From the USPS (updates are posted below this initial announcement):
llinois Statehood (Statehood series) 
This stamp celebrates the 200th anniversary of Illinois statehood. Known as the Prairie State, Illinois became the 21st state of the union on Dec. 3, 1818.
This stamp will be issued March 5th in Springfield, Illinois, with a first-day ceremony.
Updated February 1 from the Postal Bulletin:
On March 5, 2018, in Springfield, IL, the U.S. Postal Service will issue the Illinois Statehood First-Class Mail stamp (Forever priced at 50 cents) in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps (Item 477100). The stamp will go on sale nationwide March 5, 2018.
This stamp celebrates the 200th anniversary of Illinois statehood. Known as the Prairie State, Illinois became the 21st state of the Union on December 3, 1818. The stamp art features an outline of the state map with a series of yellow beams radiating upward like the rays of a rising sun.
The colors on the map begin at the bottom with a deep yellow. The color fades upward to pale yellow and then into pale blue, with increasingly deeper blues rising to the top of the map; the yellows and blues symbolize the dawning of a new day as the state joins the Union. Stars, representing the first 20 states, grace the top of the stamp. The rising sun symbolizes the 21st star. Illinois artist Michael Konetzka designed the stamp and created the artwork. Antonio Alcalá was the art director.
Item 477100, $10.00 Illinois Statehood (Forever priced at 50 cents) Commemorative PSA Pane of 20 Stamps. Stamp Fulfillment Services (SFS) will make an automatic push distribution to Post Offices (in Illinois only) [emphasis added by VSC]
How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
Customers have 120 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office, at The Postal Store website at usps.com/shop, or by phone at 800-782-6724. They must affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:
FDOI – Illinois Statehood Stamp
USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900
After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. There is a 5-cent charge for each additional postmark over 50. All orders must be postmarked by July 5, 2018.
There is a special postmark design which local post offices may use: 
Philatelic products for this stamp issue are as follows:
- 477106 Press Sheet with Die-cut, $60.00.
- 477110 Digital Color Postmark Keepsake, $11.95.
- 477116 First-Day Cover, $0.94.
- 477121 Digital Color Postmark, $1.65.
- 477130 Ceremony Program, $6.95.
- 477133 Panel, $10.95.
Technical Specifications:
Issue: Illinois Statehood Stamp
Item Number: 477100
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail, Forever
Format: Pane of 20 (1 design)
Series: Statehood
Issue Date & City: March 5, 2018, Springfield, IL 62703
Designer: Michael Konetzka, Chicago IL
Art Director: Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria, VA
Typographer: Michael Konetzka, Chicago IL
Artist: Michael Konetzka, Chicago IL
Modeler: Sandra Lane/Michelle Finn
Manufacturing Process: Offset, Microprint
Printer: Banknote Corporation of America
Printed at: Browns Summit, NC
Press Type: Alprinta 74
Stamps per Pane: 20
Print Quantity: 25,000,000 stamps
Paper Type: Phosphor Tagged Paper, Overall Tag
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Processed at: Banknote Corporation of America, Browns Summit NC
Colors: Cool Gray 5, Cool Gray 7, Pantone 431, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
Stamp Orientation: Vertical
Image Area (w x h): 0.84 x 1.42 in./21.34 x 36.07 mm
Overall Size (w x h): 0.98 x 1.56 in./24.89 x 39.62 mm
Full Pane Size (w x h): 5.92 x 7.24 in./150.37 x 183.90 mm
Press Sheets Size (w x h): 21.72 x 11.84 in./551.69 x 300.74 mm
Plate Size: 240 stamps per revolution
Plate Numbers: B followed by seven (7) single digits
Marginal Markings:
Front: Plate numbers in four corners of pane
Back: © 2017 USPS o USPS logo o Barcode (477100) in upper right and lower left corners of pane o Plate position diagram o Promotional text
Updated February 2nd:
USPS Media Advisory
U.S. Postal Service to Dedicate Illinois Statehood Forever Stamp
WHAT: First-day-of-issue dedication ceremony for the Illinois Statehood Forever stamp. The event is free and open to the public. Beginning February 8, RSVP to usps.com/Illinois. Please share the news using the hashtags #IllinoisStamp and #IllinoisStatehood.
WHEN: Monday, March 5 at 10:30 a.m. CT
WHERE: Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
112 North 6th Street
Springfield, IL 62701
BACKGROUND: Followers of the U.S. Postal Service’s Facebook page can view the ceremony live at facebook.com/USPS.
This stamp celebrates the 200th anniversary of Illinois statehood. Known as the Prairie State, Illinois became the 21st state Dec. 3, 1818.
The stamp art features an outline of the state map with a series of yellow beams radiating upward like the rays of a rising sun. The colors begin at the bottom with a deep yellow, fading upward to pale yellow and then into pale blue, with increasingly deeper blues rising to the top of the state’s outline. The yellows and blues symbolize the dawning of a new day as the state joins the Union. Stars, representing the first 20 states, grace the top of the stamp. The rising sun symbolizes the 21st star.
Chicago artist Michael Konetzka designed the stamp and created the artwork. Antonio Alcalá of Alexandria, VA, was the project’s art director.
Here are the first-day cancels for this issue: 
The Digital Color Postmark measures 1.86” x 1.45”
The pictorial postmark for this issue measures 2.73” x 1.49” 
The special (local) postmark measures 2.64” x .94”
Updated April 4th: The Scott catalogue number for this issue is 5274.
I must admit to being disappointed in the design of this stamp. The Illinois sesquicentennial stamp, issued in 1968, was a much better issue, in my opinion.
I agree, I’m not taken with the design.
Also, and I’m “old school” about it; but I think that if an anniversary or birthday of any kind is going to be celebrated, honored, etc., then it should be DONE ON THE DATE OF THE EVENT.
How many of you celebrate/honor/etc. your own wedding anniversary or birthday NINE MONTHS early?
December 3rd is a Monday and not a holiday of any kind that would prevent a Release Ceremony from being held on that date in Springfield.
I still do not understand USPS’ logic of release dates where anniversaries/birthdays are concerned.
And think about it. By the time the ACTUAL date rolls around, this stamp WILL HAVE BEEN PULLED FROM SALE. Where’s the logic in that?
From Post Bull 01 FEB USPS# 477104 pn 20 $10.00 #10 Keepsake $11.95 #16 FDC 94c #21 DCP $1.65 Auto-Distrib to IL Only, others must special order.
An Any City cancel is available, maybe IL-Only too.
I have SPOKEN with Mr Bessette, Postmaster of Oneco CT. He WILL have these stamps for sale., and he CAN sell a PB#-4.
As he is not in IL, and doesn’t usually have any special cancellation devices, you will need to get the special cancels from The Caves.
As Before, Check or M.O. payable to Postmaster Oneco CT and
MAIL any orders to Postmaster USPS 1104 Plainfield Pike ONECO CT 06373-9998. NO INTERNET SALES from here.
From Linns APR 16 Scott 5274
I agree with the writers who are disappointed with the design. There is nothing there to give the buyers or the receivers any idea of Illinois. True, it is difficult for a stamp to give an impression of a particular state but it has been done many times before and it could have been done this state.
This is a very disappointing design. There is nothing in the design that conveys the the terrain, the geographic, economic and racial diversity, etc of Illinois. The 1968 150th Illinois issue was outstanding; this 200th anniversary issue is quite the contrary.
The Post offices in my area have not been issued and there are no plans to order any…who in California is going to but and Illinois’ statehood stamp? me for one I grew up in the Chicago area!
but is buy
Its always a wonder for me in trying to figure the USPS or Scotts to come up with a four digit number that is next in sequence.? How long can this exercise be milked? Surely not 30 plus days after its release.
I’m not sure I understand. If you’re wondering why Scott doesn’t immediately issue the catalogue numbers, it’s because (a) it only assigns numbers once it has physically received the stamps through normal sales outlets (that is, no news media samples); and (b) because it only announces the numbers once a month, when the Scott Monthly magazine edition of Linn’s Stamp News is published. Scott Publishing is not a charitable educational not-for-profit. It sells magazines and catalogues. News media like The Virtual Stamp Club receive the numbers as a courtesy, but if you want details on the issues — a preview of what will be in the Specialized catalogue — you have to check out the magazine.
The original provisions of the Northwest Ordinance had specified a boundary that would have been tangent to the southern tip of Lake Michigan. Such a boundary would have left Illinois with no shoreline on Lake Michigan at all. However, as Indiana had successfully been granted a 10-mile (16 km) northern extension of its boundary to provide it with a usable lakefront, the original bill for Illinois statehood, submitted to Congress on January 23, 1818, stipulated a northern border at the same latitude as Indiana’s, which is defined as 10 miles north of the southernmost extremity of Lake Michigan. However, the Illinois delegate, Nathaniel Pope, wanted more, and lobbied to have the boundary moved further north. The final bill passed by Congress included an amendment to shift the border to 42° 30′ north, which is approximately 51 miles (82 km) north of the Indiana northern border. This shift added 8,500 square miles (22,000 km