Daylight saving is Sunday morning and that means it’s time to set your clocks back. While most people are happy to get that extra hour of sleep, many people may not know why daylight saving time even exists. According to webexhibits.org, daylight saving time started in Europe due to World War 1 and an effort to conserve fuel. The US didn’t adopt the plan until 1918 and it was observed for seven months in 1918 and 1919. Many people objected to the new law, mainly because people rose earlier and went to bed earlier than they do today and daylight saving time became a local option. It was continued in a few states like Massachusetts and Rhode Island and in cities like New York and Chicago. Because this was a local practice different cities and towns had different times. This was a real burden to broadcast stations who had to publish new schedules quite often due to the changing times. 

The transportation industry looked to change daylight saving time to make it more uniform. After talking to many telephone operators, they realized that someone could take a 35 mile stretch of highway from Moundsville, West Virginia to Steubenville, Ohio and change time 7 different times. 

The rules changed in 1966 when Lyndon B. Johnson created Daylight Saving Time. Any state that wanted to be exempt could do so. The only states that don’t follow it are Hawaii and Arizona. 

Daylight Saving Time in Illinois ends at 2 AM on Sunday, November 3rd.