176 Years of Chicago History Ends — Morton Salt Flees to Kansas as Illinois Bleeds Out

In a quiet office park in Overland Park, Kansas, a piece of pure American nostalgia now stares down from a 20-foot sign on a sleek 16-story tower. The Morton Salt Girl — that cheerful umbrella-toting icon who has graced kitchen tables for over a century with the promise “When it rains, it pours” — has officially left Chicago. After 176 unbroken years in Illinois, the company that grew up alongside the city has packed its bags and moved its headquarters more than 500 miles away.