× Thanks for reading! Log in to continue. Enjoy more articles by logging in or creating a free account. No credit card required. Log in Sign up {{featured_button_text}}

SPRINGFIELD - Next time you order popcorn at the movies or throw a bag into the microwave, show a little respect.

That's not just a snack you're getting. It's the "official state snackfood" of Illinois, thanks to legislation signed Monday by Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Lawmakers who backed popcorn for the honor, turned their backs on Beer Nuts, Lemonhead candy and other goodies produced in Illinois. But the rivals seemed to take the loss in stride.

"I think it's great. As long as Illinois corn can be used and represented to the rest of the world, we're happy about that," said Connie Heffelmire, vice president of a little Pleasant Plains company, Prairie Foods, that makes a snack called Corn Crunch.

"There is nothing we would like more than to be the state snack, but we've got a lot of competition," said Cindy Shirk, marketing director for Beer Nuts Inc. She said the snack, though produced in Bloomington, might be at a disadvantage because it is made from Georgia peanuts.

The move to honor popcorn started as a class project at a Joliet elementary school, where Blagojevich signed the bill into law.