June 29 Illinois History Minute

It’s June 29th , and on this day in 1889, voters in four Illinois townships and part of a fifth, agreed to join the city of Chicago. The annexation, which included the Hyde Park and Lake View areas, was the largest addition of territory in the city’s history, during a period when annexations came frequently. From 1851 to 1920, Chicago annexed nearby areas where voters sought the city’s superior services, from high schools to water systems. The annexations slowed down, as suburban communities developed their own services.

Illinois established its first motor fuel tax on this day in 1927, at two cents on a gallon of gasoline. Gasoline in Illinois is exempt from the state sales tax. But a federal gasoline tax was added in 1932.