Celebrating Earth Day: Illinois’ Natural Beauty

Each April, Earth Day offers an opportunity to reflect on the natural beauty that surrounds us and the steps we can take to preserve it. In Illinois, that beauty stretches from rolling prairies and winding rivers to dense forests and peaceful wetlands—each playing a vital role in the state’s environment and way of life.

Illinois is home to a diverse range of landscapes that support wildlife, recreation, and agriculture. Places like Starved Rock State Park and Shawnee National Forest offer breathtaking views and miles of trails, while restored areas like Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie help preserve the state’s native prairie ecosystem. These spaces not only provide a place to explore, but also serve as reminders of Illinois’ deep connection to the land.

Conservation efforts across the state continue to protect these natural resources for future generations. From prairie restoration and pollinator programs to improving water quality in Illinois rivers and lakes, organizations and communities are working together to maintain a healthy environment. These efforts support everything from local wildlife habitats to the agricultural systems that help feed the nation.

Earth Day is also a chance for Illinoisans to get involved. Whether it’s visiting a local park, participating in a community cleanup, planting native flowers, or simply spending time outdoors, small actions can make a meaningful difference. Across the state, communities come together each spring to celebrate and care for the places they call home.

As the seasons begin to change and Illinois comes back to life after winter, Earth Day reminds us of the importance of protecting the landscapes that define our state. By appreciating and caring for these natural spaces, we can ensure they remain a source of beauty, recreation, and pride for years to come.

15th Annual Riverbend Earth Day in Alton draws hundreds

Alton hosted its classic Riverbend Earth Day Festival on April 11 this year and the event drew hundreds. The event featured live music, food and eco-friendly vendors, plant sellers and artisans. Many local businesses, musicians and restaurants were highlighted with an emphasis on eco-conscious shopping. A portion of the proceeds went to the Piasa Palisades Sierra Club, whose work includes supporting native pollinators and local ecosystems. 

The community on the river has been committed to protecting the Mississippi River watershed, managing forests and restoring native prairies. National Great Rivers conducts research, education and outreach on wetland protection. The Nature Institute manages and maintains prairie land in the Alton area through the Heartland Prairie Project and the Great Rivers Land Trust promotes the preservation and improvement of natural resources in the watershed of the Mississippi for the benefit of the general public.

To learn more about conservation, hunting, Illinois investments in parks and historic sites click here.

Share your story with the Library of Congress

• Declaration of Independence
• Library of Congress
• Illinois Voices 250
• Illinois America 250 Commission

Want your life journey to be preserved for future generations? As part of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence’s signing, people across Illinois are invited to participate in Illinois Voices 250, a statewide initiative to tell the stories of the people who live there.

Illinois Voices 250 is offered by the Illinois America 250 Commission, Illinois Humanities and StoryCorps Studios. The program will keep its recorded conversations with residents in the U.S. Library of Congress, where they will be preserved for future generations. The conversations discuss what democracy, belonging and civic participation mean in today’s world, and how residents’ experiences have shaped those thoughts.

Illinois residents can attend public community recording events or record their conversations on their own. Either way, there is no fee to participate.

The Illinois America 250 Commission was established by state law to showcase how Illinois represents the Declaration of Independence’s values, and it is assisted by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

The state is also celebrating 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence in other ways, including a keepsake tourism passport, public art grants and Illinois United in Service.

To find out more about the Illinois Voices 250 program, visit https://www.il250.org/il-voices.

The start of a legacy: Des Plaines was home to the first McDonald’s franchise

• McDonalds
• Ray Kroc
• Franchise

What do you think of when you think about McDonald’s? Probably the golden arches, their logo, the Big Mac, but not anything specifically Illinois-related.

McDonald’s may be the most popular restaurant chain today, but back in the early-1950s, not many people outside of California knew what it was. That changed when Ray Kroc opened the first McDonald’s franchise in Des Plaines, Illinois, on April 15, 1955.

That’s right. Today is the 71st anniversary of Illinoisans being able to enjoy McDonald’s.

Before working with McDonald’s, Kroc had quite a few different occupations. His first job was with the Red Cross Ambulance Corps during WWI, but he never went overseas. After the war ended, he became a musician and then sold paper cups. And Kroc’s last job before McDonald’s, which led to him discovering the restaurant, was as the exclusive distributor of the Multimixer, a milkshake mixing machine.

Trying to sell more Multimixers, Kroc visited the McDonald’s restaurant in California. While there, he became enthralled with how it was run. Luckily for him, he found out that the McDonald brothers, who ran the restaurant, were looking for a nationwide franchising agent. So, once again, he switched careers.

The first McDonald’s that Kroc opened was in Des Plaines, and it had over $350 of sales on its first day. Opening his first restaurant in Illinois made sense for Kroc, who grew up in Oak Park and attended Lincoln School and Oak Park River Forest High School.

After opening his first restaurant, Kroc continued to grow the McDonald’s brand, which included buying out Dick and Mac McDonald, the brothers who started the restaurant, in 1961. By the time Kroc died in 1984, there were 7,500 McDonald’s restaurants around the globe. And McDonald’s now has over 35,000 worldwide locations in more than 100 countries.

But the restaurant’s Illinois connections do not end with Kroc. McDonald’s started its Hamburger University employee training program, where employees receive Bachelor of Hamburgerology degrees, at its Elk Grove Village restaurant in 1961. And its current global headquarters is in Oak Brook, keeping its corporate leaders associated with Illinois today as well.

So the next time you pass a McDonald’s (and it is kind of hard not to), you can think about Illinois’ place in the restaurant’s history.