Richard Moreno served as publisher of Nevada Magazine and has authored seven Nevada-related books. A former Director of Advertising and Public Relations for the Nevada Commission on Tourism, he was selected as a 2007 recipient of the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame Silver Pen award.

• Acknowledgements Introduction 1. 1673 – Jolliet and Marquette Discover Illinois 2. 1778 – The Americans Take Over (Battle for Kaskaskia) 3. 1832 – The Blackhawk War 4. 1837 – The First Abolitionist Martyr: Elijah Lovejoy 5. 1844 – The Murder of Joseph Smith 6. 1846 – The Donner Party Departs from Springfield 7. 1858 – Debates that Shaped a Nation: Abraham Lincoln vs. Stephen A. Douglas 8. 1860 – The “Lady Elgin” Sinks 9. 1871 – The Great Chicago Fire 10. 1876 – The Plot to Steal Abraham Lincoln’s body 11. 1887 – The Chatsworth Train Disaster 12. 1894 – Pullman’s Strike 13. 1903 – The Iroquois Theater Fire 14. 1908 – Springfield’s Race Riots 15. 1909 – The Cherry Coal Mine Tragedy 16. 1917 – The East St. Louis Riot 17. 1922 – The Herrin Massacre 18. 1925 – The Tri-States Tornado Strike 19. 1926 – Williamson’s County’s Birger-Shelton Gang War 20. 1931 – Al Capone Goes to Prison 21. 1933 – Major League Baseball’s First All-Star Game 22. 1934 – Death of an Outlaw: John Dillinger Gunned Down 23. 1947 – The Centralia Mine Explosion 24. 1969 – The Chicago Seven Trial 25. 1979 – Chicago’s Improbable Disco Record Riot 26. 1979 – America’s Worst Air Disaster: The Crash of American Airlines Flight 191 27. 1982 – Chicago’s Tylenol Murder Mystery 28. 2008 – Death in the Classroom: Shootings at Northern Illinois University 29. 2009 – The Impeachment of Governor Rod Blagojovech