African-American activist Fred Hampton

• Minority Feature

African-American activist Fred Hampton, who led the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, was born in 1948 and raised in the Chicago suburb of Maywood.

Hampton was a bright student who graduated from Proviso East High School in 1966. He attended the YMCA Community College in Chicago and enrolled in the pre-law program at Triton College.

While in college Hampton became in involved in the civil rights movement by joining the West Suburban branch of the NAACP. His skill set was so advanced the branch offered him the position of Youth Council president. As president, Hampton brought hundreds of young people together and made sure the city started catering to the needs of young African-Americans.

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TBT: Illinois' Northwest Expressway renamed after President John F. Kennedy

• Illinois History
• Throwback Thursday

On Nov. 29, 1963, one week after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the Chicago City Council voted to rename the Northwest Expressway after the 35th president.

During Kennedy’s race for the White House, he made numerous trips to Illinois and called the expressway “one of the greatest highways in the United States.” Construction of the highway was completed Nov. 5, 1960, just three days after Kennedy won the presidential election.

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Did you know? The zipper was invented in Chicago by Talon Zipper

• Illinois History
• Zipper
• Talon Zipper

Did you know?  The zipper was invented in Chicago by Talon Zipper, founded in 1893.

Before creating the zipper, Talon Zipper was best known for producing a hook-less fastener for shoes and boots. They observed a need in the fashion world for an easier method of fastening clothes than the dozens of buttons on fashionable high-button boots, and the zipper was born.

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Illinois Bicentennial: Kankakee County Courthouse

On December 3, 1818, Illinois became the nation’s 21st state. As we come to our state’s 200th birthday, we asked senators to talk about people or places in their districts that represent the best of Illinois’ rich past and how that is shown in local history, tourism, culture or community impact. 

Senator Toi Hutchinson chose to highlight the Kankakee County Courthouse in her district to mark Illinois’ Bicentennial. In the area of town now known as Courthouse Square, the building has served the community as its government home since 1912.

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