Barack Obama in center. White block text on the left. Blue text in a red oval on the right. White background.

In 2004 Barack Obama announced his bid for the Illinois Senate, following the announcement from incumbent Peter Fitzgerald that he would not run for a second term. Obama quickly rose to the top following endorsements from most major Illinois newspapers and several large unions. Initially the Republican frontrunner was Jack Ryan, but he dropped out following divorce court records were released in which his wife alleged he pressured her into public sex acts. His replacement, John Keyes suffered from a conservative voting record and his image as an outsider, having few ties to Illinois. Obama received 70% of the vote, with the race being one of the first to be called on Election Day. The race and subsequent victory brought Obama to the forefront of the Democratic Party and grew his popularity, which later led to his election as President in 2008.

White text on a blue background. Black text in the bottom center.

In 2004 Barack Obama announced his bid for the Illinois Senate, following the announcement from incumbent Peter Fitzgerald that he would not run for a second term. Obama quickly rose to the top following endorsements from most major Illinois newspapers and several large unions. Initially the Republican frontrunner was Jack Ryan, but he dropped out following divorce court records were released in which his wife alleged he pressured her into public sex acts. His replacement, John Keyes suffered from a conservative voting record and his image as an outsider, having few ties to Illinois. Obama received 70% of the vote, with the race being one of the first to be called on Election Day. The race and subsequent victory brought Obama to the forefront of the Democratic Party and grew his popularity, which later led to his election as President in 2008.

Yellow Illinois state on the right. White text on a blue background.

In 2004 Barack Obama announced his bid for the Illinois Senate, following the announcement from incumbent Peter Fitzgerald that he would not run for a second term. Obama quickly rose to the top following endorsements from most major Illinois newspapers and several large unions. Initially the Republican frontrunner was Jack Ryan, but he dropped out following divorce court records were released in which his wife alleged he pressured her into public sex acts. His replacement, John Keyes suffered from a conservative voting record and his image as an outsider, having few ties to Illinois. Obama received 70% of the vote, with the race being one of the first to be called on Election Day. The race and subsequent victory brought Obama to the forefront of the Democratic Party and grew his popularity, which later led to his election as President in 2008.

Donkey in center with flags in the upper left and right with Illinois state in red on the left. Black text on white background.

On January 21, 2003, Barack Obama announced his candidacy for the United States Senate seat for Illinois. He’d been campaigning for the position since July of 2002. Out of the 15 candidates, seven were millionaires, which led to the most expensive campaign for a United States Senate primary. It wasn’t until Obama extended his campaign to television ads that he took the lead. Barack Obama won the Democratic primary on March 16, 2004 with nearly 53% of the votes for the party.
In the general election, Obama ran against two different Republican candidates: Jack Ryan and Alan Keyes. While Ryan had originally won the Republican primary election after reportedly spending $3.35 million of his own money on his campaign, he was pushed to back down following the release of compromising records from his divorce and child custody battle against Star Trek actress, Jeri Ryan. Just over a month after the child custody files were released by the Los Angeles court, Ryan withdrew from the election on July 29, 2004.
Following Ryan's withdrawal, the Illinois Republican Party asked Alan Keyes (their third replacement choice) to run and he agreed. Keyes had run for Senate in New York previously and had lost. Although he had been contacted by the Illinois Republican Party to run, Keyes faced criticism for running in a state in which he had never lived and was accused of carpetbagging. In the end, Keyes’ few ties to the state and some of his more radical statements lost him the race with a massive 43% difference in votes. On November 2, 2004, Barack Obama became one of the United States Senators from Illinois. He was officially sworn into office on January 3, 2005.

Blue semi-circle with houses in center. Blue text with red heart on white background.

Blue Island is a South suburb of Chicago, Illinois, and is adjunct to the city in Cook County. It was established in 1835 as a way station for travelers on the Vincennes Trace, which was a cross-country trackway that passed through Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky. Blue Island has been a point of entry for immigrants since the 1840's. In the early 1900's, Blue Island incorporated as a city to avoid being annexed by Chicago. Again, in 1915, Blue Island residents rejected annexation while the nearby Morgan Park joined Chicago.

In 1985, Blue Island celebrated their 150th anniversary and held many events including a parade.

Devil with a pitchfork chasing a man with flames. Black text in the upper left with yellow block letters.

“The devil made me do it” is a phrase associated with Geraldine Jones, a character created by comedian and variety television show host Flip Wilson in the late 1960s. Born Clerow Wilson in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1933, Wilson was known by the nickname “Flip,” from “flip out.” He became one of the most popular African-American comedians in history and influenced later entertainers such as Arsenio Hall and Keenen Wayans.

Wilson got his start in the mid-1950s in San Francisco while working as a hotel bellhop. After performing in small clubs and theaters across the country, he went to New York where he appeared on the Tonight Show, the Ed Sullivan Show, and Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In. He was given his own television show, the Flip Wilson Show, in 1970. Geraldine became one of his most popular stock characters and was known for phrases like “the devil made me do it” and “what you see is what you get” (the source for the commonly-used Internet acronym “wysiwyg”). Wilson retired from show business in 1974 to spend more time with his family. He died in 1998.

Yellow railroad tracks bisecting black text and yellow text on a split yellow and red background

Tinley Park is a village in Cook and Will County, Illinois that sits along the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad line. The village was incorporated in 1892 and named after the village's first railroad station agent, Samuel Tinley, Sr.

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Couple dancing in center of yellow border circle with red text on top and bottom of off-white background

Oktoberfest in Dearborn, Michigan is now put on by the Sacred Heart church and is known as Sacred Heart Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest is a festival in fall that centers around German food and drink. Frankenmuth, Michigan was the first city outside of Germany to host a sanctioned Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest spread to the town of Dearborn, Michigan soon after the Frankenmuth festival became a success.

Red eyeball with white text and black text on red background

The "Amazing Alfredo" was an attraction at Marriott's Great America, now Six Flags Great America, in Gurnee, Illinois. The attraction had two locations, "Amazing Alfredo" in the County Fair area and an "Amazing Alfredeux" in Orleans Place area. The booth consisted of a person, "Alfredo", who would venture to guess the age (within two years or month within two birth months) or weight (within three pounds) of a customer for a small fee. If Alfredo failed to guess correctly, the customer would win a prize. There are several promotional items including buttons, mugs, ashtrays, etc., that let the user claim, "I fooled Alfredo at Marriott's Great America,"

Marriott's Great America was opened in 1976 in Gurnee, Illinois. The Marriott brand decided not to pursue theme parks and sought buyers after 6 years of operation. The theme park was acquired by the Six Flags Corporation in 1984. Six Flags Great America consistently ranks among the top amusement parks in America for its attendance.

Kermit the Frog in an inner tube on waves with white text on blue background

Kermit the frog is a Muppet character created by Jim Henson. Kermit has been featured in several Muppet productions including Sesame Street and The Muppet Show. The character was voiced by Jim Henson until his death in 1990 and has continued under the direction of several other vocal artists. Kermit has been labeled as singer from several musical singles that have charted on Billboard and has been credited as an author of a book. Kermit, as a main protagonist for the Henson company, has been made into several forms of merchandise and promotional materials.

Hallmark card company, founded in 1910, is the oldest and largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. In the 1970s and 80s, Hallmark had a partnership with Jim Henson to use Muppet characters in Hallmark merchandise. Following this, Hallmark partnered with Henson in the 1990s to form an television station with global broadcast, The Kermit Channel/Odyssey Network, which has now changed formats to become The Hallmark Channel after the partnership ended.