Shucks, Martin, I went to (Catholic-run) college with Jewish folks. Set gravestones for 'em, too, back when I was doing that for a living. Not "some of my best friends are..." but true "nice folks, even though the xxxxx's are some real shits, just like the (Catholic, Lutheran, etc.) NNNNNNN's are." Besides, my brother studied Hebrew at the local synagogue.

As for time in Illinois, my roots in downstate (yes, it IS a different world, being mostly rural) can be traced to 1827. There were apparently some of my ancestors there before that, only we can't prove it. I currently have five or six cousins living in Chi, as well as a bunch of friends there.