Illinois builds things. We invent and innovate, too — everything from the Pullman car to plastic party cups.
Below is a list of the inventions and innovations, business advancements and manufacturing achievements our state pioneered in the past 250 years.
- Illinois 250: Celebrating the state’s fabulous firsts
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- Illinois 250: The political land of Lincoln, but also Addams, Daley, Washington, Jackson, Obama and more
- Illinois 250: Sports teams and individuals that have achieved greatness — or infamy
- Illinois 250: From ‘The Jungle’ to Shel Silverstein, how the state has helped shape the printed word
Farming revolutionized (1848)
Seventeen years after Cyrus McCormick — the grand uncle of Tribune publisher Col. Robert R. McCormick — invented the mechanical reaper, hundreds were cranked out in a factory on the north bank of the Chicago River. The McCormick Reaper reduced the number of people it took to work a farm.
Through a merger, the legacy of the company — McCormick Harvesting Machine Co. — survived as International Harvester.
World’s oldest and largest commodities futures trading center (1848)
The Chicago Board of Trade opened on March 13, 1848, and moved into its 45-story art deco skyscraper by Holabird & Root in 1930. Its first tenant: Quaker Oats Co. The statue of Ceres that tops the structure has no face, reportedly because it was thought no other building would ever be as tall as the Board of Trade, therefore no one would realize that the statue’s head was featureless.
In 2007, the Chicago Board of Trade merged with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The merger created what was, at the time, the world’s largest derivatives market.
World’s longest railroad (1856)
The iron horse was built in Chicago, but none of the dozens of rail lines in the nation’s railroad capital had a richer history than the Illinois Central. At the time of its completion, the railroad — whose branches stretched from Galena south to Cairo — was the world’s longest at 705 miles.
The “Main Line of Mid America,” as the railroad once billed itself, was represented in its early years by an attorney named Abraham Lincoln. Stephen A. Douglas was one of its major backers, and Mark Twain worked on its steamboats. Songwriter Steve Goodman wrote “City of New Orleans” about the route’s passenger train.
Illinois Central Railroad was bought by Canadian National Railway in 1998.
First pair of pliers manufactured in the U.S. (1857)
German immigrant Mathias Klein, according to “Made in Illinois: A Story of Illinois Manufacturing” by Rolf Achilles, used his skills as an iron worker to repair a broken tool for a telegraph lineman. As word spread, his workshop at Dearborn and Jackson became the basis for Klein Tools.
Pullman sleeping car (1864)
New York native George Pullman perfected a method to raise Chicago’s buildings out of the muck, which made him wealthy.
Pullman then created a luxurious “palace car” for overnight train travel. The sleeper cars were staffed by Pullman porters who were Black workers, many of them formerly enslaved men who moved north after the Civil War. Though they traveled the country, hours and conditions were grueling. This led to the first Black union
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in the country — the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.Thousands of Pullman’s employees lived in a company town by the same name on the city’s Southeast Side. When a depression hit in 1893, Pullman sharply lowered wages but refused to lower rents. Workers appealed to the American Railway Union, which supported a companywide strike in 1894. The long, bloody strike forced President Grover Cleveland to order federal troops to intervene, which caused the strike to collapse.
The National Guard has been activated to Chicago 18 times from 1877-2021. Here’s a breakdown.
Pullman National Monument — the first National Park Service unit in Chicago — was designated by President Barack Obama in 2015 and became Pullman National Historic Park in 2022.
‘Hog Butcher for the World’ (1865)
Called “Union” for the seven separate stockyards that contributed to it, Chicago’s Union Stock Yards received its first shipment of animals on Christmas Day 1865. More than 300 acres of swamp land were purchased from two-time Chicago Mayor “Long” John Wentworth for the facility.
Animals were delivered to, processed at, and then shipped out from the stockyards in refrigerated rail cars for more than a century. More than 18.6 million head of cattle, hogs and sheep were marketed at its peak in 1924.
Carl Sandburg’s iconic “Chicago” poem described the city as “Hog Butcher for the World,” due to its stockyards.
The Union Stock Yards on the city’s South Side closed in 1971. All that remains is its gate, which includes a sculpted version of a prize-winning steer.
First state to outlaw gender discrimination in employment (1872)
Myra Bradwell passed the Illinois state bar examination with high honors in 1869, but was not admitted to the bar. At the time, Illinois did not allow women to serve on a jury, much less argue a case.
She joined a group that successfully lobbied the Illinois General Assembly to pass a law barring employers from discriminating on the basis of sex.
Alta May Hulett —just 19 years old in 1873 — became the first woman admitted to the Illinois bar and allowed to practice law in Illinois, according to the Illinois Supreme Court. The Chicago-based attorney received the first judgment in her client’s favor on June 21, 1873.
First commercially successful barbed wire (1874)
With his wife threatening to “do something outlandish if the pigs weren’t kept out of her garden,” DeKalb farmer Joseph Glidden twisted his way to an easy solution.
“On that same evening, he had taken down the picture in the front parlor, snipped off a half yard of the wire hanging, and twisted it around a nail,” the Tribune reported in 1910.
The wife of friend Isaac Leonard Ellwood suggested that two wires twisted together would hold the nail in place better — and the inexpensive yet effective design stuck. Glidden and Ellwood started the Barb Fence Co. The technology was invaluable to farmers and pioneers of the American West.
First firehouse sliding pole (1878)
City officials hired six Black firefighters in 1872 for Engine Company 21 on May Street near the site of the Great Chicago Fire. Not only did Engine 21 consistently get excellent reviews, but it added a tool to a fireman’s kit that quickened response time: the sliding pole. Originally used to hoist hay to the third floor of the firehouse, the men soon discovered it was faster to slide down the pole rather than take the stairs.
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The Fire Department’s annual report for 1878 noted that sliding poles were installed in firehouses across the city. The new ones were made of brass, as sliding down a wooden one meant a fireman sometimes took a sliver with him.
One of the first Black women in the U.S. to receive a patent (1858)
Sarah E. Goode was born into slavery in 1850, freed at the end of the Civil War in 1865 and later moved to Chicago. As the owner of a furniture store, she observed that many residents of the rapidly growing metropolis had a modicum of space in their cramped apartments. Goode designed what she called a folding cabinet bed. When folded, the assembly, which included compartments for stationery and writing paraphernalia, could be used as a writing desk.
“Its merits are, it weighs less, costs less, is more simple, and is easier to handle than any other bed,” the Tribune wrote when Goode’s design was exhibited at the Illinois State Fair in 1884. It led to what we today call a hideaway bed.
Chicago Public Schools’ Goode STEM Academy is named in her honor.
Standard time adopted (1883)
Time zones were enacted on Nov. 18, 1883, during the General Time Convention at the Grand Pacific Hotel at LaSalle Street and Jackson Boulevard in Chicago. The purpose? To develop a better and more uniform system of railroad scheduling. A plaque at the location — just north of the Chicago Board of Trade Building — notes its significance.
First dishwasher to use water pressure (1886)
Chicago resident Josephine Cochran received U.S. Patent No. 355,139 for her design. Although Cochran was not the first to invent a dishwasher, hers was the first to use water pressure rather than scrubbers to clean dishes. Chicago’s Palmer House was the first to order her machine.
The zipper (1893)
Chicago-born inventor Whitcomb L. Judson received a patent — one of his many — for “Clasp locker or unlocker for shoes” then displayed it at the city’s World’s Columbian Exposition. It eventually became the zipper.
Also introduced at the same Chicago World’s Fair: Cracker Jack, the first mixed pancake flour (formerly known as Aunt Jemima) and Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.
Iconic box for carry-out food orders (1894)
What later became known as a leakproof container for Chinese food to-go was originally patented by Frederick Weeks Wilcox of Chicago for use as a paper receptacle. When folded, the single sheet of thick paper could carry oysters. The red pagoda “Thank you” design was added in the 1970s, according to The New York Times, but its designer is unknown.
Second-largest pharmacy chain in the country (1901)
“A strange little accident of fate put Mr. Walgreen in the drug store business,” the Tribune’s Howard Carswell wrote in 1930. “A lever on some shoe machinery in the factory where he was working caught his attention. He monkeyed with it — stepped on the pedal. Off came the first joint of a finger on his left hand.”
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Charles R. Walgreen’s meandering path to creating one of the world’s largest pharmacy chains started with his first store at 4134 Cottage Grove Ave., on the first floor of The Barrett Hotel on Chicago’s South Side.
Today, Deerfield-based Walgreens has more than 12,500 locations across the United States, Europe and Latin America.
Kraft Foods (1903)
Canadian James L. Kraft started his cheese business by taking phone orders from neighborhood grocers. He filled their requests at South Water Street market, then — in a wagon pulled by his horse, Paddy — delivered the products to the stores.
Kraft had a handle on convenience even back then, so maybe it’s not surprising that his company was responsible for Velveeta (1928), macaroni-and-cheese dinners (1937), individually packaged cheese slices (1950) and Cheez Whiz (1952). These were all possible because of Kraft’s big-time creation: processed cheese. He patented the method in 1916 after spending several years figuring out how to heat, stir and then cool cheese to give it a longer shelf life.
H.J. Heinz acquired Kraft Foods in 2015 and moved its headquarters from Northfield to Chicago. Kraft Heinz split into two companies in 2025.
First air-conditioned public space in the U.S. (1907)
The Gold Room
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, a luxurious banquet hall inside the Congress Plaza Hotel at 520 S. Michigan Avenue, was kept cool and comfortable by Powers Regulators Co.Commonwealth Edison (1907)
Chicago-based utility magnate Samuel Insull established a monopoly, providing Chicago with all of its electricity by merging the Chicago Edison Co. and the Commonwealth Electric Light and Power Co.
ComEd is now the largest electric utility in Illinois, serving more than 4 million customers across northern Illinois — or 70% of the state’s population.
First electric-powered washing machine (1910)
The Thor washing machine by Chicago-based Hurley Machine Co., which was designed by Alva J. Fisher, was in production for three years before it received a patent. The innovation used a revolving cylinder and a reversible wringer to separate and clean clothing.
A 1909 advertisement for the machine bragged it “does everything but hang out the clothes.”
First air-conditioned house in North America (1933)
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professor Seichi “Bud” Konzo and his wife, Kimi, moved into the research residence on Stoughton Street in Urbana and remained there for two years. His initial research preceded the commercial development of residential air conditioning by almost two decades.
Leo Burnett (1935)
The Chicago ad agency created beloved advertising mascots Jolly Green Giant and Pillsbury Doughboy.
Dairy Queen (1940)
The original Dairy Queen opened at 501 N. Chicago St. in Joliet.
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Sherwood Noble (known as Sherb) started selling soft-serve ice cream — created by his friend J.F. McCullough — at his Kankakee ice cream store in 1938. He chose the name of the new shop to reflect his belief, “the cow was the queen on the dairy industry.”
Noble died in 1991 and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway acquired Dairy Queen in 1997.
First television remote control (1950)
The contraption was invented not once but twice within two years and at the same company laboratory.
Zenith Electronics’ first remote control, called the “Lazy Bones,” was a dud. The device relied on wires, and users complained about tripping over it when they tried to walk across the room.
Five years later, engineer Eugene Polley designed the pistol-shaped “Flash-Matic,” a flashing directional light aimed at photoelectric cells on the corners of the television screen.
First covered charcoal kettle grill (1952)
Weber began when George A. Stephen created a kettle grill after a disastrous attempt to cook steaks on an outdoor brick fireplace at his Mount Prospect home. Stephen worked at Weber Brothers Metal Works at the time, welding half spheres together to make buoys.
He decided to use one of the half spheres, put legs on it, punch holes in the bottom for air flow and put a lid on top. That is how the kettle grill was born, according to Weber’s website.
The company’s headquarters is in Palatine and its line of grills is still made in Illinois.
‘Tully Monster’ discovered (1955)
Francis Tully, an Illinois resident and amateur paleontologist, is credited with discovering the “Tully Monster” in 1955, a 300-million-year-old enigmatic creature whose fossils have only been found in the Mazon Creek beds in Illinois. It had a cigar-shaped body, eyes at the end of two long stalks, and one single, triangular fin. It is now Illinois’ state fossil and part of the Field Museum’s collection.
First McDonald’s franchise (1955)
Why did Ray Kroc choose to build his first McDonald’s in Des Plaines? Convenience. The lot at 400 N. Lee St., southwest of the intersection of River and Rand roads, was “a seven-minute drive from my home and a short walk from the Northwestern Railroad Station, from where I could commute to the city.”
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The original Des Plaines location closed in March 1984, but the McDonald’s Museum opened in its place in May 1985. Some thought the building, which often flooded due to its proximity to the Des Plaines River, should be preserved as a historic landmark, but it was torn down in January 2018. Today, the site is a gravel lot.
First manufacturer of polyethylene food wrap (1956)
Harold Warp, the chairman and founder of Chicago-based Flex-O-Glass, created Jiffy-Wrap and Jiffy-Bags for protecting food, an idea that was quickly imitated by major plastic and chemical firms.
Crate & Barrel (1962)
Gordon and Carole Segal met at Northwestern University and married in 1961. They honeymooned in the Virgin Islands, where they discovered a housewares store on St. Thomas run by a Dane. They admired the wooden bowls and trays, and stainless steel flatware he sold at low prices.
The Segals opened their first Crate & Barrel on Wells Street in Old Town the next year. Merchandise was displayed in or atop packing crates and upended barrels. There are now 89 stores and 8 outlets across the U.S. and Canada, with an additional 15 international franchise locations.
Plastic party cup (1970s)
The Solo cup — a red-colored party staple — has been made in Urbana since 1973. Leo Hulseman started the company in 1936 with cone-shaped disposable cups. Leo’s son Robert designed the original Red Solo Cup.
That red plastic cup is a Chicago original. Proceed to party.
Now a brand within Dart Container Corporation, Solo only has a few factories left in Illinois, including Chicago and North Aurora. Only a few plants in the United States produce the red cup.
First Black-owned company listed on the American Stock Exchange (1971)
Joan Johnson and her husband, George, cofounded Johnson Products Co. with $250 in 1954, bringing hair care products to a previously unserved African American market.
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Johnson Products eventually became the dominant ethnic hair-care company in the 1960s and experienced steady growth until the 1980s, with well-known products as Ultra Sheen, Classy Curl and Afro Sheen.
The company merged with a subsidiary of Ivax Corp. in 1993.
World’s tallest building (1973)
Ironworkers bolted the last girder into place on the Sears Tower (now known as the Willis Tower) on May 3, 1973. The skyscraper ended the Empire State Building’s four-decade reign as the world’s tallest and transformed the West Loop into a glittering office corridor.
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The 1,451-foot Willis Tower lost its crown as the world’s tallest when it was surpassed in 1996 by Malaysia’s Petronas Towers, and the American title in 2013 when New York City’s One World Trade Center
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was completed. After decades of construction in Asian countries, it’s now the 26th-tallest in the world.World’s largest hand-thrown vase (1976)
“Happy Potter” Sebastiano Magliano worked on the 8-foot-tall, 650-pound vessel, which was recognized by Guinness World Records, in honor of America’s Bicentennial. The piece remained on display at Haeger Potteries in East Dundee — known for its iconic sleeking black panther and other decorative artware — until the family-owned business closed in 2016.
Quarks discovered at Fermilab (1977 and 1995)
Two of the six quarks — fundamental building blocks of matter — were discovered at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia. With the identification of the bottom quark in 1977 and the top quark in 1995, the scientific breakthroughs helped prove the foundational architecture of the universe and verified the standard model of particle physics. The lab also found a third fundamental particle, the tau neutrino, in 2000.
First test to screen blood for exposure to HIV (1985)
In 1888, University of Michigan-trained doctor Wallace C. Abbott manufactured precisely dosed pills in the basement of his Ravenswood home at a time when medicine was not produced with accuracy.
Almost a century later, Abbott — the company he founded — received FDA approval to market a test that screened blood and blood products for AIDS virus antibodies.
‘Device for cooking foodstuffs’ (1995)
Batavia inventor Michael W. Boehm’s concept for an indoor grill that could cook meat evenly on both sides was patented under an obscure name.
Thanks to informercials and Mount Prospect-based small-appliance manufacturer Salton, however, it was sold worldwide as the George Foreman Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine.
At least 100 million of the devices have been sold, and Salton paid Foreman almost $138 million in late 1999 for the rights to continue to use his name and image on the product. Before then, Foreman and his partners received 60% of the profits.
First thought-controlled bionic arm (2002)
World-renowned researcher Todd Kuiken developed the Targeted Muscle Reinnervation method to help amputees control an arm prosthesis with their thoughts.
While at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Kuiken first used this technology to help Jesse Sullivan. The Tennessee lineman lost both his arms in 2001 after he grabbed a high-tension wire during his work for an electrical company. With his bionic arms, however, Sullivan could feel and sense hot and cold almost as if he still had real fingers.
World’s largest airline in operation, available seat miles and destinations served (2026)
Chicago-based United Airlines flew an estimated 175 million people in 2025 to 380 destinations across six continents.
World’s second-busiest airport (2026)
With almost 5 million domestic and international seats in June 2026, Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport was second to only Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in total frequency, according to OAG.