January 7 Illinois History Minute

On this day in 1967, WILL-TV premiered a new local series about the Illinois constitution, called “The Consent of the Governed”. The five-month series closed out with recommendations for amending Illinois’ 1870 constitution. Others had the same idea. Illinois held a constitutional convention in 1969, and voters ratified a new state constitution in 1970.

January 7 is an important date for the Harlem Globetrotters, which began in Chicago, despite their name. The all-Black exhibition basketball team played their first road game on this date in 1927 in the northern Illinois town of Hinckley. The Globetrotters played serious basketball. Their comic routines and this theme song would come later.