Information On Illinois

lt;/ref> | Languages English (80.8%)
Spanish (10.9%)
Polish (1.6%)
Other (6.7%)lt;/ref> | Map Map_of_USA_IL.svg | Capital Springfield, Illinois | LargestCity Chicago | LargestMetro Chicago metropolitan area | Governor Pat Quinn (politician) (D) | Lieutenant Governor vacant | Legislature Illinois General Assembly | Upperhouse Illinois Senate | Lowerhouse Illinois House of Representatives | Senators Dick Durbin (D)
Roland Burris (D) |Representative12 Democrats, 7 Republicans | PostalAbbreviation IL, Ill., | BorderingStates Indiana Iowa Kentucky lt;br />Missouri Wisconsin | AreaRank 25th | TotalAreaUS 57,918 | TotalArea 140,998 | LandAreaUS 55,593 | LandArea 143,968 | WaterAreaUS 2,325 | WaterArea 61,030 | PCWater 4.0/ Negligible | PopRank 5th | 2000Pop (old) 12,831,970http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFFacts?_event&geo_id04000US17&_geoContext01000US%7C04000US17&_street&_county&_cityTown&_state04000US17&_zip&_langen&_sseon&ActiveGeoDiv&_useEV&pctxtfph&pgsl040&_submenuIdfactsheet_1&ds_nameACS_2006_SAFF&_ci_nbrnull&qr_namenull®null%3Anull&_keyword&_industry] U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Demographic Profile Highlights || 2000Pop 12,910,409 (2009 est.)lt;/ref> | DensityRank 12th | 2000DensityUS 223.4 | 2000Density 86.27 | MedianHouseholdIncome $54,124lt;/ref> | IncomeRank 17 | AdmittanceOrder 21st | AdmittanceDate December 3, 1818 | TimeZone Central Time Zone (Americas) Coordinated Universal Time 6/Daylight saving time | Latitude 36° 58′ N to 42° 30′ N | Longitude 87° 30′ W to 91° 31′ W | WidthUS 210 | Width 340 | LengthUS 395 | Length 629 | HighestPoint Charles Mound lt;ref name"usgs">lt;/ref> | HighestElevUS 1,235 | HighestElev 377 | MeanElevUS 600 | MeanElev 182 | LowestPoint Mississippi River lt;ref name"usgs"/> | LowestElevUS 279 | LowestElev 85 | ISOCode US-IL | Website www.illinois.gov }} Popcorn | Fossil Tullimonstrum gregarium | Gemstone | Instrument | Mineral Fluorite | Poem The Death Poem | StateRock | Shell | Ships | Slogan "Land of Lincoln" | Soil Loam | Song Illinois (state song) | Sport | Tartan | Toy | Route Marker Illinois 19.svg|300px | Quarter 2003 IL Proof.png|100px|Illinois quarter | QuarterReleaseDate 2003 }} Illinois (i-}), is the fifth-most populous U.S. state of the United States and is often noted for being a Macrocosm and microcosm of the entire country.lt;/ref> It is the most populous state in the Midwestern United States however with 65% of its residents living in the Chicago metropolitan area most of the state has either a rural or a small town character. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and western Illinois, and natural resource like coal, timber, and petroleum in the south, Illinois has a broad economic base. Illinois is an important transportation hub; the Port of Chicago connects the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River via the Illinois River As the "most average state",lt;/ref> Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in Will it play in Peoria? lt;ref name"so" /> and swing states though the latter has not really been true since the early 1970s. In the 1810s settlers began arriving from Kentucky Illinois achieved List of U.S. states by date of statehood in 1818.Chicago was founded in the 1830s on the banks of the Chicago River one of the few natural harbors on southern Lake Michigan "Chicagos Front Door: Chicago Harbor." A digital exhibit published online by the Chicago Public Library http://www.chipublib.org/digital/lake/CFDHarbor.html]. Retrieved October 20, 2007. Rail transport and John Deere s invention of the self-scouring plough turned Illinois rich prairie into some of the worlds most productive and valuable farmlands, attracting immigration farmers from German American and Swedish American By 1900 the growth of industrial jobs in the northern cities and coal mining in the central and southern areas attracted immigrants from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe Its manufacturing made the state a major arsenal in both world war . The Great Migration (African American) of African Americans from the rural South to Chicago, established a History of African Americans in Chicago that created the citys famous jazz and blues cultures. Three President of the United States have been elected while living in IllinoisAbraham Lincoln]], Ulysses S. Grant and Barack Obama However, only President Ronald Reagan grew up in the state; he was born in Tampico, Illinois and raised in Dixon, Illinois Lincoln is the only president buried in Illinois; he is interred at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield. Today, Illinois honors Lincoln with official state slogan, Land of Lincoln which is displayed on its Vehicle registration plates of Illinois http://www.museum.state.il.us/exhibits/symbols/slogan.html

Name

"Illinois" is the modern spelling for the early French missionary/explorers name for the Illinois people, a name that was spelled in many different ways in the early records.Fay, J. (2009) Eriniouaj.Retrieved October 21, 2009 from http://www.illinoisprairie.info/Eriniouaj.htm. The name "Illinois" has traditionally been said to mean "man" or "men" in the Miami-Illinois language with the original iliniwektransformed via French language into Illinois.lt;/ref>lt;/ref> However, this etymology is not supported by the Illinois language itself, in which the word for man is ireniwaand plural man is ireniwaki The name Illiniwekhas also been said to mean "tribe of superior men".lt;/ref>, though this is nothing more than a folk etymology In fact the name "Illinois" derives from the Miami-Illinois verb irenwe·wa "he speaks the regular way". This was then taken into the Ojibwe language perhaps in the Ottawa language and modified into ilinwe·(pluralized as ilinwe·k. These forms were then borrowed into French, where the /we/ ending acquired the spelling -ois The current form, Illinois began to appear in the early 1670s. The Illinoiss name for themselves, as attested in all three of the French missionary-period dictionaries of Illinois, was Inoka of unknown meaning and unrelated to the other terms.lt;/ref>lt;/ref>

History

Pre-European

Image:Coloredcopperplatesillinoismoundbuilders.png Indigenous peoples lived along the waterways of the Illinois area for thousands of years. The Koster Site has been excavated and demonstrated 7,000 years of continuous habitation. Cahokia the largest regional chiefdom and Urban Center of the Pre-Columbian era Mississippian culture was located near present-day Collinsville, Illinois They built more than 100 mounds and a Woodhenge in a planned design expressing the cultures cosmology. The civilization vanished in the 15th century for unknown reasons, but historians and archeologists have speculated that the people depleted the area of resources. The next major power in the region was the Illinois Confederation or Illini, a political alliance among several tribes. There were about 25,000 Illinois Indians in 1700, but systematic attacks and warfare by the Iroquois reduced their numbers by 90%.Frederick E. Hoxie, Encyclopedia of North American Indians(1996) 266-7, 506 Gradually, members of the Potawatomi Miami tribe Sac (people) and other tribes came in from the east and north. In the American Revolution the Illinois and Potawatomi supported the American colonists cause.

European exploration

Image:Illinois 1718.jpg lt;/ref>]] France explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet explored the Illinois River in 1673. In 1680, other French explorers constructed a fort at the site of present day Peoria, Illinois and in 1682, a fort atop Starved Rock in todays Starved Rock State Park As a result of this French exploration, Illinois was part of the French empire until 1763, when it passed to the United Kingdom The small French settlements continued; a few British soldiers were posted in Illinois, but there were no British or American settlers. In 1778, George Rogers Clark claimed the Illinois Country for Colony of Virginia The area was ceded by Virginia to the new United States in 1783 and became part of the Northwest Territory lt;/ref>

19th century

The Illinois-Wabash Company was an early claimant to much of Illinois. The Illinois Territory was created on February 3, 1809, with its capital at Kaskaskia, Illinois In 1818, Illinois became the 21st U.S. state. The new state debated slavery, finally rejecting it, as settlers poured into southern Illinois from Kentucky. Due to the efforts of Nathaniel Pope the delegate from Illinois, Congress shifted the northern border north to 42° 30 north, which added to the state, including Chicago, Galena, Illinois and the lead mining region. The capital remained at Kaskaskia, but in 1819 was moved to Vandalia, Illinois In 1832, the Black Hawk War was fought in Illinois and current day Wisconsin between the United States and the Sauk Fox and Kickapoo people Indian tribes. The Indians withdrew to Iowa when they attempted to return, they were defeated by U.S. militia and forced back to Iowa. The winter of 1830–1831 is called the "Winter of the Deep Snow"; a sudden, deep snowfall blanketed the state, making travel impossible for the rest of the winter, and many travelers perished. Several severe winters followed, including the "Winter of the Sudden Freeze". On December 20, 1836, a fast-moving cold front passed through, freezing puddles in minutes and killing many travelers who could not reach shelter. The adverse weather resulted in crop failures in the northern part of the state. The southern part of the state shipped food north and this may have contributed to its name: "Southern Illinois , after the Bible story of Joseph in Egypt supplying grain to his brothers.Duff, Judge Andrew D. http://www.springhousemagazine.com/egypt2.htm Egypt]. Republished, Springhouse Magazine accessed May 1, 2006. By 1839, the Mormon utopian city of Nauvoo, Illinois located on the Mississippi River, was created, settled, and flourished. In 1844, the Mormon leader Joseph Smith, Jr. was murdered in the Carthage, Illinois jail. After close to six years of rapid development, the Mormon city of Nauvoo, which rivaled Chicago as Illinois largest city, saw a rapid decline after the Mormons left Illinois in 1846 for the West in a mass exodus. The state has a varied history in relation to slavery and the treatment of African American in general. Some slave labor was used before it became a territory, but slavery was banned by the time Illinois became a state in 1818. As the southern part of the state, known as "Little Egypt", was largely settled by migrants from Southern United States the section was sympathetic to the South and slave labor. For a while, the section continued to allow settlers to bring slaves with them for labor, but citizens were opposed to allowing blacks as permanent residents. The Illinois Constitution of 1848 was written with a provision for exclusionary laws to be passed. In 1853, John A. Logan later a Union general in the American Civil War introduced such bills. Laws were passed to prohibit all African Americans, including Freedman from settling in the state.James Pickett Jones, Black Jack: John A. Logan and Southern Illinois in the Civil War Era1967 ISBN 0-8093-2002-9. Chicago gained prominence as a Great Lakes port and then as an Illinois and Michigan Canal port after 1848, and as a rail hub soon afterward. By 1857, Chicago was Illinois largest city. With the tremendous growth of mines and factories in the state in the 19th century, Illinois played an important role in the formation of labor unions in the United States The Pullman Strike and Haymarket affair in particular greatly influenced the development of the American labour movement From Sunday, October 8, 1871, until Tuesday, October 10, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire burned in downtown Chicago, destroying Roland Tweet, Miss Gales Books: The Beginnings of the Rock Island Public Library, (Rock Island, IL: Rock Island Public Library, 1997), 15. In 1847, after lobbying by Dorothea Dix Illinois became one of the first states to establish a system of state-supported treatment of mental illness and disabilities, replacing local almshouse .

Civil War

During the American Civil War over 250,000 Illinois men served in the Union Army a figure surpassed by only New York Pennsylvania and Ohio Beginning with President Abraham Lincoln s first call for troops and continuing throughout the war, Illinois mustered 150 infantry regiments, which were numbered from the 7th to the 156th regiments. Seventeen cavalry regiments were also gathered, as well as two light artillery regiments.Illinois in the Civil War. http://www.illinoiscivilwar.org/units_num.html Illinois Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery Units]. Retrieved November 26, 2006.

Twentieth century

In the 20th century, Illinois emerged as one of the most important states in the union, with a population of nearly 5 million bolstered by continued immigration from southern and eastern Europe, and by African-Americans from Mississippi Louisiana and Arkansas By the end of the century, the population would reach 12.4 million. The Century of Progress Expo (exhibition) was held at Chicago in 1933. Oil strikes in Marion County, Illinois and Crawford County, Illinois lead to a boom in 1937, and, by 1939, Illinois ranked fourth in U.S. oil production. Following World War II Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago, activated the first experimental nuclear power generating system in the United States in 1957. By 1960, the first privately financed nuclear plant in United States, Dresden 1, was dedicated near Morris. Chicago became an ocean port with the opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway in 1959. The seaway and the Illinois Waterway connected Chicago to both the Mississippi River and Atlantic Ocean In 1960, Ray Kroc opened the first McDonald's franchise in Des Plaines, Illinois (which still exists today as a museum, with a working McDonalds across the street). In 1970, the states sixth constitutional convention authored a new constitution to replace the 1870 version, which was ratified in December. The first Farm Aid concert was held in Champaign to benefit American farmers, in 1985. The worst upper Mississippi River flood of the century, the Great Flood of 1993 inundated many towns and thousands of acres of farmland. It also flooded many homes and streets slowing transportational services.

Geography

Image:National-atlas-illinois.png The Northeastern border of Illinois is Lake Michigan Its eastern border with Indiana is the Wabash River and a north-south line above Vincennes, Indiana 87°1′0″ west longitude. Its northern border with Wisconsin is fixed at 42°0 north latitude. Its western border with Missouri and Iowa is the Mississippi River Its southern border is with Kentucky and runs along the northern shoreline of the Ohio River Illinois also borders Michigan but only via a water boundary in Lake Michigan.lt;/ref> Though Illinois lies entirely in the Interior Plains it has three major geographical divisions. The first is Northern Illinois dominated by the Chicago metropolitan area including the city of Chicago its suburbs, and the adjoining exurban area into which the metropolis is expanding. As defined by the federal government, the Chicago metro area includes a few counties in Indiana and Wisconsin and stretches across much of northeastern Illinois. It is a cosmopolitan city, densely populated, industrialized, and settled by a wide variety of ethnic groups. The city of Rockford, Illinois the fourth largest metropolitan area and the states third largest city sits along Interstates Interstate 39 and Interstate 90 some northwest of Chicago. Southward and westward, the second major division is Central Illinois an area of mostly prairie Known as the Heart of Illinois, it is characterized by small towns and mid-sized cities. The western section (west of the Illinois River) was originally part of the Military Tract of 1812 and forms the distinctive western bulge of the state. Agriculture, particularly maize and soybean , as well as educational institutions and manufacturing centers, figure prominently. Cities include Peoria, Illinois the third largest metropolitan area in Illinois at 370,000; Springfield, Illinois the state capital (political) Quincy, Illinois Decatur, Illinois Bloomington-Normal, Illinois and Champaign, Illinois Urbana, Illinois The Illinois Quad Cities as of 2009, had a population of 379,066 and is almost at the same latitude as Chicago. They are sometimes grouped in Central Illinois due to economic, political, and cultural ties to this region. This population actually makes it the third largest metropolitan area in Illinois. However, since its area spans two states, namely Illinois and Iowa, it is not usually considered the third largest metropolitan area. The third division is Southern Illinois comprising the area south of U.S. Route 50 and including Southern Illinois near the juncture of the Mississippi River and Ohio River This region can be distinguished from the other two by its warmer climate, different variety of crops (including some cotton farming in the past), more rugged topography (the southern tip is unglaciated with the remainder glaciated during the Illinoian (stage) and earlier ages), as well as small-scale oil deposits and coal mining. The area is a little more populated than the central part of the state with the population centered in two areas. First, the Illinois suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri comprise the second most populous metropolitan area in Illinois with nearly 600,000 inhabitants, and are known collectively as the Metro-East The second area is Williamson County, Illinois Jackson County, Illinois Franklin County, Illinois Saline County, Illinois and Perry County, Illinois It is home to around 210,000 residents and is known collectively as Metro Lakeland The region outside of the Chicago Metropolitan area is often described as "downstate Illinois". However, residents of central and southern Illinois view their regions as geographically and culturally distinct, and do not necessarily use this term. In extreme northwestern Illinois, the Driftless Area a region of unglaciated and therefore higher and more rugged topography, occupies a small part of the state. Charles Mound located in this region, has the states highest elevation above sea level at 1,235 feet (376 m). The highest structure in Illinois is Willis Tower with a roof elevation of approximately above sea level. Chicago elevation (580 ft) + tower height (1454 ft) 2034.] The floodplain on the Mississippi River from Alton, Illinois to the Kaskaskia River is the American Bottom and is the site of the ancient city of Cahokia It was a region of early German settlement, as well as the site of the first state capital, at Kaskaskia, Illinois which is separated from the rest of the state by the Mississippi River.lt;/ref> A portion of southeastern Illinois is part of the extended Evansville, Indiana Metro Area, commonly referred to as the Tri-State with Indiana and Kentucky. Seven Illinois counties are in the area.

Climate

Because of its nearly length and mid-continental situation, Illinois has a widely varying climate. Most of Illinois has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa, with hot, humid summers and cold winters. The southernmost part of the state, from about Carbondale, Illinois southward, borders on a humid subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa, with more moderate winters. Average yearly precipitation for Illinois varies from just over at the southern tip to around in the northern portion of the state. Normal annual snowfall exceeds in the Chicago area, while the southern portion of the state normally receives less than http://www.sws.uiuc.edu/atmos/statecli/index.htm Illinois State Climatologist Office]. http://www.sws.uiuc.edu/atmos/statecli/Mapsv2/mapsv2.htm Climate Maps for Illinois]. Retrieved April 22, 2006. The all time high temperature was recorded on 14 July 1954, at East St. Louis, Illinois while the all time low temperature was recorded on 5 January 1999, at Congerville, Illinois lt;/ref> Illinois averages around 51 days of thunderstorm activity a year, which ranks somewhat above average in the number of thunderstorm days for the United States. Illinois is vulnerable to tornadoes with an average of 35 occurring annually, which puts much of the state at around five tornadoes per annually."http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/img/climate/research/tornado/small/avgt5304.gif Annual average number of tornadoes, 1953–2004]", NOAA National Climatic Data Center. Retrieved on October 24, 2006. The deadliest tornadoes on record in the nation have occurred largely in Illinois. The Tri-State Tornado of 1925 killed 695 people in three states, 613 of whom lived in Illinois.lt;/ref> Though this figure can be attributed to the historically higher population of Illinois compared to neighboring states (past to present) as well as modern developments in storm tracking, death tolls due to tornadoes have dramatically declined. | class"wikitable" align"center" "text-align:center;font-size:90%;"colspan"13" style"text-align:center;font-size:120%;background:#E8EAFA;"|Monthly Normal High and Low Temperatures For Various Illinois Cities |- ! style"background:#e5afaa; color:#000; height:17px;"| City ! style"background:#e5afaa; color:#000;"| Jan ! style"background:#e5afaa; color:#000;"| Feb ! style"background:#e5afaa; color:#000;"| Mar ! style"background:#e5afaa; color:#000;"| Apr ! style"background:#e5afaa; color:#000;"| May ! style"background:#e5afaa; color:#000;"| Jun ! style"background:#e5afaa; color:#000;"| Jul ! style"background:#e5afaa; color:#000;"| Aug ! style"background:#e5afaa; color:#000;"| Sep ! style"background:#e5afaa; color:#000;"| Oct ! style"background:#e5afaa; color:#000;"| Nov ! style"background:#e5afaa; color:#000;"| Dec |- ! style"background:#c5dfe1; color:#000; height:16px;"| Cairo"http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USIL0168 Average Weather for Cairo, IL]",weather.com | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 41/25 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 47/29 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 57/39 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 69/50 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 77/58 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 86/67 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 90/71 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 88/69 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 81/61 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 71/49 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 57/39 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 46/30 |- ! style"background:#f8f3ca; color:#000; height:16px;"| Chicago"http://www.ustravelweather.com/weather-illinois/chicago-weather.asp Chicago Weather]", ustravelweather.com | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 30/16 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 36/21 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 47/30 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 59/40 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 71/51 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 81/61 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 85/65 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 83/65 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 75/57 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 64/45 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 48/34 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 36/22 |- ! style"background:#c5dfe1; color:#000; height:16px;"| Edwardsville"http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/62025?from36hr_bottomnav_business]",weather.com | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 36/19 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 42/24 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 52/34 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 64/45 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 75/55 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 84/64 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 89/69 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 86/66 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 79/58 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 68/46 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 53/35 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 41/25 |- ! style"background:#f8f3ca; color:#000; height:16px;"| Moline"http://www.ustravelweather.com/weather-illinois/moline-weather.asp Moline Weather]", ustravelweather.com | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 30/12 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 36/18 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 48/29 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 62/39 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 73/50 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 83/60 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 86/64 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 84/62 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 76/53 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 64/42 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 48/30 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 34/18 |- ! style"background:#c5dfe1; color:#000; height:16px;"| Peoria"http://www.ustravelweather.com/weather-illinois/peoria-weather.asp Peoria Weather]", ustravelweather.com | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 31/14 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 37/20 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 49/30 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 62/40 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 73/51 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 82/60 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 86/65 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 84/63 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 77/54 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 64/42 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 49/31 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 36/20 |- ! style"background:#f8f3ca; color:#000; height:16px;"| Rockford"http://www.ustravelweather.com/weather-illinois/rockford-weather.asp Rockford Weather]", ustravelweather.com | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 27/11 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 33/16 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 46/27 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 59/37 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 71/48 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 80/58 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 83/63 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 81/61 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 74/52 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 62/40 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 46/29 | style"text-align:center; background:#f8f3ca; color:#000;"| 32/17 |- ! style"background:#c5dfe1; color:#000; height:16px;"| Springfield"http://www.ustravelweather.com/weather-illinois/springfield-weather.asp Springfield Weather]", ustravelweather.com | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 33/17 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 39/22 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 51/32 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 63/42 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 74/53 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 83/62 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 86/66 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 84/64 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 78/55 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 67/44 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 51/34 | style"text-align:center; background:#c5dfe1; color:#000;"| 38/23 |}

Demographics

Image:Illinois population map.png Map]] As of 2008, Illinois has an estimated population of 12,901,563, which is an increase of 75,754 from the prior year and an increase of 481,903 or 3.9%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 644,967 people; that is, 1,505,709 births minus 860,742 deaths and a decrease due to the net migration of 159,182 people out of the state. International Immigration to the United States to the state resulted in an increase of 425,893 people and domestic migration produced a loss of 585,075 people.lt;/ref> As of the 2007 estimates from the United States Census Bureau there were 1,768,518 foreign-born inhabitants of the state or 13.8% of the population, with 48.4% from Latin America 24.6% from Asia 22.8% from Europe 2.9% from Africa 1.2% from Northern America and 0.2% from Oceania Of the foreign-born population, 43.7% were United States nationality law and 56.3% were not U.S. citizens.lt;/ref> Additionally, the racial distributions were as follows: 65.0% White American 15.0% African American 14.9% Hispanic and Latino Americans 4.3% Asian American 0.3% Native Americans in the United States and Alaska Natives and 0.1% Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islander American lt;/ref> In 2007, 6.9% of Illinois population was reported as being under age 5, 24.9% under age 18 and 12.1% were age 65 and over. Females made up approximately 50.7% of the population. According to the 2007 estimates, 21.1% of the population had German American ancestry, 13.3% had Irish American ancestry, 7.9% had Polish American ancestry, 6.7% had English American ancestry, 6.4% had Italian American ancestry, 4.6% listed themselves as American (word) 2.4% had Swedish American ancestry, 2.2% had French American ancestry, other than Basque people 1.6% had Dutch American ancestry, 1.4% had Norwegian American ancestry and 1.3% had Scottish American ancestry. Also, 21.8% of the population age 5 years and over reported speaking a language other than English language with 12.8% of the population speaking Spanish language 5.6% speaking other Indo-European languages 2.5% speaking Languages of Asia and Austronesian languages and 0.8% speaking other languages. At the northern edge of the state on Lake Michigan lies Chicago, the nations third largest city. In 2000, 23.3% of the population lived in the city of Chicago, 43.3% in Cook County and 65.6% in the counties of the Chicago metropolitan area Will, DuPage, Kane, Lake and McHenry counties, as well as Cook County. The remaining population lives in the smaller cities and rural areas that dot the states plains. As of 2000, the states center of population was at located in Grundy County, Illinois northeast of the village of Mazon, Illinois lt;/ref> | class"infobox" style"text-align:center; width:22em; margin-right:10px; font-size:88%; line-height:1.5em;" ! colspan"8" style"padding:0.3em 0; line-height:1.2em; background:#f5f5f5;" | Leading population centers |- style"background:#f5f5f5;" ! Rank ! City ! Populationlt;/ref> ! Counties in Illinois ! rowspan"9" |
File:Chicago3 SvG.jpg lt;br />Chicago lt;br />
File:Downtown Springfield.JPG lt;br />Springfield, Illinois lt;br>(State Capital) |- | style"background:#f0f0f0; text-align: center;" | 1 || style"text-align: left; padding-left: 10px;" | [[Chicago]] || 2,853,114 || Cook County, Illinois Dupage County, Illinois |- | style"background:#f0f0f0; text-align: center;" | 2 || style"text-align: left; padding-left: 10px;" | [[Aurora, Illinois|Aurora]] || 171,782 || Dupage County, Illinois Kane County, Illinois Will County, Illinois || |- | style"background:#f0f0f0; text-align: center;" | 3 || style"text-align: left; padding-left: 10px;" | [[Rockford, Illinois|Rockford]] || 157,272 || Winnebago, Illinois || |- | style"background:#f0f0f0; text-align: center;" | 4 || style"text-align: left; padding-left: 10px;" | [[Joliet, Illinois|Joliet]] || 146,125 || Will County, Illinois || |- | style"background:#f0f0f0; text-align: center;" | 5 || style"text-align: left; padding-left: 10px;" | [[Naperville, Illinois|Naperville]] || 143,117 || Dupage County, Illinois Will County, Illinois || |- | style"background:#f0f0f0; text-align: center;" | 6 || style"text-align: left; padding-left: 10px;" | [[Springfield, Illinois|Springfield]] || 117,352 || Sangamon County, Illinois || |- | style"background:#f0f0f0; text-align: center;" | 7 || style"text-align: left; padding-left: 10px;" | [[Peoria, Illinois|Peoria]] || 114,114 || Peoria County, Illinois || |- | style"background:#f0f0f0; text-align: center;" | 8 || style"text-align: left; padding-left: 10px;" | [[Elgin, Illinois|Elgin]] || 106,330 || Cook County, Illinois Kane County, Illinois || |- | colspan"8" style"background:#f5f5f5; text-align: center;" | based on 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates |}

Urban areas

Chicago is the largest city in the state and the List of United States cities by population in the United States with its 2008 estimated population of 2,853,114. The United States Census Bureau currently lists seven other cities with populations of over 100,000 within Illinois. Based upon the Census Bureaus official 2008 population estimates,lt;/ref> they are: Aurora, Illinois a Chicago satellite town which at 171,782, eclipsed Rockford, Illinois for the title of "Second City" of Illinois in 2006. However, at 157,272, Rockford is not only the number three city, it also remains the largest city in the state not located within the Chicago metropolitan area. Joliet, Illinois located southwest of Chicago, is the fourth largest city in the state, with a population of 146,125. It is also one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S. Naperville, Illinois a suburb of Chicago, is fifth with 143,117, it shares its western border with the states second largest city, Aurora, Illinois along Illinois Route 59 Springfield, Illinois the state capital of Illinois, comes in sixth with 117,352. Peoria, Illinois which decades ago was the second largest city in the state, comes in seventh with 114,114. The eighth largest and final city in the 100,000 club is Elgin, Illinois an outlying northwest suburb of Chicago with a 2008 estimated population of 106,330. Other major urban areas include the Illinois portion of Greater St. Louis (often called the Metro-East area), which has a population of over 691,000 people, the Illinois portion of the Quad Cities area, which has a population of 215,000, the Champaign-Urbana Metropolitan Area which has a combined population of 210,000 and the Bloomington-Normal, Illinois area with a combined population of over 125,000.

Religion

lt;/ref> }} Catholics and Protestants are the largest religious groups in Illinois. Catholic Church who are heavily concentrated in and around Chicago, account for around 30% of the population.See http://www.statemaster.com/red/graph/peo_rom_cat_per_of_cat-people-roman-catholicism-percentage-catholics&int-1&idIL Statemaster]. Retrieved 29 July 2007. Chicago and its suburbs are also home to a large and growing population of Hinduism , American Jews Muslim , Baha'i and Sikh . The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Catholic Church with 3,874,933; the United Methodist Church with 365,182; the Southern Baptist Convention with 305,838 and Judaism with 270,000.lt;/ref> Illinois played an important role in the early Latter Day Saint movement with Nauvoo, Illinois becoming a gathering place for a period in the 19th Century. Nauvoo was the location of the succession crisis which led to separations between List of sects in the Latter Day Saint movement The largest sect, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also claims the most members in Illinois at 55,460.http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/contact-us/usa-illinois

Economy

Image:ChicagoFedblgd.JPG at the heart of Chicagos financial center]] The current dollar List of U.S. states by GDP (nominal) for Illinois was estimated to be billion in 2008.lt;/ref> The states 2008 List of U.S. states by GDP per capita (nominal) was estimated to be and the states personal income in the United States was estimated to be in 2009.lt;/ref> Illinois state income tax is calculated by multiplying net income by a flat fee currently 3%.Illinois Department of Revenue. http://www.revenue.state.il.us/Businesses/TaxInformation/Income/individual.htm Individual Income Tax]. Accessed May 27, 2006. There are two rates for state sales tax 6.25% for general merchandise and 1% for qualifying food, drugs and medical appliances.Illinois Department of Revenue. http://www.revenue.state.il.us/Publications/Sales/strrm/04012008/ST-25.pdf Illinois Sales Tax Reference Manual (PDF)]. p133. January 1, 2006. The property tax is the largest single tax in Illinois, and is the major source of tax revenue for local government taxing districts. The property tax is a localnot statetax, imposed by local government taxing districts, which include counties, civil township , municipalities, school district and special taxation districts. The property tax in Illinois is imposed only on real property the states unemployment rate was 11.5%,lt;/ref> and two months later, the rate dropped to 10.8% in May.http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9GD8PI00.htm

Agriculture

Illinois agricultural outputs are maize soybean , Pig , cattle dairy product , and wheat In most years, Illinois is either the first or second state for the highest production of soybeans, with a harvest of 427.7 million bushels (11.64 million tonne ) in 2008, after Iowas production of 444.82 million bushels (12.11 million tonne .lt;/ref> Illinois ranks second in U.S. corn production with more than 1.5 billion bushels produced annually.lt;/ref> Illinois universities are actively researching alternative agricultural products as alternative crops.

Manufacturing

Illinois is one of the nations manufacturing leaders, boasting annual value added productivity by manufacturing of over $107 billion in 2006. About three-quarters of the states manufacturers are located in the Northeastern Opportunity Return Region, with 38 percent of Illinois approximately 18,900 manufacturing plants located in Cook County. As of 2006, the leading manufacturing industries in Illinois, based upon value-added, were chemical manufacturing ($18.3 billion), machinery manufacturing ($13.4 billion), food manufacturing ($12.9 billion), fabricated metal products ($11.5 billion), transportation equipment ($7.4 billion), plastics and rubber products ($7.0 billion), and computer and electronic products ($6.1 billion).lt;/ref>

Services

By the early 2000s, Illinois economy had moved toward a dependence on high-value-added services, such as financial trading, higher education law logistics and medicine In some cases, these services clustered around institutions that hearkened back to Illinois earlier economies. For example, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange a trading exchange for global derivative (finance) had begun its life as an agricultural futures exchange Other important non-manufacturing industries include publishing, tourism, and energy production and distribution.

Energy

Illinois is a net importer of fuels for energy, despite large coal resources and some minor oil production. Illinois exports electricity, ranking fifth among states in electricity production and seventh in electricity consumption."http://www.isgs.uiuc.edu/maps-data-pub/publications/energy01/globalm.shtml Illinois in the Global Energy Marketplace]", Robert Finley 2001. Illinois State Geological Survey publication.

Coal

The coal industry of Illinois has its origins in the middle nineteenth century, when entrepreneurs such as Jacob Loose discovered coal in locations such as Sangamon County Jacob Bunn contributed to the development of the Illinois coal industry, and was a founder and owner of the Western Coal & Mining Company of Illinois. About 68% of Illinois has coal bearing strata of the Pennsylvanian geologic period. According to the Illinois State Geological Survey, 211 billion tons of bituminous coal are estimated to lie under the surface, having a total heating value greater than the estimated oil deposits in the Arabian Peninsula http://www.isgs.uiuc.edu/ Illinois State Geological Survey]. http://www.isgs.illinois.edu/research/coal/illinois-coal.shtml Coal in Illinois]. Retrieved December 4, 2008. However, this coal has a high sulfur content, which causes acid rain unless special equipment is used to reduce sulfur dioxide air pollution Many Illinois Power station are not equipped to burn high-sulfur coal. In 1999, Illinois produced 40.4 million tons of coal, but only 17 million tons (42%) of Illinois coal was consumed in Illinois. Most of the coal produced in Illinois is exported to other states, while much of the coal burned for power in Illinois (21 million tons in 1998) is mined in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming Mattoon, Illinois was recently chosen as the site for the United States Department of Energy s FutureGen project, a 275 megawatt experimental zero emission coal-burning power plant which just received a second round of funding from the DOE.

Petroleum

Illinois is a leading refiner of petroleum in the American Midwest with a combined crude oil distillation capacity of nearly However, Illinois has very limited crude oil proved reserves that account for less than 1% of U.S. crude oil proved reserves. Residential heating is 81% natural gas compared to less than 1% heating oil Illinois is ranked 14th in List of oil-producing states#North America among states, with a daily output of approximately in 2005.United States Department of Energy http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/state/il.html Petroleum Profile: Illinois]. Retrieved April 4, 2006.

Nuclear power

Image:Byron Nuclear Generating Station.jpg in Ogle County, Illinois ]] Nuclear power arguably began in Illinois with the Chicago Pile-1 the worlds first artificial self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction in the worlds first nuclear reactor technology built on the University of Chicago campus There are six operating nuclear power plant in Illinois: Braidwood Nuclear Generating Station Byron Nuclear Generating Station Clinton Nuclear Generating Station Dresden Nuclear Power Plant LaSalle County Generating Station and Quad Cities Nuclear Generating Station With the exception of the single-unit Clinton plant, each of these facilities has two reactors. Three reactors have been permanently shut down and are in various stages of decommissioning: Dresden-1 and Zion Nuclear Power Station Illinois was ranked first among the 50 states both in nuclear capacity and nuclear generation. In 2007, 48% of Illinois electricity was generated using nuclear power.lt;/ref>

Wind power

File:Illinois wind resource map 50m 800.jpg Illinois has seen growing interest in the use of wind power for electrical generation."Illinois Wind." Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs, Western Illinois University http://www.illinoiswind.org/index.asp Illinoiswind.com] Most of Illinois was rated in 2009 as "marginal or fair" for wind energy production by the U.S. Department of Energy with some western sections rated "good" and parts of the south rated "poor".lt;/ref> These ratings are for wind turbines with hub heights; newer wind turbines are taller, enabling them to reach wind profile power law As a result, more areas of Illinois have become prospective wind farm sites. As of September 2009, Illinois had 1116.06 megawatt of installed wind power nameplate capacity with another 741.9 MW under construction.lt;/ref> Illinois ranked ninth among U.S. states in installed wind power capacity, and sixteenth by potential capacity. Large wind farm in Illinois include Twin Groves Wind Farm Rail Splitter Wind Farm Acciona Energy and Mendota Hills Wind Farm As of 2007, wind energy represented only 1.7% of Illinois energy production, and it was estimated that wind power could provide 5-10% of the states energy needs.http://environmentalalmanac.blogspot.com/2006/09/wind-power-on-illinois-horizon.html "Wind Power on the Illinois Horizon"], Rob Kanter, September 14, 2006. University of Illinois Environmental Council.lt;/ref> Also, the Illinois General Assembly mandated in 2007 that by 2025, 25% of all electricity generated in Illinois is to come from renewable resource .lt;/ref>

Biofuels

Illinois is ranked second in maize production among U.S. states, and Illinois corn is used to produce 40% of the ethanol consumed in the United States. The Archer Daniels Midland corporation in Decatur, Illinois is the worlds leading producer of ethanol from corn. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the partners in the Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI), a $500 million biofuels research project funded by petroleum giant BP "http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId2012968&contentId7018719 BP Pledges $500 Million for Energy Biosciences Institute and Plans New Business to Exploit Research]", BP.com, June 14, 2006."http://www.illinois.gov/PressReleases/ShowPressRelease.cfm?SubjectID2&RecNum5690 Gov. Blagojevich joins Gov. Schwarzenegger, top BP executives to celebrate launch of $500 million biosciences energy research partnership with University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, UC-Berkeley]". Press release, Illinois.gov. February 1, 2007.

Arts and culture

Museums

Illinois has numerous museums. The state of the art Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield is the largest presidential library in the country; numerous museums in the city of Chicago are considered some of the best in the world. These include the Shedd Aquarium the Field Museum of Natural History the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago)

Music

Illinois is a leader in music education having hosted the Midwest Clinic: An International Band and Orchestra Conference since 1946, as well being home to the Illinois Music Educators Association (IMEA), one of the largest professional music educators organizations in the country. Each summer since 2004, Southern Illinois University Carbondale has played host to the Southern Illinois Music Festival, which presents dozens of performances throughout the region. Past featured artists include the Eroica Trio and violinist David Kim

Sports

File:Soldier field 2006.jpg Chicago ] Because of its large population, Chicago is the focus of most professional sports in Illinois, though Sports in St. Louis, Missouri and Sports in Indianapolis are also supported in areas of the state in closer proximity to those cities. The state houses two Major League Baseball teams. The Chicago Cubs of the National League play in the second-oldest major league stadium (Wrigley Field and are widely known for not winning the World Series since 1908 World Series The Chicago White Sox of the American League won the World Series in 2005 World Series their first since 1917 World Series The Chicago Bears football team has won nine total List of NFL champions the last occurring in Super Bowl XX in 1986. Coincidentally, the citys Arena Football League (2010) team, the Chicago Rush won ArenaBowl XX in 2006. The Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association is one of the most recognized basketball in the world, due largely to the efforts of Michael Jordan who led the team to six NBA championships in eight seasons in the 1990s. The Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League began playing in 1926–27 NHL season as a member of the Original Six and have won four Stanley Cup , most recently in 2009-10 NHL season (after one of the longest Stanley Cup droughts of any NHL team, not having won since 1960–61 NHL season . The Chicago Fire (soccer) soccer club is a member of Major League Soccer and is one of the leagues most successful and best-supported, since its founding in 1997, winning one league and four Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in that timespan. The Chicago Wolves is an American Hockey League team that is also very popular and has been a winning team since its first season. The Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association and the Chicago Bandits of the National Pro Fastpitch who won their first title in 2008, are also located in the city. In 2009, the Chicago Red Stars played their first seaon in Women's Professional Soccer The city was formerly home to several other teams, such as the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League the Chicago Cougars of the World Hockey Association the Chicago Rockers of the Continental Basketball Association the Las Vegas Rattlers of the American Basketball Association (2000–present) the Chicago Bruisers of the Arena Football League (1987–2008) the Chicago Blitz of the United States Football League the Chicago Sting of the Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) the Chicago Power of the National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) and the Chicago Blaze (basketball) of the National Women's Basketball League Chicago is not the only place in Illinois where professional sports are played. The Rockford Lightning is one of the oldest Continental Basketball Association teams in the league. The Peoria Chiefs and Kane County Cougars are minor league baseball teams affiliated with MLB. The Schaumburg Flyers and Joliet JackHammers are members of the Northern League (baseball) and the Southern Illinois Miners belong to the Frontier League In addition to the Chicago Wolves, the AHL also has two teams in Illinois outside of Chicago: the Rockford IceHogs serves as the AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks, and the Peoria Rivermen is the AHL affiliate of the St. Louis Blues (ice hockey) Illinois has a long tradition of motor racing Oval tracks at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois the Chicago Motor Speedway in Cicero, Illinois and the Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois near St. Louis, have hosted NASCAR CART and Indy Racing League races, whereas the Sports Car Club of America among other national and regional road racing clubs, have visited the Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, the Blackhawk Farms Raceway in South Beloit, Illinois and the former Meadowdale International Raceway in Carpentersville, Illinois Illinois also has several Short track motor racing and dragstrip . The dragstrip at Gateway International Raceway and the Route 66 Raceway which sits on the same property as the Chicagoland Speedway, both host NHRA drag races.

Parks and recreation

The Illinois state parks system began in 1908 with what is now Fort Massac State Park, becoming the first park in a system encompassing over 60 parks and about the same number of recreational and wildlife areas. Areas under the protection and control of the National Park Service include: the Illinois and Michigan Canal near Lockport, Illinois lt;/ref> the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail the Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield; the Mormon Trail the Trail of Tears and the American Discovery Trail lt;/ref>

Government

Under its constitution, Illinois has three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial. Legislative functions are granted to the Illinois General Assembly composed of the 118-member Illinois House of Representatives and the 59-member Illinois Senate The executive branch is led by the Governor of Illinois but four other executive officials are separately elected by the people. The judiciary is composed of the Supreme Court of Illinois and the lower appellate court and Illinois Circuit Courts Wikisource s:Illinois Constitution of 1818

Politics

Image:Illinoiscapitol.jpg in Springfield is taller than the dome on the United States Capitol ]] Historically, Illinois was a major battleground state between the Republican Party (United States) and the Democratic Party (United States) In recent elections, it has gradually shifted more Democratic at the national and state level and has become a solid Democratic state in the Midwest. Chicago and most of Cook County votes strongly Democratic. In addition, Democratic voters have moved to the traditionally Republican "collar counties" (the suburbs surrounding Chicagos Cook County, Illinois , which are becoming increasingly diverse.lt;/ref>lt;/ref> Republicans continue to prevail in rural northern and central Illinois; Conservative values are strong in southern Illinois outside of the East St. Louis, Illinois metropolitan area. Illinois has voted for Democratic presidential candidates in the last five elections. Barack Obama easily won the states 21 electoral votes in 2008, by a margin of 25 percentage points with 61.9% of the vote. Politics in the state, particularly those of the Cook County Democratic Organization have been famous for highly visible corruption cases, as well as for crusading reformers, such as governors Adlai Stevenson (D) and James R. Thompson (R). In 2006, former Governor George Ryan (R) was convicted of racketeering and bribery. In 2008, then-Governor Rod Blagojevich (D) was served a criminal complaint on corruption charges, stemming from allegations that he conspired to sell the vacated Senate seat left by President Barack Obama (D) to the highest bidder. In the late 20th century, Congressman Dan Rostenkowski (D) was imprisoned for mail fraud; former governor and federal judge Otto Kerner, Jr. (D) was imprisoned for bribery; and State Auditor of Public Accounts (Comptroller) Orville Hodge (R) was imprisoned for embezzlement. In 1912, William Lorimer, the GOP boss of Chicago, was expelled from the U.S. Senate for bribery and in 1921, Governor Len Small (R) was found to have defrauded the state of a million dollars.lt;/ref> Since 1789, only six African-Americans have served in the United States Senate, and half of them represented Illinois: Carol Moseley Braun Barack Obama http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/history/h_multi_sections_and_teasers/Photo_Exhibit_African_American_Senators.htm U.S. Senate: Art & History Home] and Roland Burris who was appointed to replace Obama after his election to the presidency. Three presidents have claimed Illinois as their political base: former Representative of Illinois's 7th congressional district Abraham Lincoln (born in Kentucky , former General Ulysses S. Grant (born in Ohio , and the current President of the United States former Illinois U.S. Senator Barack Obama (born in Honolulu Hawaii . Ronald Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois raised in Dixon, Illinois and educated at Eureka College but moved to Los Angeles as a young man and later became Governor of California Former Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson was the Democratic nominee for president in 1952 and 1956.

Law enforcement

In 2000, Illinois was ranked 4th in the U.S. in the number of full-time law enforcement officer with 321 per 100,000 persons, behind Louisiana (415), New York (384), and New Jersey (345).lt;/ref> In this ranking, only New York had a higher total population than Illinois. Illinois is also near the top of most law enforcement numbers lists, such as number of agencies per state, number of agencies with special jurisdictions, and number of local police agencies. Even taking into account that Illinois is the fifth most populous state, many of the ratios are higher than more populated states. There is much overlap in jurisdiction amongst the different law enforcement agencies. At the state level, there are at least eleven law enforcement agencies. At the county level, there are Sheriffs in the United States List of law enforcement agencies in Illinois#County Forest Preserve Police Departments and other Police in the United States#Other forces. At the local level, most cities and many villages have Law enforcement in the United States#Municipal forces, List of law enforcement agencies in Illinois#Park District Police Agencies forces, and even local specialized police forces. Many colleges also have their own campus police that are often sworn police officers.

Education

Illinois State Board of Education

The Illinois State Board of Education or ISBE, autonomous of the governor and the state legislature, administers public education in the state. Local municipalities and their respective school district operate individual public schools but the ISBE audits performance of public schools with the Illinois School Report Card The ISBE also makes recommendations to state leaders concerning education spending and policies.

Primary and secondary schools

Education is compulsory from kindergarten through the twelfth grade in Illinois, commonly but not exclusively divided into three tiers of primary education and secondary education elementary school middle school or Middle school and high school District territories are often complex in structure. In some cases, elementary, middle and junior high schools of a single district feed into high schools in another district.

Colleges and universities

Using the criterion established by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching there are eleven "National Universities" in the state. five of these rank in the "first tier" (that is, the top quartile) among the top 50 National Universities in the United States, as determined by the [[U.S. News & World Report]]rankings: the University of Chicago (8), Northwestern University (12), the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (39), Illinois Institute of Technology (106), and Loyola University Chicago (119).lt;/ref>. Illinois also has more than 20 additional Educational accreditation four-year universities, both public and private, and dozens of small liberal arts college across the state. Additionally, Illinois supports 49 public community college in the Illinois Community College System

Infrastructure

Transportation

Image:CurrentIllinoisPlate.gif introduced in 2001.]] Because of its central location and its proximity to the Rust Belt and Grain Belt Illinois is a national crossroads for air, auto, rail and truck traffic. Chicagos O'Hare International Airport (ORD) is one of the busiest airports in the world, with 59.3 million domestic passengers annually, along with 11.4 million international passengers in 2008.lt;/ref> It is a major airline hub for United Airlines and American Airlines and a major airport expansion project is currently underway. Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) is the secondary airport in the Chicago metropolitan area, a major hub for Southwest Airlines It served 17.3 million domestic and international passengers in 2008.lt;/ref> Illinois has an extensive passenger and freight rail transport tion network. Chicago is a national Amtrak hub and in-state passengers are served by Amtraks Illinois Service featuring the Chicago to Carbondale Illini (Amtrak) and Saluki (Amtrak) the Chicago to Quincy Carl Sandburg (Amtrak) and [[Illinois Zephyr]] and the Chicago to St. Louis [[Lincoln Service]] Currently there is trackwork on the Chicago-St. Louis line to bring the maximum speed up to which would reduce the trip time by an hour and a half. Nearly every North American railway meets at Chicago, making it one of the largest and most active rail hubs in the world. Extensive commuter rail is provided in the city proper and some immediate suburbs by the Chicago Transit Authority s Chicago 'L' system. The largest suburban commuter rail system in the United States, operated by Metra uses existing rail lines to provide direct commuter rail access for hundreds of suburbs to the city and beyond. Major U.S. Interstate highways crossing the state include: Interstate 24 Interstate 39 Interstate 55 Interstate 57 Interstate 64 Interstate 70 Interstate 72 Interstate 74 Interstate 80 Interstate 88 (west) Interstate 90 and Interstate 94 Its central location is the reason that Illinois carries the distinction of having the most primary (2-digit) Interstates pass through it among the 50 states. In addition to the states rail lines, the Mississippi River and Illinois River provide major transportation routes for the states agricultural interests. Lake Michigan gives Illinois access to the Atlantic Ocean by way of the Saint Lawrence Seaway

Bibliography

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See also

References

External links

* * * http://www.enjoyillinois.com Illinois Bureau of Tourism official website] * http://www.usgs.gov/state/state.asp?StateIL Illinois: Science In Your Backyard]USGS * http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/Illinois Illinois State Agency Databases]compiled by the Government Documents Round Table (GODORT) of the American Library Association * http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/state_energy_profiles.cfm?sidIL Illinois State Energy Profile]DOE, Energy Information Administration * http://www.ers.usda.gov/StateFacts/Il.htm Illinois: State Fact Sheets]USDA, Economic Research Service * http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/states/illinois// Illinois State Guide]LOC, Virtual Programs & Services * http://www.onlinebiographies.info/gov/il/index.htm Biographies Of Governors of Illinois: 1818 to 1885]compiled by OnlineBiographies.info * http://www.n9jig.com Illinois Highways Page]by Richard Carlson }} Category:Illinois Category:States of the United States Category:States and territories established in 1818 af:Illinois ang:Illinois ar:إلينوي an:Illinois arc:ܐܠܝܢܘܝ frp:Illinois ast:Illinois gn:Illinois az:İllinoys bn:ইলিনয় zh-min-nan:Illinois be-x-old:Іліной bcl:Illinois bi:Illinois bar:Illinois bs:Illinois br:Illinois bg:Илинойс ca:Illinois cv:Иллинойс (штат) cs:Illinois cy:Illinois da:Illinois pdc:Illinois de:Illinois nv:Ílínóo Hahoodzo et:Illinois el:Ιλινόι es:Illinois eo:Ilinojso eu:Illinois fa:ایلینوی fo:Illinois fr:Illinois fy:Illinois ga:Illinois gv:Illinois gd:Illinois gl:Illinois hak:Yî-li-nò xal:Илиной ko:일리노이 주 haw:‘Ilinoe hy:Իլինոյս hi:इलिनॉय hr:Illinois io:Illinois ig:Ilinoi bpy:ইলিনয়স id:Illinois iu:ᐄᓚᓄᐃᔅ/iilanuis ik:Illinois os:Иллинойс is:Illinois it:Illinois he:אילינוי jv:Illinois pam:Illinois ka:ილინოისი kw:Illinois sw:Illinois ht:Ilinwa ku:Illinois lad:Illinois la:Illinoesia lv:Ilinoisa lb:Illinois lt:Ilinojus lij:Illinois li:Illinois lmo:Illinois hu:Illinois mk:Илиноис mg:Illinois ml:ഇല്ലിനോയി mi:Illinois mr:इलिनॉय arz:ايلينوى ms:Illinois mn:Иллиной nah:Illinois nl:Illinois (staat) ja:イリノイ州 frr:Illinois no:Illinois nn:Illinois oc:Illinois uz:Illinoys pnb:الینوۓ pap:Illinois pms:Illinois nds:Illinois pl:Illinois pt:Illinois ro:Illinois (stat SUA) rm:Illinois qu:Illinois suyu ru:Иллинойс sah:Иллинойс sq:Illinois scn:Illinois simple:Illinois sk:Illinois sl:Illinois szl:Illinois sr:Илиноис sh:Illinois fi:Illinois sv:Illinois tl:Ilinoy ta:இலினொய் tt:Иллинойс (штат) te:ఇల్లినాయిస్ th:รัฐอิลลินอยส์ tr:İllinois uk:Іллінойс ur:الینوائے ug:Illinoyiz Shitati vi:Illinois vo:Illinois war:Illinois yi:אילינוי yo:Illinois zh-yue:伊利諾州 diq:İllinois bat-smg:Ėlėnojos zh:伊利诺伊州

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