If the film Bridesmaids left you in stitches then you’ve experienced the comedic prowess of Melissa McCarthy.

McCarthy was born on August 26, 1970 in Plainfield. She graduated from Joliet Catholic Academy before moving to New York to pursue a career as a stand-up comedian. While in New York, she appeared in numerous notable clubs and trained at The Actor’s Studio.

Eventually, McCarthy moved to Los Angeles, where she took part in the sketch comedy theater The Groundlings. She was a staple of the main stage with The Groundlings while also playing various film roles.

Her breakout role came as Sookie St. James in the television show Gilmore Girls. In 2010, she landed a starring role in the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly, for which she received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

Her most notable role came as Megan in the 2011 film Bridesmaids, which netted her nominations for an Academy Award, a Screen Actor’s Guild Award and a Critics’ Choice Movie Award. Since Bridesmaids, McCarthy has starred in numerous films with actors and actresses like Jason Bateman, Sandra Bullock and Paul Rudd. She married fellow Bridesmaids actor Ben Falcone in 2005.

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Read more about Melissa McCarthy on IMDb

Roy O. Disney, who co-founded Walt Disney Productions with his younger brother, Walt Disney, was born in Chicago in 1893.

The Disney family moved to Kansas City in the early 1900s, where Roy began delivering papers for The Kansas City Star. After graduating from the Manual Training High School of Kansas City, Disney worked on a farm and as a bank clerk for a period of time. He then served in the United States Navy from 1917 until 1919 before he was discharged when he contracted tuberculosis.

Roy then moved to Los Angeles where he was joined by his brother in 1923 and the pair founded Disney Brothers Studio. His brother did the majority of the creative work for the company, while Roy made sure that the company remained financially stable. Roy was named CEO in 1929 and oversaw the construction of Walt Disney World after Walt passed away. After being named the president of Walt Disney Productions in 1966, Roy held the position for two years and formally retired in 1971, shortly after Walt Disney World opened in Florida.

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The Forgotten Brother Who Built a Magic Kingdom

Comprising approximately 14 percent of Illinois’ gross domestic product with nearly 600,000 workers, manufacturing plays a huge role in the Illinois economy. Machinery, chemical products and food and beverage round out Illinois’ top manufacturing sectors.

To keep up with the ever-changing needs of manufacturers, higher educational facilities in Illinois have adapted their programs and also worked to build interest with students to consider training programs in manufacturing. Manufacturing plants have also reached out to younger students in recent years, highlighting new trends in the industry and the well-paying jobs available to those with the necessary skill set. 

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Learn more about Manufacturing Day from the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association

Millennium Park, the sprawling urban park in downtown Chicago offering something for everyone, was recently named a Great Public Space by the American Planning Association (APA). Only five other places across the country made the APA’s selective listing.

Millennium Park opened in July of 2004 after years of construction and development. Once a desolate mix of rail lines and surface parking, the area was transformed into a vibrant family-friendly park featuring Cloud Gate (locally known as “The Bean”), an ice rink, the Jay Pritzker Pavilion and the interactive video sculpture fountain known as Crown Fountain.

Nearly 5 million people visit Millennium Park every year, making it Chicago’s second-biggest tourist attraction.

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Planning a trip to Millennium Park? See everything the park has to offer here
Millennium Park full of surprises (Chicago Tribune)

Not long after the Beatles released their first studio album, Please Please Me, Beatles guitarist George Harrison spent two weeks in Franklin County visiting his sister, Louise Caldwell, who had recently moved to Benton. While in Southern Illinois, Harrison played several impromptu gigs with local band The Four Vests, including a show at a VFW hall and a birthday party at a neighborhood bocce ball club.

While Beatlemania was beginning to take hold in England, most of America at the time had little knowledge of the group. Local radio station WFRX began playing several Beatles hits while Harrison visited the area, making it one of the first American radio stations to play Beatles songs.

Louise Caldwell’s home in Benton, where Harrison stayed, was nearly demolished in the mid-1990s but saved from the wrecking ball and still stands today at 113 McCann Street.

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Read more about George Harrison’s visit to Southern Illinois in the Illinois Times