I wasn’t even aware that the state Illinois, beleaguered for its history of crooked governors and misspent taxes, is approaching its 200th birthday. Yes, the state’s bicentennial birthday is December 3, 2018.

With that benchmark on the horizon, the Illinois Top 200 Project has been polling state residents, asking us who or what are the best-ever Illinoisans in various categories. Polling just closed on Illinois’ top musicians off all time, and the top vote-getter was REO Speedwagon, the band from the heart of Illinois that featured East Peoria’s Gary Richrath as its lead guitarist and co-writer with Kevin Cronin!

The Illinois Top 200 Project has been soliciting votes every couple weeks on categories like most inspiring leaders, greatest inventions, top businesses, top musicians, etc.  It’s a combined project of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, the Illinois Bicentennial Commission and a Springfield newspaper.

REO Speedwagon beat out the beautiful and talented, country/bluegrass singer and fiddler Alison Krauss, who could make me happy just by singing the phone book. Chicago native Nat King Cole took the bronze, while Rockford’s Cheap Trip was just off the podium in fourth in the voting. Ironic that Cheap Trick’s in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and REO is not, though the will hopefully be remedied one day. I think Styx deserves both entry into the Hall and more votes in this poll. Styx didn’t make the top 10 in the Illinois Top 200 Project. Clear HERE to see who made their top 10 top Illinois musicians list of all time.

Doc Watson