The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, is a public land-grant research university that was established in 1867, as the founding campus and flagship institution of the University of Illinois System. With over 59,000 students, the University of Illinois is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the USA. The university contains 16 schools and colleges and offers more than 150 undergraduate and over 100 graduate programs of study. The university has 651 buildings on 6,370 acres and its annual operating budget is over $2 billion. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign also operates a research park, home to innovation centers for over 90 start-up companies and multinational corporations. The U of I is a member of the Association of American Universities and is classified among “R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity.” The campus library system possesses the fourth-largest university library in the USA by holdings. This university also hosts the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. The alumni, faculty members, or researchers of the university include 24 Nobel laureates, 27 Pulitzer Prize winners, 2 Fields medalists, and 2 Turing Award winners. Illinois athletic teams compete in Division I of the NCAA and are collectively known as the Fighting Illini. They are members of the Big Ten Conference and have won the second-most conference titles. Illinois Fighting Illini football won the Rose Bowl Game in 1947, 1952, 1964 and a total of five national championships. Illinois athletes have won 29 medals in Olympic events. The University of Illinois, was originally named “Illinois Industrial University”, one of the 37 universities created under the first Morrill Land-Grant Act, which provided public land for the creation of agricultural and industrial colleges, and universities across the USA. Among several cities, Urbana was selected in 1867 as the site for the new school. From the beginning, President John Milton Gregory’s desire to establish an institution firmly grounded in the liberal arts tradition was at odds with many state residents and lawmakers who wanted the university to offer classes based solely around “industrial education.” The university opened for classes on March 2, 1868, and had two faculty members and 77 students. The library, which opened with the school in 1868, started with 1,039 volumes. In 1885, the Illinois Industrial University officially changed its name to the “University of Illinois”, reflecting its agricultural, mechanical, and liberal arts curriculum. After World War II, the university experienced rapid growth. The enrollment doubled and the academic standing improved. By 1967, the University of Illinois system consisted of a main campus in Champaign-Urbana and two Chicago campuses, Chicago Circle (UICC) and Medical Center (UIMC), and people began using “Urbana-Champaign” or the reverse to refer to the main campus specifically. The university name officially changed to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign by 1977. As of 2024, 87% of students graduate within 8 years of entering, compared to the national median of 58% for all 4-year universities nationwide. The U of I tied for 15th among public universities, with its undergraduate engineering program tied for 6th in the USA. Internationally, Illinois engineering was ranked 13th in the world in 2016. The makeup of the students is White 39%, Asian 22%, Hispanic 14%, Foreign national 14%, and Black 6%, with the largest foreign groups being Chinese. Have you ever been to the U of I campus in Champaign?
Joy decided to attend the University of Illinois at Champaign
It finally came down to a process of elimination. In-state tuition was a big incentive to look at the University of Illinois at Champaign. At first, I thought it would be too big of a school for her, with over 50,000 students, not like her high school of 1,400 students. We finally went for a visit, as we met the daughter of one of the teachers at Lawrence O’Toole. We walked down the street with her, and at least five students said hello to her. I had forgotten that there are many smaller enclaves within a large institution. The next thing was what was she going to study? She wanted to study business. I suggested finance and accounting, but not marketing. I started comparing various colleges and the U of I was ranked in ether the top 5 or 10 in the country. That sold me. This was a serious program. Why pay more for programs that were not in state and not as good? Besides that, it was close by, less than two hours from our home in Matteson. Joy also had several of her high school friends who were going there. This reminded me of the movie Risky Business, where the high school student blew his interview with Harvard, and then said, I guess I am going to the U of I. Everyone seemed happy. U of I was the first choice for excellence and monetary value. Do you know anyone who went to the University of Illinois at Champaign?
Joy looked at places to go to college in 1990 and 1991
I realized what a crazy world of how high school students pick their college. I had my own ideas. My daughter’s college had to be safe, demanding, worthwhile, and within my means. It all started out with taking an ACT or SAT test. Depending on the results, you will start to get a lot of brochures and letters from colleges and universities you have never heard of, while you are a junior in high school. Each high school has its own counselors, who kind of know what the colleges are looking for. However, then there was the visiting of colleges, indicating a higher level of interest. Joy, my daughter was in the top 5-10% of her class and had good grades. Everybody starts talking about scholarships, but then it comes down to am I good enough to get in? Besides that, the high school student should know what they want to study, since some colleges are better than others. Finally, there is the question of money. High school students often talk about fit, how you fit in, but that is hard to do. You only know it when it does not fit. At first, I wanted her to save all the brochures to show her how many places wanted here to go to their college. After a while, it got out of hand. They became part of the ubiquitous junk mail. Next were the letters and telephone calls. I got a phone call one day from a Purdue professor. Professors can’t be spending much time calling perspective students. Joy must have done well in some test. Another letter was from the President of UAB, who remined high school students not to waste their senior year. I thought that was pretty good advice. However, the fun part of deciding where to go to college was the trip to a campus. They treat you like a king or queen, until after you have made your decision. We visited, the University of Iowa, at beautiful Iowa City. Most colleges have very nice campuses. Then we visited Mount Senario, in Ladysmith, where Margaret graduated from, and where I taught for one summer. I showed her Loyola on the north shore of Chicago. DePaul was really an urban school spread out on Chicago’s near north side. However, there was a recruiter who promised Joy and her friend Katie a $10,000 scholarship. That seemed impressive until I found out that the full tuition for Illinois Wesleyan was $20,000 a year. We went to their campus in Bloomington, Il. They had a huge campus with many buildings but with few students, a little over 1,500, so that it was barely bigger than her high school. Besides, it was a Methodist private college, with a big tuition. Joy wanted a bigger school. As she entered her senior year, she had not decided where to go. She had decided not to study music or be in a marching band. Have you ever had a high school student make up their mind about going to college?
The Chicago Bulls dynasty began with Michael Jordan
On June 12, 1991, the Chicago Bulls won the NBA championship, 4 games to 1 over the Los Angeles Lakers to earn the franchise’s first championship, starting a run of six titles in eight seasons. Michael Jordan was named the NBA MVP. The 1991 NBA Finals was the first NBA Finals broadcast by NBC after 17 years with CBS. The Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls took on the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers for the title, with Chicago having home court advantage. It was Michael Jordan’s first NBA Finals appearance, and the last for Magic Johnson. The Bulls won the series, as Jordan averaged 31.2 points on 56% shooting, 11.4 assists, 6.6 rebounds, 2.8 steals and 1.4 blocks. This series marked the end of the Lakers Showtime era, and the beginning of the Bulls’ dynasty in the 1990s. After winning five championships in eight finals appearances in the 1980s, the Lakers would struggle for the rest of the 1990s, before winning five championships between the 2000 and 2010 seasons. The 1991 Lakers were led by Magic Johnson, who was 31 and playing in what would be his last full season, as well as fellow All-Star teammate James Worthy. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had retired two seasons earlier. The Bulls, led by Jordan and small forward Scottie Pippen, would win five more championships after 1991 in a seven-year span, cementing their status as a dynasty. Jordan became only the fourth player in NBA history, after Joe Fulks, George Mikan, and Abdul-Jabbar, to capture the scoring title and a championship in the same season. The 1990–91 season marked the Bulls’ 25th in franchise history. The year before, the Bulls lost a grueling seven-game series to the Detroit Pistons in the 1990 Eastern Conference finals. In the six years since Michael Jordan joined the Bulls, they were showing signs of improvement. They managed to put it all together in 1990-1991, winning a then-franchise record 61 games. Jordan won the scoring title for a fifth consecutive season, but the team was no longer a one-man show of years past. Instead, Jordan distributed the ball with regularity, thanks in large part to the triangle offense instituted by head coach Phil Jackson and assistant Tex Winter. This gave the Bulls additional offensive weapons to choose from, ranging from wingman Scottie Pippen and post players Horace Grant and Bill Cartwright to shooters such as John Paxson and B. J. Armstrong. Jordan’s improved all-around play earned him his second MVP award. In the playoffs, the Bulls lost only once in the first three rounds. They swept the New York Knicks in the first round, then eliminated the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round. Their much-awaited rematch with the Detroit Pistons in the Conference finals showcased the maturity and poise that the Bulls displayed all season, as they swept the Pistons. In a last show of defiance, most of the Pistons walked off the court with :08 left on the clock in a blowout loss at home so as not to congratulate the new Eastern Conference champions, though Joe Dumars, Vinnie Johnson, and John Salley did remain to shake the Bulls’ hands. Scottie Pippen led the Bulls with 32 points and collected 13 rebounds. Jordan, who was named the Finals MVP, added 30 points and 10 assists in the final clencher. The Bulls Dynasty of the 1990s had begun. Did you ever see the Bulls and Michael Jordan play?
The first war with Iraq – Desert Storm
On January 12, 1991, the USA Congress passed a resolution authorizing the use of military force to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait. The UN deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expired, preparing the way for the start of Operation Desert Storm, that began on January 16, 1991, with air strikes against Iraq. Iraq then fired eight Scud missiles into Israel. On January 22, the British Army SAS patrol, Bravo Two Zero, was deployed in Iraq. The ground engagement of the war, the Battle of Khafji, began and lasted until February 1. On February 13, two laser-guided “smart bombs” destroyed an underground bunker in Baghdad, killing hundreds of Iraqis. USA military intelligence claimed it was a military facility while Iraqi officials identified it as a bomb shelter. By February 22, Iraq accepted a Soviet-proposed cease fire agreement. The USA rejected the agreement, instead saying that retreating Iraqi forces would not be attacked if they left Kuwait within 24 hours. The ground war began on February 24, 4 AM local time, as ground troops crossed the Saudi Arabian border and entered Kuwait. The next day, part of an Iraqi Scud missile hit an American military barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, killing 29 USA soldiers and injuring 99 more. It was the single-most devastating attack on USA forces during the war. On February 26, on Baghdad radio, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein announced the withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait. Iraqi soldiers set fire to Kuwait oil fields as they retreated. The fire lasted until November 7, 1991. On February 27, 1991, USA President Bush declared victory over Iraq and ordered a cease-fire, so that the USA troops began to leave the Persian Gulf on March 10, 1991. Emir of Kuwait, Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, returned to Kuwait after seven months of exile in Saudi Arabia on March 14. On April 3, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 687, which called for the destruction or removal of all of Iraq’s chemical and biological weapons and a complete ban on ballistic missiles with a range greater than 150 km. It also called for an end to Iraq’s support for international terrorism. Iraq accepted this resolution. On April 18, 1991, Iraq declared that it did not have any biological weapons program. In late June, the UN inspection teams attempted to intercept Iraqi vehicles carrying nuclear related equipment. In September, the IAEA inspectors discovered files on Iraq’s hidden nuclear weapons program. Iraqi officials refused to let them leave with the documents, prompting a standoff that continued until the UN Security Council threatened enforcement actions on Iraq. Troubles with UN inspectors made this peace agreement with Iraq shaky. What do you remember about Desert Storm in 1991?
TV shows that began or ended in 1990
The following TV shows began in 1990: “The Baby-Sitters Club,” “Maya the Bee,” “Peter Jennings Reporting,” “February 9,” “Equal Justice,” “Carol & Company,” “Twin Peaks,” “Capital News,” “In Living Color,” “Sunday Night Baseball,” “Wings,” “Sunset Beat,” “Brewster Place,” “America’s Funniest People,” “Blossom,” “Dream On,” “Northern Exposure, “The Howard Stern Show,” “Into the Night starring Rick Dees,” “Real Life with Jane Pauley,” “Tim Conway’s Funny America,” “Jim Henson’s Mother Goose Stories,” “Guys Next Door,” “New Kids on the Block,” “Little Rosey,” “The Wizard of Oz,” “The Adventures of Super Mario Bros,” “Tom & Jerry Kids,” “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “Law & Order,” “Beverly Hills, 90210,” “Screen Scene,” “WIOU,” “NBA Inside Stuff,” “Over My Dead Body,” and “NBA on NBC.”
The following shows went off TV after at least three seasons, “Miami Vice” (1984), “Mission: Impossible” (1988), “Eyes on the Prize” (1987), “Mama’s Family” (1983), “ALF” (1986), “227” (1985), “Falcon Crest” (1981), “Newhart” (1982), “You Can’t Do That on Television” (1981), “NBA on CBS” (1973), “Pinwheel” (1977), “Mr. Belvedere” (1985), “Beauty and the Beast” (1987), “Charles in Charge” (1984), “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse” (1986), “Alvin and the Chipmunks” (1983), “Tic-Tac-Dough” (1956), and “Remote Control” (1987). What was your favorite TV show of 1990?
Television in 1990
“All My Children” broadcast its 20th anniversary special on ABC. Deborah Norville made her debut as co-anchor on NBC’s Today, succeeding Jane Pauley, alongside Bryant Gumbel. Time Warner was formed. The first regular episode of “The Simpsons” premiered on Fox, “Bart the Genius.” NBC broadcast the NHL All-Star Game from Pittsburgh, the first NHL game of any kind to be televised on American network television since Game 6 of the 1980 Stanley Cup Finals on CBS. NBC and the University of Notre Dame announced a deal that would call for the network to have exclusive rights to the Fighting Irish football team’s home games, beginning in 1991. Challenger, a made-for-television docudrama about the tragic events of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster on January 28, 1986, was broadcast on ABC. On SportsCenter, ESPN broadcast the graphic footage of Loyola Marymount University basketball player Hank Gathers’ collapse and subsequent death from a heart condition during a West Coast Conference Tournament game. Radio host Rush Limbaugh made headlines when he guest-hosted “The Pat Sajak Show” on CBS. CBS dismissed prominent sportscaster Brent Musburger one day before his final assignment for the network. Later that year, Musburger signed with ABC Sports. WWF World Heavyweight Championship was at WrestleMania VI from Toronto’s Sky Dome, the first time that WrestleMania was held outside of the USA. The pilot episode for “Twin Peaks” was the highest-rated movie for the 1989–1990 year, viewed by 34.6 million people. The Earth Day Special, a two-hour commercial-free special event, premiered on ABC. The long-lost pilot show for “I Love Lucy” was broadcast by CBS as a special. CBS broadcast the series finale of “Newhart,” in which it was revealed that the entire series was just a dream of Bob Newhart’s character, Dr. Bob Hartley, from his former “The Bob Newhart Show.” CBS began broadcasting its daytime lineup in stereo sound, becoming the last of the three major networks to do so. Mariah Carey delivered her first live television performance on “The Arsenio Hall Show.” Nickelodeon Studios officially opened in Orlando, Florida. ABC aired the National Academy of Dance’s first annual Gypsy Awards from the San Diego Convention Center. The pilot episode for Ferris Bueller, an adaptation of the 1986 film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, was broadcast on NBC. The show would ultimately be cancelled after its first season and only 13 episodes due to its poor reception. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles made its debut on CBS, where it ran through 1996. CBS debuted a brand-new look for “The NFL Today,” front-lined by Greg Gumbel and Terry Bradshaw. The Ken Burns directed miniseries “The Civil War” was broadcast on PBS. More than 39 million viewers would tune in to at least one episode, and viewership averaged more than 14 million viewers each evening, making it the most-watched program ever to air on PBS. Cop Rock was one of the biggest television failures of the 1990s. “All My Children” star Susan Lucci guest–hosted an episode of “Saturday Night Live,” becoming the first daytime soap opera performer to do so. Chris Farley, Tim Meadows, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, David Spade and Julia Sweeney joined the cast of Saturday Night Live. ABC attracted a great deal of controversy when it aired Madonna’s infamous music video for her single “Justify My Love” on its late-night news program Nightline. What do you remember about TV in 1990?
Music in 1990
Irish singer Sinead O’Connor released her famous single “Nothing Compares 2 U.” that was originally written, composed and performed by Prince. O’Connor’s version, which was a worldwide success, became one of the best-selling singles in the world in 1990, as it topped the charts in many countries including the USA and the UK. She sparked a controversy when she refused to play a concert at the Garden State Arts Center in New Jersey unless the venue refrained from its tradition of playing a recording of the American national anthem before the performance, so that her music was dropped from many radio stations. Eric Clapton played the first of eighteen shows in a three-week span at London’s Royal Albert Hall. MTV’s Unplugged was broadcast for the first time on cable television. Bob Marley’s birthday was a national holiday in Jamaica for the first time. The Rolling Stones played the first of 10 concerts in their first ever tour of Japan. The 32nd Annual Grammy Awards were presented in Los Angeles, hosted by Garry Shandling. Bonnie Raitt’s “Nick of Time” won Album of the Year, while Bette Midler’s cover of the “Wind Beneath My Wings” won both Record and Song of the Year. Milli Vanilli won Best New Artist, but later revealed that he was lip-synching his songs. The Byrds reunited for the first time in 25 years, to perform at a Los Angeles tribute to Roy Orbison. The three members were joined unexpectedly on stage by Bob Dylan who sang “Mr. Tambourine Man” with the band. MCA purchased Geffen Records for over $550 million in stock. Depeche Mode drew a crowd of 20,000 during an in-store appearance at Wherehouse Entertainment. The Go-Go’s reunited to play a benefit concert for the California Environmental Protection Act. President Bush awarded Michael Jackson “Artist of the Decade.” Neil Young, Elton John, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Guns N’ Roses, and Jackson Browne performed at Farm Aid IV in Indiana. Madonna started her controversial Blond Ambition Tour in Tokyo, Japan. Later, Madonna released her new single, “Justify My Love,” amid international controversy over its sexually explicit content. A massive tribute concert was held at Wembley Stadium for recently freed anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela, broadcast to 61 countries around the world. Janet Jackson was honored with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, as her “Black Cat” reached number one. The 35th Eurovision Song Contest was won by Italian singer Toto Cutugno for the song “Insieme: 1992.” Mariah Carey released her debut album, which would go on to top the Billboard 200 for 11 consecutive weeks. The Three Tenors gave their first concert, at the Baths of Caracalla in Rome. Jean Michel Jarre’s concert “Paris la Defense” attracted 2.5 million spectators. Roger Waters and numerous guest stars staged a performance of Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” in Berlin, Germany. Madonna ended her controversial Blood Ambition Tour in Nice, France. After a decade of performing in the Francophone world, Celine Dion made her formal English-language debut in the USA with the release of her album Unison. Pearl Jam played their first show as a band at the Off Ramp club in Seattle, Washington. ABC aired a television special with reinterpretations of the songs of Cole Porter. The nineteenth annual New Year’s Rockin’ Eve special aired on ABC, with appearances by The Beach Boys, Bell Biv DeVoe, The Kentucky Headhunters, Nelson, The O’Jays, and Sweet Sensation. What was your favorite song of 1990?
My favorite movies released in 1990
In 1990, there were a lot of good films that I saw. The most famous movie that has become a Christmas classic is Home Alone where a family leaves Kevin alone in his north suburban Chicago house as the whole family flew to Paris. Ghost was another romantic comedy with Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, and Whoopy Goldberg, with the haunting song of the Righteous Brothers “Unchained Melody,” that first appeared in 1955, when I was in high school. Then there was Kevin Costner in Dances with Wolves, that was filmed in South Dakota, near Pierre, where Margaret’s sister Lois lives. Richard Gere and Julia Roberts were great in Pretty Woman. I liked the thriller The Hunt for Red October with Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn, James Earl Jones, and Sam Neill. I also liked the quirky Internal Affairs with Richard Gere and Andy García. Stanley & Iris was a story about an old man, with Robert De Niro and Jane Fonda. Joe Versus the Volcano was okay with Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, and Abe Vigoda. Bird on a Wire with Mel Gibson, Goldie Hawn, and David Carradine was more interesting. Cadillac Man with Robin Williams and Tim Robbins was funny at times. Dick Tracy was a highly publicized movie with Warren Beatty, Madonna, and Al Pacino. The Freshman was a neat film with Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick. Presumed Innocent was a great mystery show with Harrison Ford and Brian Dennehy. Flatliners was a neat movie with Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, William Baldwin, and Kevin Bacon. My Blue Heaven was a funny mafia movie with Steve Martin, Rick Moranis, and Joan Cusack. Wild at Heart was an off-beat mystery with Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern, and Willam Dafoe. Postcards from the Edge had a great cast of Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman, Richard Dreyfuss, and Rob Reiner. My favorite of the year was the mafia story Goodfellas with Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, and Paul Sorvino. Three Men and a Little Lady was funny with Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, and Ted Danson. Misery was a great show with James Caan and Kathy Bates. The Bonfire of the Vanities was also a great show with Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith, Morgan Freeman, and Kim Cattrall. The Godfather Part III had an Italian ending with Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Andy García, Eli Wallach, and Joe Mantegna. Green Card was an interesting story with Gérard Depardieu and Andie MacDowell. I think that I liked the movies this year more than previous years. What is your favorite movie of 1990?
Today I have been married for 55 years
We interrupt your memories of the 1990s, by returning to the yesteryears of 1971. It seems like only yesterday that Margaret and I were married in our apartment in Hyde Park, but in reality, the calendar, and our looks indicate that it really was 55 years ago on October 9, 1971, almost two generations ago. I am surprised that we have made it this long. Now we live on the Gold Coast, overlooking the Lake Michigan Shore and Lincoln Park in Chicago, Illinois. This has been a rough year for me. I broke my hip while looking at the leaning tower of Pisa. It took me nearly six months to recover. Meanwhile, Margaret has struggled with an eye problem, a sleep problem, and a heart problem. Through it all, we are still standing, even if it requires a walker or a cane. The seasons of fall, winter, spring, and summer continue to keep on coming and going. The trees are the best way to keep track of time. They slowly sprout in the spring, and just as slowly lose their leaves in the fall, while swaying in the hot wind in the summer and the cold breeze in the winter. A lot of people never get to live 55 years, while Margaret and I have lived 55 years together. We are blessed and privileged to have known and loved each other for 55 years. We have one daughter and three grandchildren, who always remind us that life goes on and regenerates year after year. The grandkids grow up, but we grow old and weary. I am so fortunate to have met and married this marvelous woman called Margaret. Remember to thank God for every year of your life. Even more so, thank God you got to share it with someone so wonderful as your spouse. Not every moment of every day is great, but the great moments and days overshadow those poor times when everything seems wrong. Another day means another great happening. I hope that everyone would be able to live 55 years with someone they love. We are going to celebrate today by going to lunch at the Greek Islands Restaurant in Chicago. Then we will go to Senior Night at St. Ignatius Prep to watch our grandson Will Walton play right tackle for the football team against Leo. Have many years have you been married?
