With the year long Bicentennial celebration in full swing, we thought we'd find out just how much you know about Illinois history. Take our quiz and learn just how much you know about Illinois' past.

Illinois will be celebrating its 200th birthday in 2018 and has hundreds of historic landmarks that tell the story of this great state.

Be part of history and the Illinois Bicentennial.

Plan your trip in amazing Illinois.

Learn more travel and Illinois history.


Here are 12 Illinois historic landmarks you should visit in 2018:

1. Nobel-Seymour Crippen House 
2. Ulysses S. Grant House
3. Graham Building
4. B. Harley Bradley House
5. Steeple Building
6. Woodstock Opera House 
7. David Davis Mansion 
8. Broadwell Inn & Tavern of Clayville
9. Beecher Hall and Illinois College
10. Fort de Chartres 
11. Joseph Smith House 
12. New Philadelphia 

Archeological excavations at Fort Massac State Park. Photo from the Illinois Blue Book Collection,
Illinois Digital Archives -  A Service of the State Library and Office of Secretary of State dd caption

On Sunday, Illinois marked our state’s 199th birthday. It was also the kickoff of the year-long celebration leading up to our bicentennial in 2018. Last week, we brought you the first of two parts of our collection of odds and ends from (nearly) 200 years of Illinois history. Here are a few more:

Gov. Bruce Rauner today announced the launch of a statewide helpline to provide immediate assistance for those impacted by addiction to opioids and other substances.

The helpline will provide a confidential outlet for individuals experiencing opioid use disorders, their families and anyone affected by the disease 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Helpline specialists are trained in evidence-based approaches to help connect callers with treatment and recovery-support services. To reach the helpline, individuals can call 1-833-2FINDHELP.

As a member of the Illinois General Assembly, State Representative Chad Hays earlier this year lead a bipartisan vote on a bill to fund 911 emergency services, encouraging his colleagues to support the measure so vital services were not disrupted in any part of the state. 

As Chad Hays, member of a bipartisan musical group comprised of Illinois lawmakers who cover Jimmy Buffett, Marshall Tucker, and the early Rolling Stones, he thinks he’s found something to do long after his days in the General Assembly are over. 

We talk with Representative Hays about both issues.

Get ready to break out some birthday candles — make that lots of birthday candles. Might want to grab a fire extinguisher too: Illinois turns 200 on Dec. 3, 2018.

The yearlong bicentennial celebration honoring two centuries of statehood has begun.

Like any milestone birthday or anniversary, bicentennials are a good excuse to look back, look forward and, most of all, have some fun.

In Travel, we're marking the occasion with a 200 To-Do List: two hundred things every Illinoisan should do — or see, eat and drink — at least once in a lifetime. Read more in the Chicago Tribune.

Click here for the first 20 entries in the History category.

JOBS
Unemployment rate drops in every Illinois metropolitan area. Statistics published by the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) showed a year-over-year unemployment rate cut in each of Illinois’ 102 counties. The state gained 18,200 new nonfarm payroll jobs between October 2016 and October 2017, strengthening Illinois prosperity and consumer behavior. The new numbers are based upon data compiled by state employers and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.