Notable Birthdays: Distinguished Illinois figures born in December

December is winding down, and January and the New Year are fast approaching. However, before you take a break for the holiday season, let’s take a moment to celebrate the month of December and Illinois. Many birthdays of note from those born in Illinois occurred in December. History starts the moment we are born. The famous, historic, or otherwise distinguished figures who can track their birthplaces back to Illinois in December are as follows:

• John Malkovich: American Actor, producer and director best known for his role in the movie Red, born on Dec. 9, 1953 in Christopher
• Seth Myers: Comedian best known for his time on SNL’s Weekend Update, born on Dec. 28, 1973 in Evanston
• Rickey Henderson: American baseball player for the Dodgers and Red Sox, born on Dec. 25, 1958 in Chicago
• Daryl Hannah: Actress, screenwriter, and environmental activist best known for her role as Elle Driver in Kill Bill, born on Dec. 3, 1960 in Chicago

Did you know? Peoria has the Longest Running Santa Parade!

Ho ho ho! Santa’s appearance at parades is always a site to see, especially to all the children excited to catch a glimpse of him. Did you know that Peoria has the longest running Santa parade in North America? For a record 135 years, the parade kicks off the day after Thanksgiving to officially start the winter holiday season. Starting in 1887, the original parade was in celebration of a new bridge opening, thus was actually in the river. The year after is what began the on-land parade and it has been going strong since.

There is roughly 85 or more contestants in the parade that compete for the best novelty unit, best overall unit, best new entry, best commercial float entry, best non-profit float entry, and best religious float entry – this year’s theme being “Winter Wonderland.” A common tradition that the parade has followed is being right after Thanksgiving to kick off the upcoming winter holiday season with an average of 50,000 parade watchers attending.

The first parade in 1887 originally had boats and derricks sailing down the river as a celebration of the beginning of the new Upper Free bridge construction. However, the year after, the city decided to hold a parade through town, celebrating the completion of the bridge. The following year, Frederick Block of the Schipper and Block Department Store (later renamed Block & Kuhl's) sponsored a parade that followed the same route and featured Santa Claus. The parade was then first televised in 1958.This concept created the department-store sponsored parades that are currently popular at every Thanksgiving and Christmas in America. Talk about iconic! In addition to the parade attractions, there was also fireworks, occasionally a circus performance as well as the adored live reindeer exhibit.

During the first 72 years of the parade, its sponsorship by the Schipper and Block Department Store of Peoria had grown the event to 3,000 parade participants and included a 43-pipe calliope, fireworks and floats constructed by store employees and volunteers. The parade during this time ended with Santa climbing a fire escape ladder and disappearing through a window into the store’s toy department. Downtown Peoria truly is a site to see around the holidays, and having the longest-ran Santa parade makes it the perfect spot to visit to get into the festive spirit.

Celebrating Carol Moseley-Braun: The Glass Ceiling Breaker

Senator Carol Moseley-Braun has had numerous firsts in her career. A Chicago native, she was born on August 16, 1947 and has been driven to make big changes since her childhood. Her first interest in politics began after her fight to preserve a habitat for the bobolink, a native Illinois bird, in Chicago’s Jackson Park. From there, she knew she wanted to work more intimately with environmental issues and sustainability.

Moseley-Braun’s first step was receiving her bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Illinois in 1969. Shortly after, she received her Juris Doctor at the University of Chicago Law School in 1972. After graduation, she went on to be a prosecutor in the office of the U.S. Attorney in Chicago from 1973 to 1977, then served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1979 to 1989. Her impressive groundbreaking firsts began with her next role: Recorder of Deeds in Cook County – becoming the first Black person to hold an executive position in that county.

Her accomplishments only went higher, as after four years of being Recorder of the Deeds she went on for a successful bid for the U.S. Senate. In 1993, Moseley-Braun became the first Black woman to serve in the U.S. Senate, as well as being the first female Senator from Illinois. In addition, she was also the first woman to serve on the Senate Finance Committee. Her leadership has opened doors for women in public service nationwide. After one term as a U.S. Senator, she then served as the U.S. ambassador to Samoa (2000-2001) and New Zealand (1999-2001). 

Over her tenure as a legislator, she authored legislation to provide federal funds to repair dilapidating public schools, extend credit to farmers, aid in cleaning up polluted industrial sites as well as being a forceful advocate for the expansion towards pension benefits for women in the workplace. Senator Moseley-Braun has worked tirelessly over the decades to speak up for historically underserved communities.  After many years in public service, she went on to lead Good Food Organics in 2005, which follows her commitment to public responsibility through a business approach of environmental sustainability and financial profitability. Moseley-Braun also became a visiting professor of political science at Northwestern University in 2016. She has been a beacon for thousands of young women who want to make waves in public service and truly is one glass ceiling breaker.

Oldest graduate in history to receive their undergrad from Northern Illinois University

Granny got the degree! Last Sunday a new graduate walked across the stage to receive their diploma that they had waited since 1951 to achieve. This time, however, the graduate happened to be the oldest undergrad recipient in Northern Illinois University’s history – 90 years old. After waiting almost seven decades, Joyce DeFauw of Geneseo received her bachelors of general studies. DeFauw had originally pursued a teaching degree and then home economics. However, after being a few semesters away from graduation, she met her husband and had nine children throughout the years. 

After nine children, including two sets of twins, she had her hands full and decided it would be best to put a hold on her degree. It wasn’t until 2019 that she decided to go back to school to finish the degree she had pursued back in 1951. Due to the pandemic, DeFauw took courses online in order to accelerate the process, using a gifted computer – the first computer she ever owned. The pandemic gave a lot of time for people to consider their education goals, and for DeFauw, she felt it was her time to give it another go.

It was definitely a change for her, but she told a local news station, WREX, that it wasn’t something that she had always planned to finish. DeFauw is one of the few people in their nineties in history to decide to go back and pursue education.

DeFauw always valued education and wanted to remind others that it’s important to never give up on your dream, even if you get sidetracked. She is a reminder that anything is possible if you put your mind to it! The grandmother of 17 and great grandmother of 24 said it was ultimately her family that encouraged her to return to NIU, known then at her time as Northern Illinois State Teachers College. As she put it, “Don’t give up. Even if you do quit, go back. Just hang in there. Keep learning. Keep giving thanks. It’s there for you. Just go for it.”