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In this issue of Illinois Heritage we meet several interesting people from our Prairie State past—Studs Terkel, Milton Kimbler, Eve Josephson Garrison, ––and we revisit Eldorado, Illinois, at the turn of the last century when rioters shut down a Tuskegee model school for African American children and created a “sundown town” in southern Illinois. We also look at the Potawatomi Trail of Death, which came through central Illinois in 1837.

The Heritage is published six times per year and is available as a benefit of membership in the Illinois State Historical Society. Individual editions can also be purchased by contacting our office directly. Visit our Membership section for membership options and information. Click on the “Read More” button to see this issue’s Editor's Comments, Table of Contents, and sample articles.

The Illinois State Historical Society introduced the 2023 recipients of its Best of Illinois History awards on Saturday, April 29, at the Hoogland Center for the Arts in Springfield. In keeping with the mission of the ISHS “to foster awareness, understanding, research, preservation, and recognition of history in Illinois,” the Society honored this year’s 30-plus award recipients and their invited guests, many of whom had traveled from several states and one from Switzerland to accept their awards.

This issue of Illinois Heritage offers a snapshot of the “Best of Illinois History” ceremony, where we gave out more than 35 awards, including three Lifetime Achievements awards, the Olive Foster Teacher of the Year award, and the new Russell L. Lewis Jr. Young Museum Professional award. We also take a look at Ulysses S. Grant, the soldier from Galena who led the Union Army to victory in the Civil War and became the nation’s 18th President. In this two-part retrospective, we see Grant through the eyes of the soldiers who served under him along the way.

For over seventy-five years, the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) has given Leadership in History Awards to establish and encourage standards of excellence in the collection, preservation, and interpretation of state and local history in order to make the past more meaningful to all people. Nominations for AASLH's Leadership in History Awards are due March 1.

The Illinois State Historical Society’s 2021 Centennial Business Awards luncheon has been postponed until 2022. Unfortunately, the resurgence of the COVID 19 virus and its Delta variant has forced us to reconsider a public gathering that could impact the health of your employees, our membership, and the public at large.