1. On December 11, 1816, Indiana became the 19th state of the United States. This event marked the beginning of Illinois' westward neighbor and represented a major development in the expansion of the young country.

2. In 1833, the Black Hawk War officially ended with the signing of a treaty between the Sauk and Fox tribes and the United States government. The war, which had lasted for over a year, was fought primarily in Illinois and Wisconsin and resulted in the forced removal of the Native American tribes from their ancestral lands.

3. On December 11, 1865, Illinois became the first state to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the country. This action helped pave the way for the eventual adoption of the amendment by the required number of states and its eventual inclusion in the US Constitution.

4. In 1910, the first film censor board in the United States was established in Chicago, Illinois. The board was formed in response to concerns about the content of movies being shown in the city and soon became a model for similar boards around the country.

5. On December 11, 1968, the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle held its first graduation ceremony. The university had been founded just five years earlier, and the graduation marked a major milestone in its development as an institution of higher education. Today, UIC is recognized as one of the top public universities in the country.