Harold’s Chicken Shack, with dozens of locations across Chicagoland, was founded by the late Harold Pierce more than 60 years ago. Pierce opened the first location in Chicago’s Kenwood neighborhood in 1950, and today the chain has grown to include stores across the region, predominantly on the South Side and in the south suburbs. Recently, Harold's has expanded nationwide to Atlanta, Dallas, Detroit, Milwaukee and Las Vegas. 

Harold’s is known for their authentic southern-style fried chicken, fried in half beef tallow and half vegetable oil. Harold’s also offers their mouth-watering mild sauce to complement their made-to-order juicy fried chicken.

Learn more:
Looking for a Harold’s location close to you? Click here for a Yelp listing
Harold’s Chicken Shacks – About Us

The 4th of July offers families across the state the opportunity to celebrate our nation’s independence with parades, live music and fireworks.

In Chicago, fireworks can be found on Saturday at Navy Pier beginning at 9:30 p.m. Patriotic music will accompany the lakefront display that regularly draws thousands of spectators.

Learn more:
Looking for a place to watch fireworks with your family? Statewide fireworks display information can be found here
Here is a listing of Chicagoland fireworks displays

After noticing Illinois did not have a state flag on display while visiting Continental Memorial Hall in Washington D.C., Ella Park Lawrence, then the State Regent of the Daughters of the American Revolution, began lobbying the Illinois General Assembly to adopt an official state flag.

On July 6, 1915, the Great Seal on a white background became Illinois’ official state flag. The flag was modified in 1970, including the word “ILLINOIS” under the seal to ensure those unfamiliar with the seal knew the flag was the official state flag of Illinois.

Learn more:
Illinois State Flag – Illinois Secretary of State
Illinois State Flag – 50States.com

Aurora became the nation’s first city to utilize electric streetlights to publicly light the city in 1881. At the time, the city was a growing industrial powerhouse thanks to its location on the Fox River and the extension of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. Throughout the early 20th century, Aurora attracted immigrants from all over the world, who were drawn to plentiful jobs in the manufacturing sector.

Today, Aurora is a rapidly growing city connected to the Chicago metropolitan area by mass transit and a highly-efficient network of interstate highways.

Learn more:
Aurora History – A Rapidly Growing City
Looking for something to do in Aurora? Visit the Aurora Area Convention & Visitors Bureau

On June 29, 1889, voters in four incorporated townships surrounding Chicago went to the polls and decided to become part of the City of Chicago, eliminating their local unit of government and boosting the city’s population by 225,000 people. The expansion made Chicago the nation’s second largest city by population, surpassing Philadelphia.

The addition of Hyde Park Township and Lake Township on the South Side and Lake View Township and Jefferson Township on the North Side added 125 square miles to Chicago’s size, making the city the nation’s largest by physical size at that time.

Learn more:
Annexations and Additions to the City of Chicago – Encyclopedia of Chicago
Gulp! How Chicago gobbled its neighbors – WBEZ