Naperville named America’s best city to live in for 2025

Naperville has been ranked the No. 1 city to live in America for the second year in a row according to Niche rankings top 50 best places in America to live.

Niche surveyed over 50,000suburbs and neighborhoods to find the best places to live in the U.S.  On top of best city to live, Naperville was ranked first in cities to buy a home, raise a family and best public schools. Coming with the territory Naperville also was selected as best place to live in Illinois.

Naperville, founded in 1831 originally as Naper’s Settlement, experienced a population boom in the 1980s and 1990s. This boom was largely attributable to its location within the Illinois Technology and Research Corridor. Companies like Nokia, BP, Nicor, Edward Hospital, Kraft Foods and ConAgra have labs and offices in Naperville.

The city boasts a robust library system, art and film festivals, historical preservation and recreation through the Naperville Park District. Naperville even boasts a river walk and Centennial Beach, a quarry turned swimming hole. Naperville also contains several colleges and university satellite campuses including College of DuPage Community College, Devry administrative headquarters, Northern Illinois University satellite campus and Indiana tech.

The city has attracted many young professionals and families and is sure to continue growing in the coming years. The other top five cities to live in Illinois are Clarendon Hills, Hinsdale, Vernon Hills, and Kildeer. The remainder of the top 20 were Chicago neighborhoods, suburbs and towns in northern Illinois.

National Medal of Honor Day: James Lewis Day

March 25 is recognized as National Medal of Honor Day.  The Medal of Honor is the United States' highest award for military valor in action. Symbolized within each medal are the values each recipient displayed in the moments that mattered — bravery, courage, sacrifice and integrity, as well as a deep love of country and a desire to always do what is right.

The Medal is authorized for military service members who  risk their lives in combat above and beyond the call of duty.

Illinois has had the great privilege to honor over 200 brave recipients of the Medal of Honor from all branches and ranks of the military.

President Bill Clinton presented James Lewis Day, who served as a United States Marine Corps Major General during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, with the Medal of Honor on Jan. 20, 1998.

Corporal Day was born Oct. 5, 1925, in East St. Louis. He enlisted in the Marine Corps as part of the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Marines, 6th Marine Division. He was presented with the Medal of Honor in recognition of his actions in combat on May 17, 1945 in Okinawa.

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March Madness was born in Illinois

Though everyone today associates March Madness with the mania of the March NCAA tournament, did you know March Madness was originally the name of an Illinois high school basketball tournament over a century ago?

The original tournament was a high school boys’ basketball tournament sponsored by the IHSA beginning in 1908. By the 1930s, over 900 schools were competing in the tournament. The term ‘March Madness’ was first used in an article of the IHSA magazine, “Illinois Interscholastic,” by the assistant executive secretary of the IHSA. The term ‘Sweet Sixteen’ was used to describe the field of teams participating in the University of Illinois’ Huff Gymnasium tournament.

The term began being used by the IHSA on official merchandise and for the next several decades, March Madness was the common phrase for the tournament. By the 1980s, the IHSA had acquired ‘March Madness’ and ‘America’s Original March Madness’ as registered trademarks. Use of the phrase is now subject to licensing fees to the IHSA, of which a significant portion goes to scholarships for Illinois boys and girls.

You can read more about the origins of March Madness here.

Artist of the Month: Gwendolyn Brooks

March 21 is recognized as World Poetry Day, and to celebrate we are highlighting a Pulitzer Prize winning poet, Gwendolyn Brooks!

Gwendolyn was raised on the South Side of Chicago, where she began writing from a very young age with her mother’s encouragement. In her teen years, she began submitting her poems to various publications, and later became a regular contributor to “The Chicago Defender” by the time she had graduated from high school. Her poems often ranged in style from ballads and sonnets to using free verse, and drew upon experiences of living in the inner-city.

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