This Week in Illinois History

This Week in Illinois History

This Week in Illinois History provides a 90-second snapshot of an event significant to Illinois history. Join Host Clint Cargile as he covers big events while also exposing little-known pieces of Illinois history.

Episodes

This Week In Illinois History: Krafting Cheese (June 6, 1916)

June 8, 2026 • 1 min
This week’s slice of history is a uniquely American invention: processed cheese.
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This Week In Illinois History: All-American Girls Professional Baseball (May 30, 1943)

June 1, 2026 • 1 min
Seventy-eight years ago, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League had its first day of league play. The women's league was founded, in part, because many Major League Baseball players were serving in World War II. Baseball executives had to find a new way to maintain revenue and keep people interested in the sport.
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This Week In Illinois History: Big Eli, The First Portable Ferris Wheel (May 23, 1900)

May 25, 2026 • 1 min
On May 23, 1900, the world's first portable Ferris wheel, known as "Big Eli," made its debut. Its inventor, William Sullivan, launched an amusement ride business that still thrives today.
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This Week In Illinois History: The Sucker State (May 17, 1955)

May 18, 2026 • 1 min
On May 17, 1955, the Illinois General Assembly approved the official state slogan: "Land of Lincoln." Before that, Illinois was known as the Prairie State. But Illinois also had an older, unofficial slogan that dates back to the state’s earliest days: the Sucker State.
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This Week In Illinois History: Eight-Hour Workdays . . . For Children (May 15, 1903)

May 11, 2026 • 1 min
On May 15, 1903, Illinois established the nation's first eight-hour workday . . . for children. The new law also set a 48-hour weekly limit on child labor.
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This Week In Illinois History: The Haymarket Riot (May 4, 1886)

May 4, 2026 • 1 min
The story of the Haymarket Riot of 1886 actually begins 20 years earlier. After the Civil War, Chicago's labor unions had been pushing for an eight-hour workday instead of the usual 12 to 14. In response, Illinois passed an eight-hour law, but it had loopholes that allowed employers to ignore it. So on Saturday, May 1, 1867, unions called for a city-wide strike to protest the flawed law. Six thousand workers flooded into the street...
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This Week In Illinois History: Illinois Congressman Battles Jim Crow (April 28, 1941)

April 27, 2026 • 1 min
On April 28, 1941, Illinois Congressman Arthur Mitchell argued before the U.S. Supreme Court that African Americans were entitled to railroad accommodations equal to white passengers.
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This Week In Illinois History: First Railroad Crosses Mississippi River (April 22, 1856)

April 20, 2026 • 1 min
On April 22, 1856, crowds cheered and bands played in Rock Island, Ill., and Davenport, Iowa, as a train chugged across the first bridge to span the Mississippi River. The bridge connected the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad in Illinois and the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad in Iowa.
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This Week In Illinois History: Doomed Donner Party Departs Springfield (April 15, 1846)

April 13, 2026 • 1 min
Almost everyone is familiar with the tragedy of the Donner Party, but few remember that their ill-fated journey began in Springfield, Illinois.
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This Week In Illinois History: Birth Of The Twinkie (April 6, 1930)

April 6, 2026 • 1 min
The Twinkie, America’s model junk food, got its start in Illinois. Twinkies were invented on April 6, 1930, at the Continental Baking Company in River Forest. Manager James Dewar noticed that the equipment used to make the company's small baked strawberry shortcakes sat idle when strawberries were out of season. He came up with the idea to inject the spongy yellow cakes with a fluffy white cream filling, and the Twinkie was born.
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This Week In Illinois History: Cheap Trick Day (April 1, 2007)

March 30, 2026 • 1 min
No Foolin’: On April 1, 2007, the Illinois General Assembly passed Senate Resolution 255, designating every April 1 in Illinois as "Cheap Trick Day."
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This Week In Illinois History: Remembering Ida B. Wells (March 25, 1931)

March 23, 2026 • 1 min
On March 25, 1931, Illinois, and the nation, mourned the loss of suffragist and civil rights icon Ida B. Wells. But before she became a crusader for women’s rights, Wells came to national attention as a crusader against lynchings of African Americans in the South.
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This Week In Illinois History: The Pinball Prohibition (March 17, 1939)

March 16, 2026 • 1 min
March 17, 1937: Illinois Attorney General John E. Cassidy declared that all pinball machines were to be outlawed as gambling devices. He called them "pernicious and dangerous to the public welfare." Law enforcement officers around the state pledged their support, ready to seize the machines just as they would slot machines.
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This Week In Illinois History: Bobby Hull Breaks NHL Record (March 12, 1966)

March 9, 2026 • 1 min
On March 12, 1966, just five minutes into the third period against the New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawk Bobby Hull scored his 50th goal of the season. The Chicago Stadium crowd roared as their hometown hero tied a league record he already shared with two others. The Blackhawks' winger, known as "The Golden Jet" for his speed, skill and dashing blond hair, was one of the most popular players in the National Hockey League.
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This Week In Illinois History: Salt In Our State’s Wounds (March 3, 1803)

March 2, 2026 • 1 min
Before coal, before oil, even before corn, the biggest and busiest industry in Illinois was salt.
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This Week in Illinois History: Carl Sandburg named state Poet Laureate (February 28, 1962)

February 23, 2026 • 1 min
Carl Sandburg, author, journalist, folk singer, and poet of the people, appointed Poet Laureate of Illinois.
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This Week in Illinois History: Birth of Wyatt Earp, the Peoria Bummer (March 19, 1848)

March 14, 2022 • 2 mins
Brave. Courageous. Bold. All words used to describe legendary Western lawman Wyatt Earp. But novels, films and TV shows often overlook his reckless youth in Illinois, where he earned a reputation as a thief, swindler and pimp.
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This Week in Illinois History: Chicago Mayor killed by assassin (March 6, 1933)

March 7, 2022 • 1 min
A popular Chicago Mayor and champion to the city's overlooked immigrant communities is struck down by an assassin’s bullet, a bullet that was meant for someone else.
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This Week in Illinois History: Birth of Alton’s Gentle Giant (February 22, 1918)

February 28, 2022 • 1 min
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This Week in Illinois History: Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto (February 18, 1930)

February 14, 2022 • 1 min
No longer considered a planet, but always number nine in our hearts. This week in Illinois history, we celebrate the discovery of Pluto by Streator native Clyde Tombaugh.
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