In 1974, a group of third-grade students from Dennis School in Decatur came up with the idea of naming the monarch butterfly the official state insect in Illinois. The idea took hold, and the following year, legislators made the proposal official.

Monarch butterflies, recognizable by their orange and black shades, are attracted to prairies and grasslands due to the presence of milkweed, making Illinois a natural habitat for the insect. Females lay eggs on the milkweed, and the resulting caterpillar feeds on the plant until becoming a butterfly.

Unfortunately, the amount of milkweed found along edges of roadways and farm fields in Illinois has fallen nearly 60 percent since 1999. This drop in milkweed is thought to be caused by increased farming of open lands and a general decrease in the amount of open grassland areas. Mowing practices that eliminate the weed along roadways is also thought to be a factor. Scientists are still studying the problem and determining what steps can be taken to increase the butterfly population.

Monarch butterflies fly south for the winter, escaping the cold winter months and reaching as far south as Mexico City.

Learn more:
Illinois State Symbols and their history: Monarch Butterfly
Where did they go? Environmental threats shrink the number of Illinois' beloved state insect, the monarch butterfly – Illinois Issues

Known to many from his portrayal in the 1987 movie “The Untouchables,” Eliot Ness was born in Chicago on April 19, 1903. At the young age of 24, he joined the Bureau of Prohibition and began working on a team dedicated to investigating and bringing down mobster Al Capone.

The team would become known as “The Untouchables” after a Chicago Tribune reporter coined the phrase while writing a story about attempted bribes offered by Capone’s men to Eliot Ness. While Ness was not directly responsible for Capone’s imprisonment, he became a well-known figure in the fight against bootlegging and other criminal activity of the day.

Ness moved to Cleveland in the mid-1930’s, investigating 200 police officers and other local officials for the rampant corruption that had taken hold in the Ohio city. He also had a role in the dramatic drop in traffic fatalities after the city instituted his plan to update traffic laws and procedures.

While Ness’ legacy is often misrepresented due to exaggerations in the movie “The Untouchables,” he nonetheless played a vital role in combating criminal elements throughout his entire life. Many of his practices while investigating crimes were at the time revolutionary and are common practice today, including his use of ballistics tests, his push to install two-way radios in police cars and his overall view of drug and alcohol addictions as medical instead of societal problems.

Learn more:
Eliot Ness – Biography.com
The Untouchables – IMDb

Sixty years ago today, the first McDonald’s franchise restaurant opened on Lee Street in Des Plaines. Developed by architect Stanley Meston, the restaurant featured red and white tiles with the recognizable golden arches.

Ray Kroc, while visiting a restaurant in San Bernardino, Calif., on a sales trip, was fascinated by the operation of a fast-food style restaurant focusing on a few staple items.

Kroc took the business model of the California restaurant and turned it into an international success. After opening the first franchise store in 1955, franchises all over the country opened. By 1959, over 100 restaurants had opened and by 1967, McDonald’s was opening restaurants in Canada and Puerto Rico.

Today, McDonald’s is the world’s largest chain restaurant, operating 35,000 restaurants in over 115 countries. While the original restaurant in Des Plaines is no longer operational, the site now features the McDonald’s #1 Store Museum, a rebuilt replica of the original restaurant that started it all.

Learn more:
McDonald’s #1 Store Museum
McDonald’s Archives – Time.com
McDonald’s History
The Ray Kroc Story

Lincoln’s Tomb in Springfield has attracted millions of visitors since its dedication in 1874. The tomb is the final resting place for President Lincoln, his wife Mary Lincoln, and three of the Lincoln’s four sons: Edward, William and Thomas. Robert Lincoln, the oldest of the four sons, is buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

Originally, the National Lincoln Monument Association, composed of fifteen of Lincoln’s closest Illinois friends, developed plans to build a tomb and monument to the President in downtown Springfield. At the request of Mary Lincoln, Oak Ridge Cemetery was chosen to ensure the President was laid to rest in a “quiet place.” The cemetery at the time was located in a rural setting just north of the city of Springfield.

The tomb was designed by sculptor Larkin Mead and is 117 feet tall, featuring four large bronze sculptures memorializing the four Civil War military service branches.

Today, Oak Ridge Cemetery is the nation’s second most visited cemetery, attracting school groups, families and international visitors who come to pay tribute to the 16th President.

Learn more:
History of the Tomb – Lincoln’s Tomb
Lincoln Tomb Highlights – Abraham Lincoln Online
Springfield’s Oak Ridge Cemetery

Rudolph “Rudy” Perz was born on December 6, 1925 in Chicago and attended the University of Illinois in Chicago. After graduating, Perz worked for the Walter J. Thompson and Leo Burnett advertising firms in Chicago. 

Rudy was working for the Chicago-based Leo Burnett advertising agency when he was tasked with finding an advertisement strategy for Pillsbury products. After an exhausting effort, Perz popped open one of the cardboard tubes and imagined a small boy made out of the dough. After dressing the character with a chef’s hat, scarf and big blue eyes, Poppin’ Fresh was born in 1965.

The original Poppin’ Fresh was a ‘Doughboy’ which was animated in a similar way to today’s Claymation. Early advertisements featuring Poppin’ Fresh would require over 700 photographs just to create a 30 second commercial.

The character went on to become one of the most successful advertising campaigns of all time, with Pillsbury still featuring him in their commercials 50 years later.

Learn more:
Advertising Age – Rudolph Perz
New York Times – Rudolph Perz