Did you know that in the early days of Illinois statehood, African Americans who wanted to reside in Illinois had to pay the local county clerk $1,000 just for the possibility that they may not be able to support themselves? African Americans also had to carry paperwork proving they were not runaway slaves. Even though technically “free,” they could be manipulated into indentured servitude for life. Illinois became a main thoroughfare of the Underground Railroad anyway and, after the Civil War, African Americans flocked to the new state, where many of its harshest anti-African American laws were sporadically enforced. 

How about the first case ever tried in Illinois: A man murdered in a duel over a horse shot with beans? Really? Remember Abraham Lincoln’s famous almanac trial, where he allegedly used an almanac to disprove an opposing witness’s testimony based on moonlight? Well, there’s more to the story. 

The Illinois Bar Journal touches upon all these topics in its special August issue commemorating the state’s bicentennial. 

Don’t care about history? Then skip right to our article examining when to allow and when to challenge the use of Google Street View images in court.

Read more in the August issue of the Illinois Bar Journal.