Casimir Pulaski Day is a holiday observed in Illinois on the first Monday of every March in memory of Casimir Pulaski (March 6, 1745 – October 11, 1779), a Revolutionary War cavalry officer born in Poland as Kazimierz Pułaski. He is known for his contributions to the U.S. military in the American Revolution by training its soldiers and cavalry.

The day is celebrated mainly in areas that have large Polish populations, such as Chicago. The focus of official commemorations of Casimir Pulaski Day in Chicago is at the Polish Museum of America where various city and state officials congregate to pay tribute to Chicago's Polish Community.

This is a separate holiday from the federal observance, General Pulaski Memorial Day, which commemorates Pulaski's death from wounds suffered at the Siege of Savannah on October 9, 1779.

Illinois enacted a law on September 13, 1977, to celebrate the birthday of Casimir Pulaski and held the first official Pulaski Day celebrations in 1978. The bill was introduced by State Senator Norbert A. Kosinski, a Democrat from Chicago, and signed by Thomas C. Hynes, President of the Senate on June 26, 1977. Chicago Public Schools, Cook County government offices, the Chicago Public Library, Springfield Public Schools, and state-wide public and private schools are closed on this holiday.

Casimir Pulaski, or Kazimierz Pułaski in Polish (Polish pronunciation: [kaʑiˈmʲɛʂ puˈwaski] ( listen); full name in Polish: Kazimierz Michał Wacław Wiktor Pułaski) of Ślepowron coat-of-arms (March 6, 1745 – October 11, 1779) was a Polish soldier, nobleman, and politician who has been called "the father of American cavalry".

A member of the Polish landed nobility, Pulaski was a military commander for the Bar Confederation and fought against Russian domination of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. When this uprising failed, he emigrated to North America as a soldier of fortune. During the American Revolutionary War, he saved the life of George Washington and became a general in the Continental Army. He died of wounds suffered in the Battle of Savannah. Pulaski is one of only seven people to be awarded honorary United States citizenship.

Pulaski was born on March 6, 1745 in the now-nonexistent Pulaski manor house, located near the present address 53 Nowy Świat St. near Warecka St. in Warsaw, Poland (the date and place have been erroneously reported in some older sources). His father, Józef Pułaski, was a well-known lawyer - the Advocatus at Crown Tribunal and the Starosta of Warka and one of its most notable inhabitants. Early in his youth, Casimir Pulaski studied at the local college of Theatines in Warsaw.

Sufjan Stevens ( /ˈsuːfjɑːn/ SOOF-yahn; born July 1, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter and musician born in Detroit, Michigan. Stevens first began releasing his music on Asthmatic Kitty, a label co-founded with his stepfather, beginning with the 1999 release, A Sun Came. He is best known for his 2005 album, Illinois, which hit number one in the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart, and for the song "Chicago".

Stevens has released albums of varying styles, from the electronica of Enjoy Your Rabbit and the lo-fi folk of Seven Swans to the symphonic instrumentation of Illinois and Christmas-themed Songs for Christmas. Stevens makes use of a variety of instruments, often playing many of them himself on the same recording, and writes music in various time signatures. Though he has repeatedly stated an intent to separate his beliefs from his music, Stevens also freely draws from the Bible and other spiritual traditions, incorporating mystical elements into his music often.

Stevens was born in Detroit and lived there until the age of nine, when his family moved to Petoskey, Michigan. In Petoskey he attended the Petoskey High School, the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy and graduated from Harbor Light Christian School. He went on to attend Hope College in Holland, Michigan and earned a Master of Fine Arts from The New School in New York City.

Craig Cardiff (born 9 July 1976) is a Canadian folk musician from Waterloo, Ontario, who is known for his soft voice and digital vocal and guitar loops.

He is also known for his unusual policy towards the distribution of music, opting for more circulation and awareness, rather than simply monetary gain. He displays this in the formatting of his 2007 CD Goodnight (Go Home) in which he included another CD with sample tracks to give to a friend so as to spread the music. He has been known to perform at many summer camps, including YMCA Camp Pine Crest, which has created an increasing fan base in the teen generation.

The songwriter enjoys a reputation for finding innovative ways to record and distribute music; his 2008 release "Mistletoe" was recorded using the iPod / iPad application Octopod and in October 2010, Cardiff released the EP "Songs for Lucy" as a free download on his website, www.craigcardiff.com.

The songwriter was nominated in 2012 for the Juno in the category of Roots & Traditional Album of the Year: Solo.