As WILL-AM celebrates a century of being on the air, we are sharing a minute-long snippet of Illinois history every weekday in 2022. This daily feature includes memorable people, places and events of that helped shape the prairie state.
Hosted by Illinois Public Media reporter Jim Meadows, the minute of Illinois History will air on WILL-AM/FM at 7:42 a.m. during Morning Edition and 5:32 p.m. during All Things Considered; as well as on WILL-AM in the 1 o'clock hour of Here & Now and at 8 o'clock in the evening. We've also made them available below for all of you history buffs!
Being divorced was not a good look for a woman from a prominent family in the early 20th century. But Jayne Bartlett Kerr of the Clark County town of Marshall made the most of it. She married salesman Louis Kerr on this day, May 12th, in 1898 and moved to Wisconsin.
It’s May 11th, and on this day in 1968, a story on the front page of the University of Illinois’ student newspaper reported on efforts to raise the 500-thousand dollars needed to operate Project Five-Hundred.
It’s May Tenth, the day in 1920 that Chicago Mafia boss Big Jim Colosimo was ambushed and shot to death at his South Side restaurant. No one was ever charged in his murder, although associates, including Al Capone, have been suspected.
It’s May Ninth. Illinois Republicans held their state convention in Decatur on this day in 1860, and endorsed Abraham Lincoln for president. The convention introduced Lincoln’s “Rail splitter” nickname, with his cousin, John Hanks bringing two fence rails that he said were among thousands the two of them had split in their youth.
It’s May Sixth. And on this day in 1856, the steamer Effie Afton collided with the Rock Island Railroad Bridge, spanning the Mississippi River at the Quad Cities.
It’s May fifth … a good day in 1893, to visit the Chicago Columbian Exposition, still in its first week of operation. The world’s fair proclaimed Chicago’s recovery from the great fire of two decades earlier. Its temporary but ornate buildings became known as the “White City”. One of those buildings, completely rebuilt, is now home to the Museum of Science and Industry.
It’s May Fourth, the anniversary of the 1886 Haymarket Riot in Chicago’s Haymarket Square. Police were breaking up a labor rally in support of an eight-hour workday when someone threw a bomb. The explosion and gunfire that followed killed at least four civilians and seven police officers. Eight people were convicted in connection with the riot, four of whom were executed.
It’s May 3rd, and NPR premiered its flagship program, All Things Considered on this day in 1971, airing on WILL-FM at 6 PM.
It’s May 2nd, the day that Columbia Pictures released the movie “Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling”, directed by, and starring Illinois native Richard Pryor. Pryor based the movie on his own turbulent life and filmed the childhood scenes on location in his hometown of Peoria.
It’s April 29th, and on this day in 1959, Governor William Stratton signed a bill making summer daylight saving time uniform and mandatory throughout Illinois. Illinois joined a small but growing number of states pushing their clocks one hour ahead from mid-spring to mid-fall. Some downstate legislators had opposed mandatory daylight saving time. They accused Chicago lawmakers of pushing them around.
