1. In 1912, the African American fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha was founded at Cornell University. Its Alpha Epsilon chapter was established on January 5, 1949 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, making it the first historically black fraternity on campus.

2. On January 5, 1949, the Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper The Chicago Defender ran an editorial titled "Lynch Law Returns to Illinois". The piece discussed the increase in violence against African Americans in the state, including several recent lynching incidents.

3. In 1993, the Chicago Bulls defeated the Miami Heat 117-113 in an NBA game on January 5. What made this game historic was that it was Michael Jordan's first regular season game since he retired in 1991 to pursue a career in professional baseball.

4. In 2012, a 24-hour strike by Chicago teachers on January 5 led to the cancellation of classes for over 350,000 public school students. The strike was the first in the city in 25 years and was prompted by issues relating to pay, benefits, and job security.

5. On January 5, 2016, former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison for corruption charges, including attempting to sell Barack Obama's Senate seat after he was elected President. Blagojevich served 8 years of his sentence before being commuted by former President Donald Trump in 2020.