Bernard Shaw, who spent more than 20 years as an anchor for CNN, was born in Chicago. Growing up, Shaw spent much of his time reading local newspapers, contributing to his high school paper and reading the morning announcements.

He served in the Marine Corps from 1959 until 1963 where he worked in its message center. After leaving the military, he attended the University of Illinois at Chicago, graduating in 1968.

His broadcasting career began with WNUS in Chicago as an anchor and reporter. He eventually left to work for the Westinghouse Broadcasting Company in Chicago. This transition led him to a position covering the White House for a few years before joining CBS in 1971. In 1977, he left CBS to take a position as the Latin American correspondent with ABC, where he had the opportunity to cover the Jonestown mass-suicide and interview Cuban President Fidel Castro.

Shaw began working for CNN shortly after its launch in 1980, having the opportunity to cover the protests at Tiananmen Square and the Gulf War. He also moderated the 1988 presidential debate between Michael Dukakis and George H. W. Bush as well as the 2000 vice-presidential debate between Dick Cheney and Joe Lieberman.

Shaw retired from CNN in 2001 and still occasionally appears on some of their segments.

Learn more:
Bernard Shaw – Encyclopedia Britannica

St. Clair County became Illinois’ first county 225 years ago this week. At the time, the county included most of present-day Illinois, running from today’s northern border with Wisconsin to Southern Illinois.

The county’s founding occurred before Illinois was officially admitted to the Union in 1818. St. Clair County was thus incorporated as a part of the Northwest Territory, which encompassed portions of modern-day Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan and Ohio.

From its establishment in 1809 until 1827, St. Clair County drastically shrank in size to its current 674 square miles of land in Southwestern Illinois.

In honor of the founding anniversary, St. Clair County leaders held a full board meeting yesterday at the Old Cahokia Courthouse, a state historic site which served as the county’s judicial center in the 18th Century. 

Learn more:
Origin and Evolution of Illinois Counties (Illinois Secretary of State)
St. Clair County Historical Society
Illinois Historic Preservation Agency

Those delicious golden sponge cakes filled with gooey white cream were invented by James Dewar, who worked in the Hostess baking plant in Chicago.

Dewar wanted to find a use for shortcake pans that sat idle outside of strawberry season. In 1930, he came up with the idea of using those pans to make cream-filled sponge cakes. He reportedly named them Twinkies after a billboard he saw for Twinkle-Toe Shoes.

Twinkies were originally made with banana filling, but Hostess switched to vanilla during a banana shortage during World War II. Despite a 2012 scare when Hostess faced financial difficulties, Twinkies remain one of America’s most beloved snack foods.

Learn more:
Snack Food Rewind: A History of our Favorite Treats – Delish.com
The official Hostess website
How Twinkies Work

Doug Buffone was born to a working-class family in Yatesboro, Pennsylvania on June 27, 1944. In college, he played football for the University of Louisville, making a name for himself as one of only four Louisville players leading in the number of tackles for three seasons.

Buffone was drafted to the Chicago Bears in 1966 and would go on to play 14 seasons with the team, the second-most in franchise history. A linebacker, Buffone would accumulate nearly 1,300 tackles and over 20 interceptions.

After retiring from the Bears, Buffone stayed involved in football, joining Ed O’Bradovich in hosting a Bears postgame radio show on WSCR-AM 670.

Learn more:
Friends remember ex-Bear Doug Buffone: ‘Hell of a football player, hell of a guy’ - Chicago Tribune
Doug Buffone’s passion, sense of humor will be missed - Chicago Tribune 

Bill Krueger was born on April 24, 1958, in Waukegan. He attended the University of Portland on a basketball scholarship before switching to baseball and pitching for the Portland Pilots’ baseball team his junior year.

While Krueger was signed by the Oakland Athletics in 1980 as a free agent, it wasn’t until 1983 that he made his major league debut and astounded the crowd by inducing a 4-6-3 double play and striking out Angels all-star Fred Lynn in the first inning. Krueger played for Oakland until he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers midway through the 1987 season.

Throughout his 13-year baseball career, Krueger would end up playing for the Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners, Minnesota Twins, Montreal Expos, Detroit Tigers and San Diego Padres. Even with the eight teams he played for, he would eventually come full circle, playing and winning his last game as a major leaguer where he started his career at Oakland Coliseum.  

Learn more:
Bill Krueger Statistics
Bill Krueger – MLB.com