European Plates
Illinois License Plates
Illinois cities first issued license circular license plate seas from 1899 through 1907 and these were made of steel and brass. The fist State of Illinois issued license plates started in 1907 pursuant to legislative statute and the plate in 1911 was flat, in 1912 the plates were perforated and 1n 1913, the numbers and state name were cut out of blank metal. The reason why perforated and cut out letters/numbers were manufactured to allow air through the license plate to cool radiator. In 1914 embossed steel license plates were introduced and this continued to 1942 –when the United States joined the Allies in World War II. To save metal for the war effort, Illinois issued license plates made of fiberboard from 1942 through 1948. There are reports that goats from nearby farms roamed the streets of rural Illinois and ate the fiberboard license plates right off the car bumpers.
The first slogan on Illinois license plates appeared in 1954: LAND OF LINCOLN and continued until 1993. The 1976 license plate was a special design to commemorate 200 years of independence. The 1968 Illinois license plate commemorated 150 years of statehood. The letters ILL appeared on the first Illinois license plate issued in 1911 and continued until 1933. In 1934, the full state name “Illinois” was embossed.
In the year 1966, retro-reflective film covering an aluminum substrate license plate was introduced and continues today with the US Department of Transportation (DOT) mandates. Illinois was one of America’s most industrialized of all the states and huge companies were headquartered there. Big names included: Sears Roebuck, Wrigley’s, AB Dick, Brach’s Candy, International Harvester, Caterpillar, John Deere and many others, so by 1950 over 2,000,000 private cars were registered. Ten years later in 1959, over 3,000,000 private cars were registered. This number jumped over 5,000,000 by 1980.
There are hundreds of antique and collector car shows in Illinois each year and enthusiasts try to purchase, restore, show and auction cars. Some popular car shows are:
January 15 - 16, 2011 - Tinley Park, IL, Rogers Winter Burnout Charity Car Show
March 27, 2011 - DuQuoin, IL, 40th Annual Auto & Truck Swap Meet
APRIL 9, 2011 - FAIRFIELD, IL, RELAY FOR LIFE OF WAYNE COUNTY 1ST ANNUAL CAR SHOW
April 10,2011 - Joliet, IL, Corvettes Unlimited 35 Annual Corvette Show and G.M. Parts Swap
May 15, 2011 - Bradley, IL, 2nd Annual Relay for Life Benefit Car & Bike Show
June 2 - 5, 2011 - Galena, IL, Generals' Cruize-In Car Show
June 18, 2011 - Iroquois, IL, Strictly Street Rod Club 31st Annual Rod Run
June 23 - 26, 2011 - St. Charles, IL, Bloomington Gold Corvette Show
June 25, 2011 - Macomb, IL Macomb Brownie Myers Heritage Days Car Show
June 26, 2011 - St. Charles, IL, Survivor Collector Car Event
June 26, 2011 - Yorkville, IL, Gears & Ears 34
July 30, 2011 - Marion, IL, Williamson County Shriners Motor Patrol 13th Annual Car Show
August 6, 2011 - Joliet, IL, Wheels For A Cause Car & Bike Show
August 12 - 14, 2011 - Joliet, IL
Goodguys Rod & Custom Association 5th PEAK Chicagoland Nationals
August 27, 2011 - Quincy, IL, Quincy Daze Classic Car Show hosted by Quincy Historical Society
September 17, 2011 - Quincy, IL, Rockin’ Roddin’ Reunion
September 18, 2011 - Chicago, IL, Chicago's 4th Annual Historic Route 66 Classic Car Show
September 24, 2011 - West Frankfort, IL, The H Group 3rd Annual Car, Truck, and Bike Show
Monday Nights - Skokie, IL (May 30th September 5th, 2011), Monday Night Car Shows
1st Saturday, April September, 2011 - Murphysboro, IL, Cruisin The Boro
