Sangamon Sun

State Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) is expressing gratitude to the Illinois State Archives as the agency marks its 100th year of service.

“Thank you to the staff of the Illinois State Archives for all the work you do as the keepers of the documents of Illinois government,” Butler posted on Facebook. “Congratulations on your centennial year in 2021.

Butler recently presented Archives Director David A. Jones and department staff with House Resolution 390, commemorating 100 years of service to the state, with the Illinois House of Representatives officially adopting the measure in September.

“Under its first director, Margaret Cross Norton, the Illinois State Archives became an internationally recognized leader for archival work,” Butler said in a press release. “That tradition has carried on to this day thanks to the dedication the Archives’ staff has brought to preserving the history and records of our State. It was my honor to carry HR 390 in the House and thank the Archives for their work.”

Going back to 1921, then-Secretary of State Louis Emmerson pushed for the passage of legislation aimed at creating a division of State Archives to be housed in the State Library Department of the Secretary of State’s office. From there, Cross Norton’s pioneering work led the Archives to expand their record keeping role and develop improved facilities to safely store and protect valuable historical records of the state.

Rededicated in Norton’s honor in 1995, today the Illinois State Archives is a separate department under the Secretary of State’s office, serving as “the depository of public records of Illinois state and local governmental agencies which possess permanent administrative, legal, or historical research values.”

All records are made available to the public, officials, and scholars at the Norton Building and at seven regional depositories located on state university campuses throughout Illinois.