Illinois State Society of Washington, DC

Illinois State Society Inanugural Gala is Jan. 19, 2009

  Please CLICK HERE to visit the administrative site of the Illinois State Society for more information on how to buy tickets for the 2009 Illinois Inaugural Gala at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, DC celebrating the Inauguration of the 44th President of the United States.

Illinois State Society Tour of Udvar-Hazy Center

Sunday, JUNE 10 –  Group Tour of the Udvar-Hazy Center: the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Annex at Dulles International Airport.

The Illinois State Society of Washington, DC will host a group tour of the $76 million Smithsonian Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Airport.

The time of the tour is 10:15 AM.  Admission is free to the museum with a $12 per vehcle parking fee.  For directions see http://www.nasm.si.edu/visit/directions/directions_uhc.cfm

Call ISS Hotline at 703-461-3610 to RSVP or visit www.IllinoisStateSociety.org and click on event calendar.

Memorial Day 2007

The Illinois State Society of Washington, DC

The National Park Service and the

The Logan Circle Community Association

Cordially invite you to spend part of your Memorial Day at 2 PM on Monday, May 28 in honoring the man who invented Memorial Day, Maj. Gen. John A. (Black Jack) Logan of Murphysboro, Illinois.

Logan (1826-1886) was a Democratic Congressman from southern Illinois who stayed loyal to the Union and campaigned for the re-election of Abraham Lincoln in 1864.  He was a good general of Illinois forces and became a Republican congressman after the Civil War. As head of the large Union veterans organization founded in Decatur, Illinois, The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), Logan issued General Order Number 11 of the GAR on May 5th, 1868 designating May 30th as a day for the "strewing of flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades."  This order might have been inspired in part by the observations of his wife Mrs. Mary A. Logan on a trip that same year to Petersburg, Virginia where saw Confederate widows decorate the graves of southern soldiers. Gen. Logan became a U.S. Senator from Illinois twice after the Civil War and was the unscuccessful nominee for Vice President of the United States on the Republican ticket with James G. Blaine in 1884.

In the photo above, President William McKinley in top hat waits his turn to speak at the dedication of the Logan statue in Iowa Circle (now Logan Circle Park) on April 9, 1901.

The equestrian statue of Gen. Logan is located in Logan Circle Park, N.W. at the center of 13th, P Street, Rhode Island Avenue, and Vermont Avenue about six blocks east of Du Pont Circle. The ceremony will begin at 2 PM and will include music, a wreath laying, and remarks by Commander Carlton Philpot, USN, Ret.  A reception for invited members of the Illinois and other state societies will follow at the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site at 1318 Vermont Avenue, NW.  The House is about one-half block south-west of Logan Circle.  State society members should see Mark Rhoads of the Illinois State Society at the speakers stand in Logan Circle Park for invitations to the reception.

In the photo above, President William McKinley in top hat waits his turn to speak at the dedication of the Logan statue in Iowa Circle (now Logan Circle Park) on April 9, 1901.

Illinois State Society Annual Meeting May 23

Members of The Illinois State Society will hear reports from two native Illinoisans--Congressman Peter Roskam (R-Illinois), pictured at right, and from Dr. Elaine R. Mackevich, pictured below left, Executive Director of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission--at the annual society meeting and buffet dinner.  The location is the Fort McNair Officers' Club on Wednesday night, May 23 at 6:30 PM.  The security gate is at 2nd and P Streets, SW.  A picture ID is needed to enter the post.

Congressman Roskam, a recent Illinois state senator from DuPage County, was elected to succeed Congressman Henry Hyde in 2006.  Dr. Mackevich recently moved to DC from Chicago where she was Executive Director for the Chicago Humanities Council.  For more details on the meeting, please CLICK HERE to visit the events calendar of the Illinois State Society web site.

The historic Fort Leslie J. McNair Officers' Club is located on the water and offers a beautiful view of the Washington Ship Channel and the Potomac River. In 1998 and in 2004, the club was given the Carroll Award for excellence in Army clubs.  The club is a non-smoking facility. CLICK HERE for directons, a telephone number, and more information about the club.

A special guest of honor now living in Italy has accepted an invitation to attend the Illinois State Society annual meeting.  She and her parents were members of the society in 1948 when she was the first Illinois cherry blossom  princess.  Jimilu Mason, pictured at right, is a famous artist and sculptor who has worked on many commissions all over the world.  Two of her works, including a marble bust of President Lyndon Johnson, are on permanent display in the U.S. Capitol Building and one of Chief Justice Fred Vinson is on display at the U.S. Supreme Court Building.

Father Daniel Coughlin, Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives and a native of Chicago, is also expected to attend the annual meeting.  He is pictured at right.  Father Coughlin was supported by both parties for his current post in this Congress. He was the former Vicar of Priests for the Archdiocese of Chicago and became the first Catholic priest ever appointed to the post of House Chaplain when he started his service in 2000.  Father Coughlin has been an active member of the Illinois State Society and is chaplain for the society also. In 2006, he gave a private tour of the Capitol to Illinois State Society members. He was named by the society as an "Outstanding Illinoisan" at the 2001 Illinois Inaugural Gala. 

Members of The Illinois State Society will hear reports from two native Illinoisans--Congressman Peter Roskam (R-Illinois), pictured at right, and from Dr. Elaine R. Mackevich, pictured below left, Executive Director of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission--at the annual society meeting and buffet dinner.  The location is the Fort McNair Officers' Club on Wednesday night, May 23 at 6:30 PM.  The security gate is at 2nd and P Streets, SW.  A picture ID is needed to enter the post.

Congressman Roskam, a recent Illinois state senator from DuPage County, was elected to succeed Congressman Henry Hyde in 2006.  Dr. Mackevich recently moved to DC from Chicago where she was Executive Director for the Chicago Humanities Council.  For more details on the meeting, please CLICK HERE to visit the events calendar of the Illinois State Society web site.

The historic Fort Leslie J. McNair Officers' Club is located on the water and offers a beautiful view of the Washington Ship Channel and the Potomac River. In 1998 and in 2004, the club was given the Carroll Award for excellence in Army clubs.  The club is a non-smoking facility. CLICK HERE for directons, a telephone number, and more information about the club.

A special guest of honor now living in Italy has accepted an invitation to attend the Illinois State Society annual meeting.  She and her parents were members of the society in 1948 when she was the first Illinois cherry blossom  princess.  Jimilu Mason, pictured at right, is a famous artist and sculptor who has worked on many commissions all over the world.  Two of her works, including a marble bust of President Lyndon Johnson, are on permanent display in the U.S. Capitol Building and one of Chief Justice Fred Vinson is on display at the U.S. Supreme Court Building.

Father Daniel Coughlin, Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives and a native of Chicago, is also expected to attend the annual meeting.  He is pictured at right.  Father Coughlin was supported by both parties for his current post in this Congress. He was the former Vicar of Priests for the Archdiocese of Chicago and became the first Catholic priest ever appointed to the post of House Chaplain when he started his service in 2000.  Father Coughlin has been an active member of the Illinois State Society and is chaplain for the society also. In 2006, he gave a private tour of the Capitol to Illinois State Society members. He was named by the society as an "Outstanding Illinoisan" at the 2001 Illinois Inaugural Gala. 

Members of The Illinois State Society will hear reports from two native Illinoisans--Congressman Peter Roskam (R-Illinois), pictured at right, and from Dr. Elaine R. Mackevich, pictured below left, Executive Director of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission--at the annual society meeting and buffet dinner.  The location is the Fort McNair Officers' Club on Wednesday night, May 23 at 6:30 PM.  The security gate is at 2nd and P Streets, SW.  A picture ID is needed to enter the post.

Congressman Roskam, a recent Illinois state senator from DuPage County, was elected to succeed Congressman Henry Hyde in 2006.  Dr. Mackevich recently moved to DC from Chicago where she was Executive Director for the Chicago Humanities Council.  For more details on the meeting, please CLICK HERE to visit the events calendar of the Illinois State Society web site.

The historic Fort Leslie J. McNair Officers' Club is located on the water and offers a beautiful view of the Washington Ship Channel and the Potomac River. In 1998 and in 2004, the club was given the Carroll Award for excellence in Army clubs.  The club is a non-smoking facility. CLICK HERE for directons, a telephone number, and more information about the club.

A special guest of honor now living in Italy has accepted an invitation to attend the Illinois State Society annual meeting.  She and her parents were members of the society in 1948 when she was the first Illinois cherry blossom  princess.  Jimilu Mason, pictured at right, is a famous artist and sculptor who has worked on many commissions all over the world.  Two of her works, including a marble bust of President Lyndon Johnson, are on permanent display in the U.S. Capitol Building and one of Chief Justice Fred Vinson is on display at the U.S. Supreme Court Building.

Father Daniel Coughlin, Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives and a native of Chicago, is also expected to attend the annual meeting.  He is pictured at right.  Father Coughlin was supported by both parties for his current post in this Congress. He was the former Vicar of Priests for the Archdiocese of Chicago and became the first Catholic priest ever appointed to the post of House Chaplain when he started his service in 2000.  Father Coughlin has been an active member of the Illinois State Society and is chaplain for the society also. In 2006, he gave a private tour of the Capitol to Illinois State Society members. He was named by the society as an "Outstanding Illinoisan" at the 2001 Illinois Inaugural Gala. 

Members of The Illinois State Society will hear reports from two native Illinoisans--Congressman Peter Roskam (R-Illinois), pictured at right, and from Dr. Elaine R. Mackevich, pictured below left, Executive Director of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission--at the annual society meeting and buffet dinner.  The location is the Fort McNair Officers' Club on Wednesday night, May 23 at 6:30 PM.  The security gate is at 2nd and P Streets, SW.  A picture ID is needed to enter the post.

Congressman Roskam, a recent Illinois state senator from DuPage County, was elected to succeed Congressman Henry Hyde in 2006.  Dr. Mackevich recently moved to DC from Chicago where she was Executive Director for the Chicago Humanities Council.  For more details on the meeting, please CLICK HERE to visit the events calendar of the Illinois State Society web site.

The historic Fort Leslie J. McNair Officers' Club is located on the water and offers a beautiful view of the Washington Ship Channel and the Potomac River. In 1998 and in 2004, the club was given the Carroll Award for excellence in Army clubs.  The club is a non-smoking facility. CLICK HERE for directons, a telephone number, and more information about the club.

A special guest of honor now living in Italy has accepted an invitation to attend the Illinois State Society annual meeting.  She and her parents were members of the society in 1948 when she was the first Illinois cherry blossom  princess.  Jimilu Mason, pictured at right, is a famous artist and sculptor who has worked on many commissions all over the world.  Two of her works, including a marble bust of President Lyndon Johnson, are on permanent display in the U.S. Capitol Building and one of Chief Justice Fred Vinson is on display at the U.S. Supreme Court Building.

Father Daniel Coughlin, Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives and a native of Chicago, is also expected to attend the annual meeting.  He is pictured at right.  Father Coughlin was supported by both parties for his current post in this Congress. He was the former Vicar of Priests for the Archdiocese of Chicago and became the first Catholic priest ever appointed to the post of House Chaplain when he started his service in 2000.  Father Coughlin has been an active member of the Illinois State Society and is chaplain for the society also. In 2006, he gave a private tour of the Capitol to Illinois State Society members. He was named by the society as an "Outstanding Illinoisan" at the 2001 Illinois Inaugural Gala. 

Illinois History and Heritage Projects

Congressman Peter Roskam will speak at the Illinois State Society Annual Meeting and Buffet Dinner at the Fort McNair Officers' Club on Wednesday, May 23 at 7:30 PM.  CLICK HERE for more details.

Several state societies sponsor special projects to celebrate the history and heritage of our states at home and in the Washington, DC region.  Pictured at right and below is a wreath with U.S. and Illinois flags placed by members of Illinois State Society at the Lincoln Memorial on Lincoln's birthday in 2006.  The Illinois State Society is making plans to participate in the 200th Anniversary of Lincoln's birth in 2009.

There are two other examples of Illinois projects that could be good models that other state societies might want to consider for their states.

First is the Illinois Hall of Fame--a series of special short feature stories on notable Illinoisans found on a special blog for that purpose.  CLICK HERE to see the Illinois Hall of Fame blog.

Another project is the Illinois Heritage Map of Washington, DC.  The map shows about forty points of interest in Washington, D.C. that are related to Illinois personalities and history and can be used as a map for a walking tour of downtown DC that highlights Illinois-related places and people. CLICK HERE to see a sample of the map and to order copies free from the Illinois State Society.

2007 Illinois Cherry Blossom Princess

The Illinois State Society of Washington, DC invites you to a reception in honor of:  

Danielle Hampton, the 2007 Illinois Cherry Blossom Princess.

Thursday, April 12, 2007 from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM.

Rayburn House Office Building , Room B-369

Independence Avenue and South Capitol Street

RSVP to ISS Hotline at 703-461-3610 or send an email to IllinoisStateSociety@verizon.net by Monday, April 9, 2007,  Free for ISS members and $15 for nonmembers.

 

By Richard Frank

THIS WEEK'S ILLINOIS STATE SOCIETY EVENTS

Friday, October 27 - 2:30 p.m.

Chicago: Cauldron of Postal Change: 1831 - present

Presentation by Megaera Ausman, Historian, United States Postal Service at 2:30 p.m. in the Benjamin Franklin Room on the top floor of the USPS headquarters, 475 L'Enfant Plaza, SW, Washington, DC. Reservations and a photo ID are required. Use the building's entrance nearest the Potomac River.

Call the ISS Hotline at 703 461-3610 for reservations.

Saturday, October 28 - Noon

Attention all Northern Illinois grads and Illinoisans who attended the University of Iowa! The Huskies and Hawkeyes will play this Saturday, October 28th when Northern Illinois and Iowa kick-off is at Noon. Iowa fans gather at the Crystal City Sports Pub, which is one of Sports Illustrated's top-25 sports bars in the nation. Northern Illinois fans can join the Iowa fans there unless we hear that another site is available. The Pub is located at 529 S. 23rd St, Arlington, VA 22202. No reservations required.

ISS News: Visit Wright Home Oct. 22

By Jeanne Jacob

Join Members of the Illinois State Society for two upcoming events in October. On Sunday, Oct. 22, we will visit the Pope-Leighey House on the grounds of Woodlawn at 9000 Richmond Highway (US Route 1) in Alexandria, Virginia (Phone: 703-780-4000). The house was designed by the famous architecht Frank Lloyd Wright who lived in Oak Park, Illinois for many years from the 1890s to the late 1920s and who did his most productive work in Illinois.

The Pope-Leighey House is one of only a handful of his residential commissions on the East Coast.  Of some 2,400 projects he worked on in his lifetime, 99 survive in Illinois, where there are more examples of his work than in any other state. See the Illinois Hall of Fame article on Frank Lloyd Wright to read more about his life and work as an arhitect in Illinois.

The Pope-Leighey House is a Usonian house which represented Wright's version of affordable and well-designed housing in a democratic America. A designated historic site by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, The Pope-Leighey House was Wright's attempt to solve the house "at a moderate cost" problem. Our docent will draw comparison to other Wright homes in Illinois such as the Robie House in Chicago.

You can read more about this Usonian House example of Wright's work by clicking here.

RSVP your place on the tour by calling the ISS Hotline at 703-461-3610. The charge for the event is $7.00 and should be made out to the Illinois State Society of Washington, DC and mailed to: Illinois State Society, 3700 Fort Worth Avenue, Alexandria, Virginia 22304.

For updates on ISS events see www.IllinoisStateSociety.org or this blog. Or call 703-461-3610.

Our second event in October will be on Friday, Oct. 27 at 2:30 PM on the top floor of the US Postal Service Headquarters at 475 L'Anfant Plaza, SW in Washington, DC.  The program is called:

"Chicago: Cauldron of Postal Change 1831 to the Present"

The Old Chicago Post Office at right opened in 1905 and was replaced by the current large Post Office that was built in 1932 before a tunnel was created under the building to accommodate the Eisenhower Expressway in the 1950s.

There is no charge for this event which was rescheduled from August. You must have a photo ID to enter the building. RSVP to the ISS HOTLINE at 703-461-3622.

The "new" Chicago Post office at lower right replaced the 1905 version only 27 years later in 1932 but has remained the central Post Office in Chicago since that time.

If you have not joined the Illinois State Society, sign up today!  Membership fees are as follows:

Individual is $25, Family is $35, Senior Citizen Single is $15, Senior Citizens Family Membership is $20, Congressional staff group membership is $50, and Corporate Office Staff Group Memberhip is $150. Mail your checks to the ISS address above.

Illinois State Society Membership Application

To apply for membership in the Illinois State Society of Washington, DC, please click here for the application form.  Or, call 703-461-3610 and leave a voice mail for more information.

2006 Illinois Cherry Blossom Princess

The Illinois State Society of Washington, DC
is proud to salute our
2006 Cherry Blossom Princess
Emily Carlson
and all the State and International
Cherry Blossom Princesses
To learn more about the Illinois State Society, please visit our website at www.IllinoisStateSociety.org

or call the ISS HOTLINE at 703-461-3610.

Illinois Table at National Book Festival a Huge Success

Illinois resident and children's author Richard Peck was the star attraction at the Illinois table on Sept. 30, 2006 at the National Book Festival on the Mall sponsored by the Library of Congress with First Lady Laura Bush as honorary chair.

More than 60,000 people attended The National Book Festival on the Mall. The event was a huge success and so was the Illinois table.  Bonnie Matheis from the the state library in Springfield came with author Ray Elliott to host the Illinois table in the States Pavilion Tent.  Six members of the Illinois State Society showed up for the busy morning hours to help Bonnie greet children and authors.

Joan Neiman, Laura Baker, Jeanne Jacob, Gerry Frank, one other ISS and Junior League volunteer and Mark Rhoads had their hands full helping Bonnie put Lincoln Hat stamps on the USA maps that chldren brought to the table.  About 1,400 Illinois Heritage Maps were passed out and a few ISS membership reply envelopes.  This is the fifth year of the National Book Fair on the Mall sponsored by First Lady Laura Bush and the Library of Congress and state libraries.  Many talks by authors were taped by C-SPAN.  Illinois authors autographed magazine articles and books at the crowded Illinois table.

This is the fifth year of the festival and each year has seen larger crowds.

Welcome to The Illinois State Society of Washington, DC

By John Buscher

As the 2006-2007 President of the Illinois State Society of Washington, DC, I would like to welcome you to our weblog site.

The Illinois State Society of Washington, DC has roots going back to before the American Civil War. The Illinois Democratic Club of Washington City was founded in 1854 by a group of government clerks who had come from Illinois to work for government agencies.

At various times during the next six decades, the club was known by different names such as the Illinois State Association from 1867 to 1870, The Illinois State Republican Association from 1870 to about 1885, The Illinois State Democratic Association from 1885 to 1888, then back to the Illinois State Repubican Association from 1889 to about 1915.  As you can guess, a party name was popular with the clerks depending on which political party had won the presidency in the previous election.

But throughout the 19th Century, the club always had as much of a social dimension as a political one.  Finally, in February 1917, the club followed the conversion of other state clubs from partisan clubs to nonpartisan social organizations. The club was re-named as the nonpartisan Illinois State Society of Washington, DC and prominent Republicans and Democrats were elected to the board.

Thanks to research tools made possible by ProQuest, Inc. and the newly available searchable archives of The Washington Evening Star, The Washington Post, The Washington Times-Herald, The New York Times, and The Chicago Tribune, we have recently been able to recreate almost the complete year by year history of the society back to about 1867. We have learned how the club sent money to the mayor of Chicago in October 1871 to aid victims of The Great Chicago Fire. We have learned how the society sent money to a special American Red Cross fund help the victims of flooding in Illinois in 1927. We have learned how money for heat and flood relief was sent to Illinois in the 1990s.

Finally, we have learned how the Illinois State Society helped to mark the eras of American history with many quadrennial Presidential Inauguration Galas honoring the governors of Illinois and the Illinois congressional delegation starting with an official delegation that paid a call on President Abraham Lincoln on the day of his first Inauguration in March 1861.

We are here to celebrate the history, social customs, folklore, schools, sports teams, business, culture, enterainment, and arts of Illinois as well as provide a nonpartisan venue and resource for the members of both parties serving in the Illinois congressional delegation. If you live in Illinois and come often to Washington, DC or came from Illinois but now live in the national capital region, please call us and join us for business, for social networking and parties, for history lectures, or just for fun. If the Cubs are in town to play the Nationals, count on us to buy a block of tickets.  Ditto for the White Sox at Camden Yards or the Bulls at the MCI Center.  Our mission to to celebrate something of Illinois hometowns in Washington, DC.

For more information about the Illinois State Society, call our hotline and leave a message at 703-461-3610 or visit our general information web site at www.IllinoisStateSociety.org.

By John Buscher

As the 2006-2007 President of the Illinois State Society of Washington, DC, I would like to welcome you to our weblog site.

The Illinois State Society of Washington, DC has roots going back to before the American Civil War. The Illinois Democratic Club of Washington City was founded in 1854 by a group of government clerks who had come from Illinois to work for government agencies.

At various times during the next six decades, the club was known by different names such as the Illinois State Association from 1867 to 1870, The Illinois State Republican Association from 1870 to about 1885, The Illinois State Democratic Association from 1885 to 1888, then back to the Illinois State Repubican Association from 1889 to about 1915.  As you can guess, a party name was popular with the clerks depending on which political party had won the presidency in the previous election.

But throughout the 19th Century, the club always had as much of a social dimension as a political one.  Finally, in February 1917, the club followed the conversion of other state clubs from partisan clubs to nonpartisan social organizations. The club was re-named as the nonpartisan Illinois State Society of Washington, DC and prominent Republicans and Democrats were elected to the board.

Thanks to research tools made possible by ProQuest, Inc. and the newly available searchable archives of The Washington Evening Star, The Washington Post, The Washington Times-Herald, The New York Times, and The Chicago Tribune, we have recently been able to recreate almost the complete year by year history of the society back to about 1867. We have learned how the club sent money to the mayor of Chicago in October 1871 to aid victims of The Great Chicago Fire. We have learned how the society sent money to a special American Red Cross fund help the victims of flooding in Illinois in 1927. We have learned how money for heat and flood relief was sent to Illinois in the 1990s.

Finally, we have learned how the Illinois State Society helped to mark the eras of American history with many quadrennial Presidential Inauguration Galas honoring the governors of Illinois and the Illinois congressional delegation starting with an official delegation that paid a call on President Abraham Lincoln on the day of his first Inauguration in March 1861.

We are here to celebrate the history, social customs, folklore, schools, sports teams, business, culture, enterainment, and arts of Illinois as well as provide a nonpartisan venue and resource for the members of both parties serving in the Illinois congressional delegation. If you live in Illinois and come often to Washington, DC or came from Illinois but now live in the national capital region, please call us and join us for business, for social networking and parties, for history lectures, or just for fun. If the Cubs are in town to play the Nationals, count on us to buy a block of tickets.  Ditto for the White Sox at Camden Yards or the Bulls at the MCI Center.  Our mission to to celebrate something of Illinois hometowns in Washington, DC.

For more information about the Illinois State Society, call our hotline and leave a message at 703-461-3610 or visit our general information web site at www.IllinoisStateSociety.org.