The bean is not only a versatile legume that carries rich nutrients and flavor – it’s also rich in history.

The earliest evidence of bean domestication and cultivation appeared in the Americas as early as 7,000 B.C. The first beans to be cultivated were the common bean and the lima bean by the Indigenous peoples of Central and South America. Over time, over 4,000 variations of beans have been cultivated across the Americas, Asia and Africa and the bean has become a consistent staple food for various cultures across continents.

Illinois carries its own fondness of the bean. In 2025, the state designated the soybean as the official Illinois state bean, highlighting the crop’s importance to the state’s agriculture industry. According to the Illinois Farm Bureau, Illinois is the No.1 producer of soybeans in the nation and 15% of all U.S. soybeans are produced in this state.

According to the Illinois State Historical Society, Alton resident Dr. Benjamin Franklin Edwards received soybeans as a gift after helping shipwrecked survivors from Japan in 1849, and in 1851, he gave the beans to a friend for them to plant. The garden in Alton where they grew is now recognized as the site where Illinois’ first soybeans were planted over 150 years ago.

In honor of Universal Human Rights Month this December, we honor Diane Judith Nash, a key activist throughout the Civil Rights Movement from Illinois. Nash was one of the founders and most influential organizers in the Civil Rights Movement. Born in Chicago in 1938, Nash attended Howard University before transferring to Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. In Nashville, Nash experienced a society fully engulfed in Jim Crow segregation for the first time. She began to take classes from James Lawson on nonviolent resistance. It didn’t take long for Nash to become a central figure in the Civil Rights Movement in Nashville, including becoming leader of the Student Central Committee, which staged sit-ins in segregated diners across downtown Nashville. In 1960, Nashville became the first segregated city in the South to integrate lunch counters.

The 2025 Startup Ecosystem Stars Awards, hosted by the International Chamber of Commerce, recently granted Illinois the Startup Ecosystem Stars Award in recognition of the state’s global leadership in talent, research, investment and innovation. This recognition is familiar for Illinois as the state also received this award in 2024, demonstrating consistent efforts to build and maintain innovative policies and environments.

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity earned recognition across five categories: Best-in-Class Startup Programs, Outstanding Investment Boost, Top Talent & Research, Exceptional Industry Support and Pioneering Innovation Policy. Initiatives like the Federal Grant Support Program and the Manufacturing Illinois Chips for Real Opportunity Program promote industrial growth and innovation across industries and help the state reap the benefits of its investments as it welcomes more businesses.
Illinois was one of only 36 entities worldwide to receive the award. Illinois is also the sole recipient to be awarded in all five categories, reaffirming the state’s all-encompassing approach to constructing a robust economy.

Did you know Abraham Lincoln was the first president in U.S. history to pardon a turkey? The first instance of a president pardoning a turkey dates back to the Civil War.

As the story goes, Lincoln’s son, Tad, had become fond of a turkey named Jack. When presented with Jack for the family feast on Christmas, Tad adopted the bird as a pet. He exclaimed that he could not bear to see the animal killed – so President Lincoln submitted to his son’s request, created a reprieve for the turkey in writing, and gave it to Tad.