Then and Now: June 2011

This Month's Statehouse Photo

The detail photo in the June 2011 issue of State Legislatures is of the Illinois Capitol in Springfield, Ill.

The Capitol is the sixth building to serve as the Illinois seat of government since its admission as a state in 1818. The French Renaissance-style building was designed by the Chicago firm of Cochrane and Garnsey and was completed in 1889 at a cost of $4.5 million. The building is the tallest non-skyscraper capitol, exceeded in height only by the nonclassical designs found in Florida, Louisiana and Nebraska. 
 

25 Years Ago

Articles Articles from the June 1986 issue of State Legislatures:

• CITIZEN GROUPS PROPOSE TAX CUTS: Tax-cut initiatives are in progress in California, Florida, Massachusetts, Nebraska and Oregon.
  
• DETERRING ILLEGAL DRUG TRAFFIC THROUGH THE TAX CODE: Taxing and licensing illegal drugs are attempts to give law enforcement officials tools to combat drug trafficking in a most unconventional manner.
• TURNING TROUBLED KIDS AROUND: Some states are taking their juvenile delinquents out of large institutions and placing them in smaller, more personalized community programs.
   

Did You Know?

The center of Oregon’s Capitol dome contains 33 stars painted by Frank H. Schwarz. The stars symbolize Oregon’s place as the 33rd state to join the Union. The Capitol was finished in 1938 and expanded in 1977. Fire destroyed two former capitol buildings, one in 1855 and the other in 1935.

—From “A Celebration of State Capitols,” by Richard R. Gibson