July 14 Illinois History Minute

It’s July 14th, and Illinois conducted its first execution as a state on this day in 1819, hanging John Killduck for murder. In all, Illinois executed about 360 people before the state ended capital punishment --- first with a moratorium on executions from Governor George Ryan in 2003, and then with a state law ending the death penalty in 2011.

TV newsman John Chancellor (Chance-uh-LORE) was born in Chicago on this day in 1947. He spent most of his career at NBC, as a reporter, anchorman and commentator. In one of his last commentaries, Chancellor put TV journalism in context.