The State Archives serves as the depository of public records of Illinois state and local governmental agencies which possess permanent administrative, legal, or historical research values. More than 75,000 cubic feet of paper, microfilm, photographs and audio and film recordings are housed in the Margaret Cross Norton Building on the capitol complex in Springfield. Paper records date back before 1818 statehood and include governors’ correspondence, public acts, departmental histories, census records, military records, election results and more.
While these records are available to the public, officials, and scholars at the Margaret Cross Norton Building and at seven regional depositories located on state university campuses throughout Illinois, the Archives also provides access through a series of printed and electronic guides, and by in-person, mail, telephone, fax, and Internet database reference services.
In recognition of the 2018 Illinois bicentennial, Illinois Archives staff compiled a list of the 100 most valuable documents in the archives collection and made the list available on its website. The list of most valuable documents highlights some of the unique records housed in the State Archives as well as documents that tell the history of the state of Illinois.
On the list, of course, are many Lincoln documents, one such document is Lincoln’s official protest of a Resolutions on the Subject of Domestic Slavery legislation. But it also includes records with subject matters ranging from the the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1885 and the passage of the Illinois Suffrage Act to the unfathomable 1853 Black Laws. You’ll even find record of Governor Adlai Stevenson’s veto of legislation requiring cats to be on leashes.
Visit the Archive website for the complete list of 100 Most Valuable Documents in the Illinois State Archives.