It's that time of year again: December 3, the day Illinois became the 21st US state, back in 1818, under the administration of President James Monroe.
At some point during the day, I plan to enjoy some of Illinois's official state snack food: popcorn. In fact, it's been a whole decade since that day in August 2003 when, surrounded by Joliet elementary school students, reminiscent of other students who campaigned for official state symbols, former Governor Rod Blajojevich signed the bill that made it official. And I imagine he'll spend the next decade munching on peach and mint flavored popcorn in prison.
Alas, Illinois has bad characters, not to mention a host of other issues, including violence plaguing Chicago's streets. But in many ways, Illinois is privileged to have such a great and large city like Chicago. (Sometimes I forget how big Chicago really is living right in its shadow.) It is full of industrial might, like what Alexander Hamilton envisioned would drive the United States back in the early days of the Republic. It also has an amazing patchwork of neighborhoods, and suburbs, too, where peoples and ethnicities from all over the world converge. And then there are those fabulous cultural institutions and other great attractions. Plus, Chicago sits right on the southwest shoreline of Lake Michigan, thanks to the efforts of one man who advocated to have Illinois's northern border shifted north about 100 miles so that it could have a shoreline on that great Lake.
And Lake Michigan forms just one part of a great network of geographical features, whose potential was first tapped by aboriginal peoples, then early European explorers, and then settlers, who launched settlements that became great cities. This network includes many rivers running all over the plains and fields of flat Illinois--flat, that is, expect for the hilly northwest part, where Charles Mound, the state's highest point, is located. Even from a map, it is clear that Illinois is nestled in between the Mississippi and Wabash Rivers.
From those fields arise an abundance of agricultural products, in keeping with Thomas Jefferson's vision for the US back in the early days of the Republic. Those products include much corn, to make all popcorn. (And you'd think Indiana would have tried to take that before us.)
So those are some things I'm going to keep in mind on this occasion, and even more so as we draw closer to the Bicentennial of Illinois in 2018.
To close, I share with you the State Song of Illinois, called "Illinois". I've only heard it sung once, in a YouTube video, but each time I read over the words, I'm struck by how beautifully poetic it is, as they speak to what makes Illinois special in the United States of America. They are words I utter every time I cross back into Illinois after being in another state.
You can go to this link to read it and see for yourself, as you celebrate Illinois: http://www.50states.com/songs/illinois.htm
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