Illinois’ more than 500 Christmas tree growers produce 250,000 trees with a value of more than $5 million every year.

The practice of decorating trees for the Christmas season can be traced to the early 1500s in Europe. Since that time, the tradition of decorating a tree has continued and expanded worldwide.

While artificial trees have gained popularity since they were first introduced in Germany in the 1800s, more than 25 million real Christmas trees are sold every year in the United States. Every state in the union produces Christmas trees, with Oregon, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Washington producing the most.  

Many cities throughout the country have an official Christmas tree. In Chicago, this tradition started in 1913 when Mayor Carter Harrison lit the first official Christmas tree in Grant Park.

Still looking for the perfect Christmas tree? Check out the links below for information on where to find trees in your community:

TimeOut Chicago – Where to chop down your own Christmas tree
Illinois Christmas Tree Association, with listings of Christmas tree farms across the state

If you enjoy listening to the melodic tunes of The Doors, then you’ve witnessed the work of Ray Manzarek.

Raymond Daniel Manzarek was born in 1939 on the Southside of Chicago. As a child, Ray began taking piano lessons at age 7. He attended St. Rita High School, where he played in a band with his two brothers for school dances and talent shows. He continued to play throughout his time at DePaul University, and graduated with a degree in economics. It wasn’t until he moved to California to attend the UCLA film school that he met his future lifelong wife Dorothy Fujikawa, and fellow film student and poet Jim Morrison. After meeting, the pair decided to combine Morrison’s poetry and Manzarek’s piano prowess in order to create a band. The Doors formed in 1965 after Robby Krieger’s guitar and John Densmore’s drums were added. Manzarek provided the hypnotic and intoxicating undertones for the Doors on a Vox Continental combo organ, a very popular instrument used by numerous other acid rock bands of the late 60s and 70s.    

Manzarek and The Doors started out slow, playing small nightclubs and bars on a nightly basis, but they eventually saw success after songs like “Light My Fire” and “Break on through” became immensely popular. Manzarek played the organ on all six studio albums that The Doors released under Elektra Records, but Jim Morrison’s untimely death in 1971 brought the band’s success to a halt. Manzarek went on to produce a few solo albums, play keyboard for numerous bands and eventually collaborate with Densmore and Krieger on tour and on television. Ray and his wife Dorothy had one son, Pablo, and three grandchildren. In May of 2013, Manzarek died of cancer.

The influence that The Doors had on music still lives on today, as rereleases of their live albums and video footage are still being produced on a yearly basis.

Learn more:
Ray Manzarek Website
The Doors Official Website

Springfield wasn’t always the state capital.

Springfield only became Illinois’ third state capital in 1837.

The first capital was in Kaskaskia, which was founded in 1703. The first Capitol building was a two-story brick structure. All 29 state representatives occupied the first floor, while the 14 senators met on the second floor. The General Assembly wanted to build a newer Capitol and petitioned Congress for land. The state was granted a plot about eighty miles northeast of Kaskaskia, which became the city of Vandalia and the second capital city.  

The Vandalia Capitol building was first used on December 4, 1820. Twenty years later, responding to the will of the people, the General Assembly passed an act to allow voters to decide on the location of a new capital city. However, the results of the election were inconclusive, and it wasn’t until the 1836-37 session that the General Assembly made a decision.

It was our state’s most renowned leader, Abraham Lincoln, who introduced a bill to make Springfield the capital city. The first Capitol building in Springfield was ready for use by 1840.

Nearly 30 years later, the state government decided Illinois needed a larger, more modern Capitol building. It sold Springfield’s first Capitol building to Sangamon County, which used it as a courthouse until 1961, when it was repurchased by the state. The building was then totally reconstructed to restore it to its original state. If Abraham Lincoln walked into the Old State Capitol, he would feel right at home.

The current Capitol was built in the French Renaissance style using Illinois limestone. It is the tallest non-skyscraper Capitol building in the United States – even taller than the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Learn more:
Learn more about the Capitol building
Take a trip to Springfield!

Actor Michael Clarke Duncan was born in December of 1957 on the Southside of Chicago. Growing up, Duncan dreamed of becoming an actor, but he had to focus on supporting his family after his mother became ill. He also spent time playing basketball at Kankakee Community College and Alcorn State.

After moving to Los Angeles Duncan worked as a bouncer in various nightclubs and as a bodyguard for celebrities like Will Smith, Martin Lawrence and Notorious B.I.G. During this time, he decided to pursue acting and was able to land several small film roles, but his breakout role came in the film Armageddon. His most noteworthy role was as John Coffey, a death row inmate with a supernatural gift, in the film The Green Mile. This performance earned him an Academy Award and Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actor. He eventually branched out to play small roles in different television series and made use of his uniquely deep voice to provide vocals for numerous video game characters.

Duncan played more than 75 different roles during his 17-year career. He passed away in September of 2012 following a heart attack.

Learn more:
Michael Clarke Duncan IMDB bio

Actor John Malkovich was born on December 9, 1953 in Christopher. He and his four siblings were raised in Benton by his mother, an editor for a local newspaper, and his father, who was the conservation director for the state of Illinois. His passion for acting took root during his time at Illinois State University, and it grew rapidly thereafter. After trying his hand at acting, Malkovich decided to leave Illinois State in 1976 and join the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago.  Though he found success starring in onstage performances, he had to work other jobs in order to make ends meet. This included driving a school bus, painting houses, and working for a landscaping company on his spare time.

In 1984 Malkovich made debuted in his first major role with actor Dustin Hoffman in the Broadway rendition of Death Of a Salesman, and shortly after was cast in his first film, The Killing Fields. His role in the 1984 film Places in the Heart earned him his first Oscar nomination, and his second nomination came for his supporting role in the 1993 movie In The Line Of Fire.

In 1999, he helped to produce the film Being John Malkovich, which offered the viewer a unique glimpse inside his mind. He has remained very active throughout his career by starring, acting, or directing a film nearly every year since 1984. His filmography includes more than 75 movies and TV series, and he has played a role in five different film and TV projects in 2014 alone.

Learn more:
John Malkovich's IMDb profile