Magikist Rug Cleaners: What happened to those three famous Magikist signs on Chicago highways?

From the early 1960s to the late 1980s, three neon Magikist signs in the shape of lips stood sentry by the expressways near the northern, southern, and western entrances to the City of Chicago.

In the Chicago area, the Magikist Lips (in the form of huge signs on the Edens Expressway, Dan Ryan Expressway, Kennedy Expressway, and Eisenhower Expressway, which lit up and flashed) were well-known landmarks. The signs were 75 feet wide and 40 feet high at the lips pucker. Travelers from the early 1960s through the late 1990s tended to use them as landmarks to figure out how much longer it would take to arrive at their destination.

Kennedy Expressway, Chicago.

The sign was particularly special to Minnie Gage of Arlington Heights because those lips were hers.

In the mid-1940s, her husband, the late Bill Gage, owned Austin Rug Cleaners, a business he founded in a converted blacksmith's shop in 1929. In casting about for a promotional gimmick, Gage settled on the slogan "the kiss of beauty" and the company's new name, Magikist. He had Minnie apply extra lipstick and kiss a piece of paper; a commercial artist turned the imprint into a logo.

In Magikist's heyday, the lips appeared on hundreds of local billboards, over 1,000 buses, and three spectacular signs. Chicago musician/artist Wesley Willis frequently mentioned Magikist in his song lyrics, although he used the word as a high-praise term akin to "magician."

When the Gage family sold the Magikist business to a West Coast firm in 1985, it was the beginning of the end for the signs.

The demise of the Magikist signs:
Sign #1) The Magikist lips at 85th Street and the Dan Ryan Expressway were razed in 1992.

Sign #2) The lips at Cicero Avenue and the Eisenhower Expressway came down with no fanfare several years later.

Sign #3) The final lips rose 80 feet above a parking lot where Montrose Avenue met the Kennedy Expressway just south of the junction with the Edens Expressway, which was removed in late 2003.

All three signs, because of rust and rot, were destroyed.

WBBM Channel 2 - "Magikist Wedding Proposal"

There are just three surviving Magikist outlets: independent carpet-cleaning businesses in Milwaukee and Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and Oak Forest, Illinois. They all are still using the lips logo.

VISIT OUR MAGIKIST SOUVENIR SHOP

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Sixteen western Illinois counties wanted to secede from the Union to create the Republic of Forgottonia.

Forgottonia (also spelled Forgotonia) represented a protest against inequalities in Illinois State and Federal funding of infrastructure (e.g. transportation), communications and economic development in the region after World War II. It was the name given to a 16-county region in Western Illinois in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

In 1955, during the formation of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, the Chicago to Kansas City interstate route through the heart of this region was eliminated due to objections from Iowa and St. Louis as well as various granger railroads serving this region. In 1956, Missouri selected St. Louis based corridors to Joplin (US 66), Will Rogers Turnpike and Kansas City (US 40), Kansas Turnpike. A northern Missouri corridor (US 36) was viewed as a St. Louis by-pass and not supported. Carthage College, in Hancock County, relocated its educational campus to Kenosha, Wisconsin in 1964.

Federal highway bills throughout the 1960s that included funding for a Chicago–Kansas City Expressway were defeated and removed from the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1968. which added 1500 miles to the Interstate system (Interstate 15E in southern CA and Interstate 27 in northwest Texas). George H. Mahon, Texas member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1935 to 1979 and chairman of the House Appropriations Committee after 1964, helped secure funding for the Interstate 27 route. The reintroduction of the Chicago to Kansas City Expressway was again defeated in the US Congress in 1972. These political and congressional actions resulted in the exodus of the region's businesses, long-time industries, and population by 1970. Those significant events were the catalysts for more vocal public protests by residents.

One of the three districts (or "tracts") created to meet the warrants given in the War of 1812. "The Tract" was within a triangle of the Illinois Territory between the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. This area was included with Illinois' territory upon the achievement of statehood in 1818.

This geographic region forms the distinctive western bulge of Illinois that is roughly equivalent to "The Tract," the Illinois portion of the Military Tract in 1812, along, and west of the Fourth Principal Meridian. Since this wedge-shaped region lies between the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, it has historically been isolated (river bridge access) from the eastern portion of Central Illinois.

The name Forgottonia was created by Jack Horn, son of civically-minded Coca-Cola regional bottler Frank “Pappy” Horn; John Armstrong, Macomb Chamber of Commerce Board Member; and Neil Gamm, a Western Illinois University theatre student and a graduate of VIT (Vermont-Ipava-Table Grove) High School. The initiative grew from frustration among the citizens and public officials of western Illinois due to the lack of support for regional transportation and infrastructure projects. Federal funding for a highway from Chicago to Kansas City routed through the heart of western Illinois was defeated by the U.S. Congress (1955, 1968, 1972), passenger rail service from Quincy and Macomb to Chicago was dropped in 1970. Carthage College packed up and moved to Kenosha, Wisconsin in 1964.

The term Forgottonia was used again in the 1980s by Congressman Dick Durbin, who represented the southern portion of the region, in stump speeches as he ran as a Democrat for the U.S. House of Representatives seat. He expanded the definition to include communications (educational television, fiber-optic routes, etc.) and infrastructure services (private and public). While the region's name is less popular today, the exodus of population and industries has continued. Some counties in this region have reached federal poverty levels, for the first time in the state's history.

In the 1970s, there were six Illinois River highway bridge crossings south of Peoria (Pekin, Havana, Beardstown, Meredosia, Florence, and Hardin), plus two free Illinois River ferries at Kampsville, and Brussels. The Valley City Eagle bridge for the Central Illinois Expressway in the southern section of the region was not completed until the late 1980s. There were issues with eagles nesting in the Paul Norbit State Fish and Wildlife Area, through which the highway passes.

Toll Bridge over the Illinois River, into Forgottonia.
"Region of Little Return on Tax Dollars!"

The Mississippi River highways bridges at that time were Toll bridges with a few exceptions and owned by railroads or cities along the river. The one toll ferry across Mississippi River at Canton, Missouri serves Adams County, Illinois.

Western Illinois University student Neil Gamm was named governor of Forgottonia. He is standing in front of the Capitol building in the unincorporated community of Fandon.

Variously described as a new U.S. State or an independent republic, Forgottonia eventually became a fictional political secession movement in the early 1970s conceived by residents of McDonough County, in the heart of this region. Western Illinois University student Neil Gamm was named governor, and the hamlet of Fandon, an unincorporated community, near Colchester, Illinois, was to be Forgottonia's capital. The name would catch on because the region appeared to be "forgotten" by politicians and business developers.

Due to the loss of train service in 1971, with the creation of Amtrak, the State of Illinois intervened at the request of the region's residents, Quincy University, and Western Illinois University and public officials. This became part of the 1971 "Illinois Service" initiative and is partially funded by the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Adams, Brown, Calhoun, Cass, Fulton, Greene, Hancock, Henderson, Knox, McDonough, Mercer, Morgan, Pike, Schuyler, Scott. and Warren counties were on Neal Gamm's original list of 16 counties. These Illinois county governments joined the movement in 1972.

The unincorporated village of Bernadotte, in Fulton County, which is four miles north of Ipava on the Spoon River, has the distinction of having once been considered as the site for the capital of Illinois, prior to the capital being located at Vandalia in 1820. Vandalia was selected over Bernadotte by the difference of one vote.

The 2010 US Census population of Forgottonia (16 counties) was 354,709 residents.

Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Illinois' Portion of the Cannonball Route.

The Cannonball Route was a historic motorcar trail that ran east of Kansas City, Missouri, to Chicago, Illinois, by way of Hannibal, Missouri and Quincy, Illinois.

1913 Indian motorcycle.

A branch of the route connected the Missouri section of the highway to Des Moines, Iowa, by way of Leon, Iowa. The Chicago Auto Club marked the Illinois segment of the road in 1913.

The Cannonball Wabash River one-lane bridge.

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The 1913 Cannonball Baker Transcontinental Motorcycle Reliability Run started in San Diego, California and ended in New York City, New York. The riders traveled approximately 3,400 miles over 11 days, 12 hours, and 10 minutes.

The route was not straight from San Diego to New York City. Instead, it wound its way through the American Southwest, the Rocky Mountains, the Great Plains, and the Midwest. The riders faced a variety of challenges along the way, including deserts, mountains, and bad weather.

The winner of the 1913 Cannonball was Erwin "Cannonball" Baker, who rode an Indian motorcycle. Baker completed the course in 11 days, 12 hours, and 10 minutes. He averaged a speed of 30 miles per hour and made only 12 stops for repairs. The 1913 Cannonball was a grueling race, but it also helped promote motorcycles' popularity in the United States. 

By 1915, the route was considered "one of the best-marked highways between Quincy and Chicago," an extension from Quincy to the St. Louis – Kansas City highway at Monroe City was posted. The highway routing closely parallels the Hannibal-Quincy to the Chicago branch of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad.

The route was included in the 1917 Map of Marked Routes provided by the Illinois State Highway Department, a precursor to the modern-day Illinois Department of Transportation. The road stayed west and north of the Illinois River, so this route never had to cross the limited number of Illinois River bridges in 1917.

The Missouri portion of the route ran from Kansas City to Quincy through Hannibal. The route also passed through La Belle, Edina, Kirksville, Milan, Harris, Liberty, Excelsior Springs, Richmond, Carrollton, Chillicothe, Trenton, and Princeton.

In 1917, the Illinois Section of the Cannonball Route was marked as running north from Quincy along modern-day Illinois Route 96 with the Rushville & Quincy Trail. It turned east at modern-day U.S. Route 24 before turning north at Camp Point. It eventually followed modern Illinois Route 61 to Bowen, where the route ran east. The route follows Illinois 61 to its terminus at U.S. Route 136 near Tennessee.

The Cannonball Wabash River one-lane bridge.

The route follows U.S. 136 east as the main road through Macomb to Bardolph, where the route diverts from U.S. 136 and turns north on modern-day Illinois Route 41. The Cannonball Route passed through Bushnell, paralleling the CB&Q railroad north to Galesburg. It ran mainly on what is now U.S. 34 from Galesburg to Chicago, except for diversions to the city centers of Buda, Leland, and Bristol.

Near Yorkville, the route turns northeast onto Cannonball Trail to Bristol. The route then passed through downtown Montgomery and Aurora before running east-northeast to Naperville. Here, the Cannonball Route may have followed any of several streets before joining the Chicago-Kansas City-Gulf Highway in Maywood for the remainder of the journey into Chicago.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Chicagoland: How did the name originate?

As the editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune for most of the first half of the 20th century, Colonel Robert Rutherford McCormick usually gets credit for coining the term "Chicagoland."

Colonel Robert Rutherford McCormick (1880-1955), was named the President of the Chicago Tribune Company in 1911, and he held this position until his death in 1955. 

The first use of the term "CHICAGOLAND" was in the McHenry Plaindealer Newspaper on April 23, 1849, in an article about new railroad lines coming into Chicago. WGN 720 AM, first used "CHICAGOLAND" as a name of a radio show playing from 8:30pm to 9pm in September of 1928.

In McCormick's time, it referred to the city and its grain, timber, and livestock hinterlands covering parts of five states (Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Iowa), all of which were served by rail delivery of the colonel's newspaper. Later in the century, it came to mean a smaller, denser area of city and suburbs in three states stretching from northern Indiana to southern Wisconsin.

Blanchard's map of Chicago and Suburbs. (1910)
CLICK MAP FOR A FULL-SIZE READABLE MAP.

Chicagoland is a term that carries several common misconceptions. It is believed by many people that Chicagoland, or more formally the "Chicago Metropolitan Area" is restricted to only the areas within the Illinois state boundaries. However, due to the fact that a metro area is based on cultural and employment patterns and similarities, this is simply not true.

Because Chicago is such a large city on its own, it boasts a much wider metro area than most others in the country, save for New York and Los Angeles. Dating back to 1950, when statistical analysis for metro areas emerged, Chicagoland included the eight collared counties of Cook, DuPage, Will, Lake, McHenry, Kane, Kendall, and Grundy as well as Lake County in Indiana which to many a Chicagoan's surprise physically borders the city. Over the years, due to Chicago's expansion, the definition has also widened to include four more Indiana counties (Porter, LaPorte, Newton, and Jasper) as well as Kenosha County in Wisconsin.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Newlyweds Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln rented a small room at the Globe Tavern in Springfield, Illinois in 1842.

On Friday night, November 4, 1842, Abraham Lincoln and his bride Mary Todd, left the festivities following their wedding at the Ninian W. Edwards home and took up residence in Springfield's Globe Tavern at 315 East Adams Street. The Lincoln's rented a second-floor room which was only 8x14 feet, paying $4 a week ($110 today) for room and board (in all probability he meant $4 each for himself and his wife). 

The Globe Tavern was run by Sarah Beck. It was a typical two-story Springfield wood boardinghouse. The Lincoln's occupied a room on the second floor which was only 8x14 feet. Their first child, Robert Todd Lincoln, was delivered at the Globe Tavern on August 1, 1843, and on May 2, 1844, when they moved to a small house on Fourth Street in Springfield, Illinois.

The Globe Tavern, photo by S.M. Fassett 1865. Note the length of the building showing the Bennett-Spottswood and the Allen additions from 1839.

The Globe Tavern in 1886 shows only the Globe Tavern after the Bennett-Spottswood and the Allen additions were demolished.

The building was significantly larger (see photograph above) when the Lincolns lived there. The Globe was demolished in the 1890s.

Springfield Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution placed a marker at the site of the Globe Tavern, the first home of Abraham and Mary Lincoln (from November 4, 1842, to May 2, 1844,) and the birthplace of their first child Robert. The marker, located in the 300 Block of East Adams, Springfield, Illinois, was rededicated by the Historic Sites Commission on April 15, 1987.

Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D.