Long before motion pictures had sound and color, and even before Hollywood became the “film capital of the world,” Illinois has stood as a central hub for motion picture production. Throughout Illinois’ long film history, there have been a wide variety of motion pictures filmed throughout the entire state.

Charlie Chaplin, one of the most famous filmmakers in the history of cinema, produced and starred in films all across the globe. This includes a quick stop in Chicago to star in a short silent film called “His New Job,” filmed in 1915.

Fast forwarding to the 1950s, the American folk hero Davy Crockett had a successful run of film and television series releases. This included “Davy Crockett and the River Pirates,” a classic western shot at the Cave-in-Rock State Park just along the Ohio River.

Southern Illinois University-Carbondale has been designated a Research 1, or R1, in the Carnegie Classifications of Institutions of Higher Education. This is a prestigious accomplishment that only 187 schools have met. This represents less than 5% of the almost 4,000 classified educational institutions.

Research 1 Institutions are those that have allocated at least $50 million to research expenditures and grant at least 70 research doctorates. SIU-Carbondale cleared those requirements in 2023. SIU-Carbondale is just one of three public R1 universities in Illinois and the only one located in a rural area.

Feb. 1 is National Freedom Day! This day was founded to celebrate the freedoms we enjoy as U.S. citizens, freedoms that we should never take for granted.

Specifically, the holiday commemorates the day in 1865 when President Abraham Lincoln signed what would later become the 13th Amendment. This amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States, except as a punishment for crime.

On National Freedom Day, there is typically a wreath laying at the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, the former U.S. capital. Those who observe the day see it as an opportunity to promote goodwill and social equality and to appreciate freedoms that are often taken for granted. Additionally, many people observe the day with a special ceremony, parade, or other event, along with speeches, performances and educational programs.

Lincoln did not live to see the 13th Amendment ratified, but there was a movement to see Feb. 1 celebrate freedom each year. National Freedom Day was the idea of former Georgia slave Richard Wright, who lobbied Congress to designate Feb. 1 as the day.

Freedom is one of the founding principles of the United States of America and this day was envisioned as a way for all citizens to take a moment to appreciate how lucky they are. We should all be thankful for the many freedoms we are afforded as citizens of this great country and state!

Southern Illinois native Laurie Metcalf can be seen on televisions across America. Whether you’re watching re-runs of “Roseanne” or “The Big Bang Theory,” this Illinois actress can be seen on many favorite shows, movies or Broadway.

Raised in Edwardsville, Metcalf lived with her mother, Libby, who was a librarian, and her father, James, who was the budget director at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. She attended Illinois State University, where she originally went to study German to be an interpreter, before realizing theater was her true passion.

National Bean Day is celebrated every year on Jan. 6. This day celebrates the bean in all sizes, shapes and colors. Illinois has close ties to beans as Decatur is known as the “soybean capital of the world.”

The soybean’s rise can be traced back to one enterprising Illinois industrialist, A.E. Staley. Staley was the first to process the soybean bean into oil and meal at his plant in Decatur in 1922, two years before the USDA even began tracking the crop.

At the time, over a third of all soybeans grown in the world were processed in Decatur. In 1955, a group of Decatur executives founded the Soy Capital Bank to trade on the nickname.

A. E. Staley became one of the largest processors of corn in the United States, second only to Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), also based in Decatur. Staley also processed soybeans under a partnership agreement with ADM at its Decatur plant.

Decatur is an important commercial and agricultural distribution center, with large corn and soybean processing plants and varied industries, including the manufacture of construction and mining equipment, iron castings, control valves, automotive parts, glass, electric motors and generators, and pharmaceuticals.

Decatur is now the soybean-processing center for the country and has one of the largest processing plants in North America.