Facts about Illinois
First, the Illinois suburbs of Saint Louis comprise the second most populous metropolitan area in Illinois with nearly 600,000 inhabitants, and are known collectively as the Metro-East.
Illinois is a net importer of fuels for energy, despite large coal resources and some minor oil production.
Illinois's state income tax is calculated by multiplying net income by a flat rate, currently 3 percent.
After nearly six years of rapid development, Nauvoo, which rivaled Chicago as Illinois' largest city, saw a rapid decline.
Several thousand Illinoisians were killed or died of their wounds during the war, and a number of national cemeteries were established in Illinois to bury their remains.
The five largest ancestry groups in Illinois are: German American (19.6 percent), African-American (15.1 percent), Irish American (12.2 percent), Mexican American (9.2 percent), and Polish-American (7.5 percent).
In 1844 the Mormon leader Joseph Smith was killed in the Carthage, Illinois jail.
Historically, Illinois has been a major battleground state between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party.
An Associated Press analysis of 21 demographic factors determined Illinois was the "most average state."
Illinois contributed 250,000 soldiers to the Union Army, ranking it fourth in terms of the total manpower in Federal military service.
Cahokia, the center of the pre-Columbian Mississippian culture that, at its height, reached from present-day Minnesota to Florida, was located near present-day Collinsville, Illinois.
The Illinois state parks system encompasses over 60 parks and about the same number of recreational and wildlife areas.
The Tri-State Tornado of 1925 killed 695 people in three states; 613 of the victims lived in Illinois.
Illinois is ranked second in corn production among U.S. states, and Illinois corn is used to produce 40 percent of the ethanol consumed in the United States.
The state government of Illinois is formed after the Kentucky model with some adaptations.
Education has always been a high priority in Illinois, as attested by the large number of colleges and universities in the state.
The small French settlements continued; a few British soldiers were posted in Illinois but there were no British or American settlers.
The property's value is multiplied by a tax rate, set by the Montana Legislature, to determine its taxable value.
Illinois voted for Democratic presidential candidates in the last four elections.
The United States Census Bureau's 2005 estimate lists six other cities with populations of over 100,000 within Illinois.
Northern Illinois provided major support for Illinoisans Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant during the American Civil War.
The State of Illinois is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union.
Springfield is Illinois' capital city and the county seat of Sangamon County.
Illinois's agricultural outputs are corn, soybeans, hogs, cattle, dairy products, and wheat.
Illinois averages around 50 days of thunderstorm activity a year putting it somewhat above the average for the United States.
The new state debated slavery then rejected it, as settlers poured into southern Illinois from Kentucky.
The 2004 total gross state product for Illinois was nearly $522 billion USD, placing it 5th highest in the nation.
In 2006, Illinois had an estimated population of 12,831,970, which was an increase of 65,200 from the prior year and an increase of 412,323, or 3.3 percent, since the year 2000.
Education is compulsory from kindergarten through the twelfth grade in Illinois, often divided into three tiers of primary and secondary education: elementary school, middle school or junior high school and high school.
The southern tip of Illinois was unglaciated; most of the rest of the state was glaciated during the Illinoian Age and earlier ages.
The first, Northern Illinois, is dominated by the Chicago metropolitan area, including the city of Chicago, its suburbs, and the adjoining exurban area.
Illinois is the most populous state in the Midwest and the fifth most populous in the nation, and has a large and cosmopolitan population.
During the American Revolution, the Illinois and Potawatomi supported the American cause.
Most of Illinois has a humid continental climate (Koppen climate classification Dfa) with hot, humid summers and cool to cold winters.
The deadliest tornado on record in the nation struck largely in Illinois.
Average yearly precipitation for Illinois varies from just over 48 inches (1,220 mm) at the southern tip to around 35 inches (890 mm) in the northern portion of the state.
Cities include Peoria (the third largest metropolitan area in Illinois at 370,000), Springfield (the state capital), Quincy, Decatur, Bloomington-Normal, and Champaign-Urbana.
Oil strikes in Marion County and Crawford County lead to a boom in 1937, and, by 1939, Illinois ranked 4th in U.S. oil production.
In 1818, Illinois became the 21st U.S. state after exaggerating its population totals.
Illinois is ranked 14th in oil production among states, with a daily output of approximately 28,000 barrels in 2005.
During the American Civil War Illinois was a major source of troops for the Union army (particularly for those armies serving in the Western Theater), as well as military supplies, food, and clothing.
The third division is Southern Illinois, all of the area south of U.S. Route 50, including Little Egypt, near the confluence of the Mississippi River and Ohio River.
According to the incomplete poem Achilleis written by Statius in the first century C.E., when Achilles was born Thetis tried to make him immortal by dipping him in the river Styx.
The three most prominent research universities are the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, and the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, the latter being the only public university of the three.
By 1857, Chicago was Illinois' largest city, its location a major factor in its rapid growth.
Illinois has many museums, including the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford, featuring the dinosaur fossil "Jane the Rockford T-Rex."
Thanksgiving also marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season.
About 68 percent of Illinois has coal-bearing strata of the Pennsylvanian geologic period.
In 1778 George Rogers Clark claimed the Illinois Country for Virginia.
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.
Illinois troops predominantly fought in the Western Theater, although a few regiments played important roles in the East, particularly in the Army of the Potomac.
The judiciary is comprised of the Supreme Court of Illinois, which oversees the lower appellate and circuit courts.
The coming of the railroads in the 1850s made highly profitable the rich prairie farmlands in central Illinois, attracting large numbers of immigrant farmers from Germany and Sweden.
French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet explored the Illinois River in 1673.
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.
Rod Blagojevich recently announced a $25 million grant program to fund the construction of five new ethanol and biodiesel plants in Illinois.
Illinois has an extensive rail network transporting both passengers and freight.
Illinois is known as the "Land of Lincoln" because the 16th President spent most of his life here, practicing law and living in Springfield.
The seaway and the Illinois Waterway connected Chicago to both the Mississippi River and the Atlantic Ocean.
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.
The second major division is Central Illinois, an area of mostly flat prairie, south and west of the metropolitan area, characterized by small towns and mid-sized cities.
Some argue that the highest elevation in Illinois is at the top of the Sears Tower, approximately 2,030 feet (619 m) above sea level.
In 1999, Illinois produced 40.4 million tons of coal, but only 17 million tons (42 percent) of Illinois coal was consumed within the state.
The State of Illinois is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union.
Illinois supports 49 public community colleges in the Illinois Community College System, as well as dozens of private colleges and universities.
Illinois is a leading refiner of petroleum in the American Midwest, with a combined crude oil distillation capacity of nearly 0.9 million barrels per day.
In 2007, Illinois ranked fourth in the nation for having the highest number of teachers achieving National Board Certification, the highest credential in the teaching profession.
The Archer Daniels Midland corporation in Decatur, Illinois is the world's leading producer of ethanol from corn.
Illinois is ranked 14th in oil production among states, with a daily output of approximately 28,000 barrels in 2005.
Illinois has the unique distinction of having popularly elected two of the five African-Americans who have served in the US Senate: Carol Moseley-Braun and Barack Obama.
Nearly three in ten whites in Illinois claimed at least partial German ancestry on the Census.
The Illinois Territory was created on February 3, 1809, with its capital at Kaskaskia.
The highest temperature recorded in Illinois was 117°F (47°C), recorded on July 14, 1954, at East St. Louis, while the lowest temperature was -36°F (-38°C), recorded on January 5, 1999, at Congerville.
Legislative functions are given to the Illinois General Assembly, composed of the 118-member Illinois House of Representatives and the 59-member Illinois Senate.
A boundary line through Lake Michigan represents Illinois's border with Michigan, but only via a water boundary in Lake Michigan.
Local municipalities and their respective school districts operate individual public schools but the ISBE audits performance of public schools with the Illinois School Report Card.
The Illinois State Board of Education or ISBE, autonomous of the governor and the state legislature, administers public education in the state.
Illinois supports 49 public community colleges in the Illinois Community College System, as well as dozens of private colleges and universities.
The Sears Tower, Chicago is the tallest building on the North American continent. Metropolis the home of Superman really exists in Southern Illinois. Illinois had two capital cities, Kaskaskia, and Vandalia before Springfield. The NFL's Chicago Bears were first known as the "Staley Bears".
Known unofficially as the “Prairie State”, a fitting nickname for a state that sets aside the third full week in September each year as Illinois Prairie Week to demonstrate the value of preserving and reestablishing native Illinois prairies.
The first Europeans to visit Illinois were the French explorers Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette in 1673, but the region was ceded to Britain after the French and Indian War. After the American Revolution, Illinois became a territory of the United States, and achieved statehood in 1818.
The name Illiniwek has also been said to mean "tribe of superior men", which is a false etymology. The name "Illinois" derives from the Miami-Illinois verb irenwe. · wa "he speaks the regular way". This was taken into the Ojibwe language, perhaps in the Ottawa dialect, and modified into ilinwe.
Governor of IllinoisIncumbent Bruce Rauner since January 12, 2015ResidenceIllinois Executive MansionTerm lengthFour years, no term limitsInaugural holderShadrach Bond4 more rows
Per Article V, Section 3 of the Illinois Constitution, a governor is required to be: at least 25 years old, a United States citizen, a resident of Illinois for three years prior to election.