1. In 1919, the Illinois legislature became the first state to ratify the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote.

2. In 1996, the Chicago Bulls retired Michael Jordan's #23 jersey in a halftime ceremony during their game against the Orlando Magic.

3. On February 10, 1959, Illinois State University became the first public university in the state to offer a degree in nursing.

4. In 1967, the Chicago Tribune reported on the discovery of a new species of dinosaur, the Chasmosaurus bellis, which had been found in Alberta, Canada by a team of paleontologists from the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.

5. On February 10, 1821, the Illinois General Assembly granted a charter to the Bank of Illinois, which would become the state's first financial institution.