In Celebration of 200 Years of Illinois and Beyond

The yearlong Illinois Bicentennial Celebration came to wonderful culmination earlier this month at a fine concert celebration of the official 200th anniversary of Illinois statehood on the evening of Monday, December 3, 2018.  If there was one takeaway from the evening, it was that so there's so much to note about Illinois from all it has come to contain in the past 200 years that it can't be contained in one evening event, nor really even in one year of celebrating.  That's why I hereby am starting another List of 200 Notables for Illinois, now that Illinois is 200 years old as a state, because I feel energized by what I experienced on December 3, as well as throughout the yearlong observance, to keep taking stock of what's significant about Illinois.

The day before the official statehood day, December 2, I went to Addison for a presentation of Party Like it's 1818.  Ellie of Ellie Presents helped give us a sense of what the elements of the celebration were like, and what life was like, when Illinois became the 21st State.  There was a reenactment of speeches, items typical to the era, dancing, and even food, like small corn doughy nuggets, winter root stew, and venison sausage.  (One speech was a proclamation from December 22, 1818, by Governor Shadrach Bond, announcing that President Monroe had signed the resolution admitting Illinois as the 21st state, which was on December 3, and Governor Bond called for a meeting of the state legislature.)

One part of the presentation that stood out was when she talked about the 21-star flag (#1), which debuted on July 4, 1819, when Illinois's star was added.

The flag is in the center of the photo, appearing with 20 stars, as it would have on December 3, 1818, through July 4, 1819, when the 21-star flag would have been unfurled.  Please note that all photos in this post are of my taking unless otherwise noted.

Sewing machines weren't in widespread use in 1818, and so US flags had to be hand-sewn from available materials.  She decided to create a flag like they did in 1818.  It took her 30 minutes to do each star, and then she had to sew the stripes.  The people who decided on the design of the flag didn't coordinate with those who did the sewing, and thus, the new designs were hard to sew.  And with so many new states entering at that time in the 19th Century, the US flags had to be constantly re-sewn.  It was so interesting to engage with the history and hear the circumstances of Illinois's coming into existence as a state.

That historical context set the tone well for the next day, December 3, when I went to the Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier, among the top tourist attractions, for the official Bicentennial Bash.
Even though all of Illinois and its 200 years can't all be contained in one evening celebration, the two-hour event incorporated a lot of it.  Bill Kurtis was the MC for the evening.  Governor Rauner and Governor-elect Pritzker both made remarks.  Each of the attendees got a program that also was a commemorative compilation of notable events from Illinois history.

Interspersed throughout the various live performances of the evening were videos highlighting different aspects of Illinois: entertainment, sports, US presidents, veterans, and music.

Joe Mantegna (#2) narrated a video about veterans.  As part of offering them tribute, the musical band played the Armed Forces Medley.  The musicians also played music from the soundtrack of the Lincoln movie, directed by Steven Spielberg, in tribute to the person who is arguably the quintessential Illinoisan.

To offer further tribute to Abraham Lincoln, Miguel Cervantes, who plays Alexander Hamilton in the Chicago staging of the Hamilton musical, sang a Gettysburg Address rap, "All People are Created Equal", accompanied by high school students who were Illinois High School Theater Awardees.  In addition to the words of the speech, toward the end, the students sang "God Bless America", embedded into the rhythm.

On the screen, you can see Miguel Cervantes in a dark suit jacket-like outfit, with the high school students flanking him.

That was my favorite part of the evening, and I think this rap could spin off into another musical.

Of course, no birthday celebration would be complete without cake, and Eli's Cheesecake furnished a sizable and sumptuous cheesecake (#3).

Above is the cheesecake, evoking the design of the current Illinois State Capitol, with Governor Raun appearing to the far left; right by the cake is the person who I believe is the president of Eli's Cheesecake.  Below are cut pieces that were distributed to attendees.

Leading a tribute to the amazing athletes of Illinois was Olympic medalist Jackie Joyner Kersee (#4), in the photo below, who noted other Illinois Olympians, and the various championships won by Chicago and Illinois sports teams, with all the championship trophies coming out on display at one time--a historic moment.

To offer tribute to "da Bears" (#5), two people did a comedy routine, trying to mention "da Coach", Mike Ditka (#6), as often as possible.

The final part of the celebration sent us singing off into the night, first with Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon (#7), which he noted is a truly Illinois band, starting in Champaign, then spending a significant amount of time in Chicago before heading out west.

Then Buddy Guy (#8) played Blues music (#9), as you can see in the photo below.

While the Blues came to prominence in Chicago, they came to Chicago by people who migrated through Illinois while coming up from the Southern United States.  They sent us off with a spirited performance of "Sweet Home Chicago" (#10).

Oh, what a night that was, to get us jazzed up for many more years of amazing Illinois.

About a month before the official day of the Bicentennial anniversary of statehood, I had the opportunity to take in some of what Illinois has to offer on a short trip out to Galesburg, which was basically for "the thrill of it".  I hadn't been on a train trip in a year and a half, so I thought it would be nice to spend part of a day to go somewhere, and Galesburg seemed like a reasonable distance to go.

It was a thrill to board the California Zephyr and make my way westward, passing out of the resplendent suburbs along the BNSF rail line into the heart of Illinois farm country.  The first place I headed after arriving in Galesburg was the Old Main (#11) on the campus of Knox College (#12), the site of one of the Lincoln-Douglas debates.  Knox College ardently supported Mr. Lincoln's candidacy for the US Senate, which is why there was a debate there.  Inside the Old Main is a room with a small display on Abraham Lincoln.  At the debate, a stage was set up by the Old Main, with a large crowd gathered on the lawn protuding eastward.

Past the sign in the foreground is the lawn where the crowd gathered for the debate by the Old Main, which is the building in the photo.

To get on the stage, Mr. Lincoln had to climb through a window, which you can see in the photo below, next to an image of Abraham Lincoln.

After doing so, he quipped that he had gone through college, as described in the sign below.

I thank the passerby who got this photo of my posing in the display room by the window through which Abraham Lincoln climbed to get onto the stage for the debate.

I think that window, and its story, serves as a kind of metaphor for Illinois upon the achievement of this Bicentennial milestone.  We've gone through a storied past through a window with our wealth of resources, both of the land and people, into a new century.

It was in that kind of excited spirit that I returned to Chicagoland, doing something I had never done before: I took my seat in business class onboard the Carl Sandburg train back to Chicagoland, named for the famed literary figure (#13) who was born in Galesburg.  It had some perks like a quieter space at the back of the train with extra seating space, with only 3 passengers, including me, right by the cafe serving area, where I could take advantage of complimentary non-alcoholic beverages.

I thank the fellow passenger who kindly got this photo of me enjoying the ride in business class onboard the Amtrak Carl Sandburg train .

So there I was, riding off into the night taking in my special digs, riding in a totally new setting.  And Illinois is riding off into a new century, having a variety of notable and exciting experience of 200 years as the 21st State.  We have an incredible opportunity to shape many more years to come for more amazing things, just as so much was celebrated in the ballroom at Navy Pier on that fabulous night of Monday, December 3, 2018.  Like Kevin Cronin (#14) sang in words he composed while on his journey from Chicagoland out west, we'll "keep on rollin'" into the years ahead.

I thank the fellow attendee seated behind me for getting this photo of me after the conclusion of the Illinois Bicentennial celebration in the Navy Pier ballroom.