FYI, Illinois Digital Archives is a great resource to search for local history.The Illinois Digital Archives (IDA) was created in 2000, as a repository for the digital collections of the Illinois State Library as well as other libraries and cultural institutions in the State of Illinois.
What can you find in the Illinois Digital Archives?
Photographs, slides, glass negatives
Oral histories
Manuscripts and letters
Federal government documents
Postcards
Posters
Videos
Newspapers
Maps
and much more.