"Illinois" is the

regional anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short s ...

(or

state song Forty-eight of the fifty U.S. states have one or more state songs, a type of regional anthem, which are selected by each state legislature as a symbol (or emblem) of that particular U.S. state. Some U.S. states have more than one official state ...

) of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. Written in the early 1890s by Civil War veteran Charles H. Chamberlain, the verses were set to the tune of "Baby Mine," a popular song composed in 1870 by Archibald Johnston (died 1887). "Illinois" became the state song by an act of the 54th

Illinois General Assembly The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 181 ...

in 1925.

History

The song was written during the successful campaign to have the 1893

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

located in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. It was intended for Colonel O.B. Knight, a friend of Mr. Chamberlin, to sing in Illinois and Washington D.C. as support for the nomination of Illinois to host the fair. Walter Howe Jones (died 1933), Director of the University of Illinois School of Music from 1895 to 1901, set the song lyrics to his own music for male voices in 1901. His version was published in several campus song books but was not widely used. In 1925,

Florence Fifer Bohrer Florence Fifer Bohrer (January 24, 1877 in Bloomington, Illinois – July 20, 1960) was an American activist and politician in Illinois. She was the daughter of former Illinois governor Joseph W. Fifer and was the first female senator in the ...

(1877-1960) of Bloomington, daughter of Governor

Joseph W. Fifer Joseph Wilson Fifer (October 28, 1840 – August 6, 1938) was the 19th Governor of Illinois, serving from 1889 to 1893. He also served as a member of the Illinois Senate from 1881 to 1883. "Private Joe" Fifer was born at Staunton, Virginia on ...

(1840-1938) and the first woman Illinois state senator, introduced the bill making "Illinois" with Johnston's melody the official state song. The bill was passed on 30 June 1925. Colonel Armin F. Hand (1882?-1966) of Chicago composed a stylized version of the song titled "Governor's March (Illinois)" for marching band in 1935, and dedicated it to Governor

Henry Horner Henry Horner (November 30, 1878 – October 6, 1940) was an American politician. Horner served as the 28th Governor of Illinois, serving from January 1933 until his death in October 1940. Horner was noted as the first Jewish governor of Illinois ...

(1879-1940). In 1949, the University of Illinois football band, the

Marching Illini The Marching Illini (MI) is the marching band of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The Marching Illini is an organization which annually includes approximately 400 students enrolled in the University of Illinois. Part of the College of ...

, conducted by Everett Kisinger (1912-1990) adapted this march as their pregame "Entrance No. 3" played before each home game. It was revised by

James Curnow James Curnow (born 17 April 1943) is a composer of music for concert bands, brass bands, vocal and instrumental solos and ensembles. Curnow has also written arrangements of music pieces such as Trumpet Voluntary. He has taught at both public s ...

in 1972. In addition to the original four verses of the lyrics, two more were written in 1966 by folk singer

Win Stracke Winfred "Win" J. Stracke (February 20, 1908 – June 29, 1991) was an American folk musician and co-founder of the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, Illinois. Stracke was a Chicago fixture in music, theater, and television in the 1940s a ...

(1908-1991) for the 1968 Illinois Sesquicentennial. A marching band arrangement by John Warrington (1911-1978) was issued at the same time. In 2018 the Illinois House of Representatives passed HR 184, a resolution encouraging the playing of "Illinois" at government events, commencement exercises, and other events at state universities. The resolution was drafted by Chicago author Stan "Tex" Banash and introduced by State Representative

Michael P. McAuliffe Michael P. McAuliffe (born December 7, 1963) is a former Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 20th district in northwestern Chicago. He was first appointed in 1997, following the death of his father, Rog ...

."Author's resolution to boost Illinois state song passes House" ews item''Illinois Heritage'' vol. 22 no. 1, Jan.-Feb. 2019. p. 6

Lyrics

The following verses were written by Win Stracke in 1966:

References

External links

Sheet music for "Illinois"

Official State Song from Illinois Government site.
{{List of U.S. state songs Songs about Illinois Symbols of Illinois United States state songs

History

Lyrics

See also

References

External links