Across the country, record lows contribute to 261 deaths. The law, passed in June 1981, is the first of its kind in the country and survives several legal challenges. Dianne Masters, wife of prominent lawyer Alan Masters, disappears after a meeting of Moraine Valley Community College board members. Her body is found in the trunk of her Cadillac, submerged in the Sanitary and Ship Canal in Willow Springs. The case goes unsolved for seven years.
Legislators refuse to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment despite protests in Springfield.
But they approve lethal injection for executions. Seven people die after taking Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules laced with cyanide. Authorities never solve the killings. The deaths lead to federal guidelines for tamperproof medicine containers. University of Chicago Professor George G. Stigler wins the Nobel Prize in economics.