One year of the Illinois Bitcoin Council.
A year ago this month, IBC was an idea. No staff, no precedent, just a thesis: Illinois could lead on Bitcoin policy. Year one wasn’t about taking credit. It was about showing up. Here’s where we showed up — and who we showed up with.
🟧 The rooms we entered. We presented to the Illinois House Republicans in Springfield, the Illinois Libertarian Party convention, the La Grange Chamber of Commerce, Rock of Our Salvation Church in Chicago, and the Altgeld Bitcoin Summit in Altgeld Gardens. Republicans, libertarians, chambers, churches, communities — Bitcoin is for all of us, and year one was about proving that one room at a time.
🟧 The work between the workshops. The events are the visible part. The real product is relationships. Year one was hundreds of one-on-ones, briefings, and follow-ups with legislators, staffers, chamber leaders, and faith leaders across Illinois. Education first. Relationship always.
🟧 Real-world adoption. Education is one half — adoption is the other. The Chicago Merchants Network — Tom, Ben, Kristian, Jeff, and a growing roster of Chicago small businesses — is taking Bitcoin from theory to checkout counter. Real businesses, real customers, real sats.
🟧 Programming you can count on. Every month, Staci Nova hosts our IBC X Spaces — bringing legislators, builders, members, and the curious into the same conversation. Free, open, no agenda but the truth. Set a reminder. The next one is yours too.
🟧 The most important story isn’t ours. Tolbyus Shephard built the Altgeld Bitcoin Reserve — the first community-run Bitcoin reserve in the United States. 17 blocks. 21 BTC. A 21-year plan. Built block by block in Chicago’s highest-poverty neighborhood. Read his book, The Neighborhood Bitcoin Standard — 70% of every sale funds the reserve.
The model Tolbyus built is now being written into Illinois law. HB5621 and SB3743 — the Community Bitcoin Reserve Act — would establish a state framework for community-held Bitcoin reserves, with the Altgeld Bitcoin Reserve designated as the first site. Budget-neutral, multisig cold storage, community governance — a blueprint other states can follow. And in October, the Illinois House recognized what Tolbyus built: HR0446 formally commended the Altgeld Bitcoin Reserve as the nation’s first community-run Bitcoin reserve. H/t to Rep. John Cabello and every legislator who stood with us.
🟧 The Midwest is rising. Huge shoutout to Andrew Tillman for his work building out not just Illinois but the entire Midwest. The Midwest Bitcoin Summit hits Columbus on September 23–24 — adoption, innovation, and the revitalization of the Midwest in one room. And the Bitcoin Scholarship Foundation is funding time-locked Bitcoin scholarships for underprivileged youth — building the next generation of Bitcoiners, one student at a time. Closer to home, the Chicago Bitcoin Collective is running Fork & Coin and growing the Chicago scene one event at a time.
🟧 The businesses funding year one. None of this happens without our Full Node members — businesses putting Bitcoin to work for Illinoisans every day. SOUND HSA (Jon Gordon) is building Bitcoin-native health savings accounts. Orange Horizon Wealth (Jeff Aurand) is Rockford’s first Bitcoin-based wealth management firm. Want your business in this post next year? The door is open.
🟧 Year two starts now. More workshops. More legislator education. More chambers. More churches. More merchants. More Spaces. More members.
Want to help paint the state orange?
🔗 Membership: illinoisbitcoincouncil.org/membership
🔗 Geyser: geyser.fund/project/illinoisbitcoincouncil
Shoutout to Midwest Bitcoin Summit CEO, Bitcoin Scholarship Foundation President, IBC member, and all around great human, Andrew Tilmann. Please check out his Vegas ‘26 presentation below…
Check out this episode with Andrew Tilmann, CEO of The Bitcoin Scholarship Foundation, time-locked hope for the next generation, and why honest charity only works on Bitcoin. A powerful conversation about building the world we want to live in…
ChatGPT, how does Illinois compare to other states with governors in prison?
Here’s how Illinois compares to other states in terms of governors who have gone to prison — Illinois is #1.
🥇 Illinois: 4 governors in prison
No other state has as many former governors incarcerated.
🥈 States tied for second place (each with 2 governors who went to prison)
•Louisiana
•Tennessee
•Maryland
•Arkansas
•North Dakota
•West Virginia
•Arizona
Most other states have zero or one governor who has ever been imprisoned.
Why Illinois stands out
Illinois’ political machine history (Chicago + Springfield) produced:
•Patronage systems
•Pay-to-play corruption
•Long periods of single-party control
•Weak early ethics laws
This created an environment where corruption was easier and enforcement later became aggressive.
If you’d like, I can rank all states, or explain what each of those states’ governors went to prison for.
