoln. When Barrett died in 1950, his heirs offered his entire archive to the Illinois State Historical Library … Continue reading

Posted in Arts and letters, Histories, Lincoln Tomb, Lincoln, Abraham, Museums, Prominent figures, State government | 1 Comment

The governor takes a wife (1896)

Gov. John Riley Tanner “was addicted to pomp and circumstance,” Robert P. Howard wrote in Mostly Good and Competent Men, Howard’s 1988 guide to Illinois’ chief executives. If so, Tanner lived his best life in December 1896 and January 1897. … Continue reading

Posted in African Americans, Celebrations, Coal mines and mining, Illinois capital, Labor unions, Military, Oak Ridge signs, Politics, Prominent figures, Social life, Spectacles, State government | Leave a comment

Thorne Deuel, museum director

Thorne Deuel, director of the Illinois State Museum for nearly 25 years, literally made it the institution it is today. Deuel (1890-1984) was a research associate at the University of Chicago, specializing in anthropology and archaeology related to Native Americans … Continue reading

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Sister Jane Like & Carol Bressan: Unsung heroes of SIU Med SChool

This entry has been corrected. See below and in comments. The lecture title said it all: “The Early History of SIU School of Medicine: Not for the Naïve or Faint of Heart.” According to Glen Davidson, Ph.D, two women – … Continue reading

Posted in Churches, Higher education, Medicine, Prominent figures, Public health, State government | 1 Comment

Camp Tanner (Illinois State Fairgrounds, 1898)

Ten thousand Illinois militia flooded the Illinois State Fairgrounds less than a week after the start of the Spanish-American War. They left the fairgrounds – renamed “Camp Tanner” for the duration – almost as quickly as they arrived. The operation … Continue reading

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Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame members, Sangamon County

The Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame includes plaques for a dozen – or so, depending on how you count them – inductees from Williamsville to Divernon in Sangamon County. U.S. Route 66, “the Mother Road,” probably the most famous … Continue reading

Posted in Buildings, Business, Hotels & taverns, Maps, Markers, Museums, Prominent figures, Restaurants, Route 66, State government, Transportation | Leave a comment

Dick Sullivan, political ‘boss’

Dick Sullivan, reputed to be Sangamon County’s behind-the-scenes political master for the first two decades of the 20th century, died in a violent train collision in New York state in 1923. Richard M. Sullivan (1874-1923), his wife Clara (1875-1923), their … Continue reading

Posted in Disasters, Local government, Politics, Prominent figures, Sangamon County, Springfield, State government | Leave a comment

Illinois State Fair crisis, 1922-23

The big question after the 1922 Illinois State Fair was whether there would be another one in 1923. On one level, the problem involved ownership of the fairgrounds. When Sangamon County turned the former site of the county fair over … Continue reading

Posted in Buildings, Business, Historic Sites, Illinois State Fair, Local government, Prominent figures, Sangamon County, State government | 1 Comment