Illinois

The State of Illinois (pronounced ) is a of the, the 21st to be admitted to the. Illinois is the most populous and demographically diverse state and the fifth most populous in the nation. With in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and western Illinois, and natural resources like coal, timber, and petroleum in the south, Illinois has a broad economic base. Illinois is an important transportation hub; the connects the  to the  via the. Illinois is often viewed as a of the United States; an  analysis of 21 demographic factors determined Illinois was the "most average state," while the city of  has long been a.

Between 1300 and 1400 AD, the city of  had a population of around 40,000, making it the largest city within the future United States until it was surpassed by Philadelphia in the 1800s. About 2,000 Native American hunters and a small number of villagers inhabited the Illinois area at the time of the. American settlers began arriving from in the 1810s; they achieved statehood in 1818. The future metropolis of was founded in the 1830s on the banks of the, one of the only natural harbors on southern. and 's invention of the self-scouring made central Illinois' rich  into some of the world's most productive and valuable farmlands, attracting  farmers from  and. Northern Illinois provided major support for Illinoisans and  during the. By 1900, the growth of industry in northern cities and coal mining in central and southern areas attracted immigrants from and, and also made the state a major arsenal in both s. In addition, large numbers of blacks , where they formed a  and created the city's famous  and  cultures.

Geography


The state is named for the adaptation of an Algonquian language (perhaps ) word apparently meaning "s/he speaks normally" (Miami ilenweewa,   *elen-, "ordinary" and -we·, "to speak"). Alternately, the name is often associated with the indigenous people, a  of  tribes that thrived in the area. The name Illiniwek is frequently (incorrectly) said to mean "tribe of superior men"; in reality, it only means "men".

The eastern border of Illinois is. Its eastern border with is all of the land west of the, and a north-south line above , or 87°31′30″ west longitude. Its northern border with is fixed at 42°30' north latitude. Its western border with and  is the. Its southern border with is the. Illinois also borders, but only via a water boundary in Lake Michigan.

Though Illinois lies entirely in the, it has three major geographical divisions. The first is, dominated by the , including the city of , 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 and  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 generally sits along Interstates  and  and is the state's third largest city

Southward and westward, the second major division is, an area of mostly flat. 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 and forms the distinctive western bulge of the state. Agriculture, particularly and s, as well as educational institutions and manufacturing centers, figure prominently. Cities include —the third largest metropolitan area in Illinois at 370,000——the state —,, and -.

The third division is, comprising the area south of , and including , near the juncture of the and. This region can be distinguished from the other two by its warmer climate, different mix of crops (including some farming in the past), more rugged topography (the southern tip is unglaciated with the remainder glaciated during the  and earlier ages), as well as small-scale oil deposits and  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 comprise the second most populous metropolitan area in Illinois with nearly 600,000 inhabitants, and are known collectively as the. The second area is, , , and. It is home to around 210,000 residents.

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, a region of unglaciated and therefore higher and more rugged topography, occupies a small part of the state. , located in this region, has the state's highest elevation above at 1,235 feet (376 m). The highest structure in Illinois is the with a roof elevation of approximately 2030 ft above sea level. [Chicago elevation (580 ft) + tower height (1450) = 2030.]

The floodplain on the Mississippi River from to the  is the, and is the site of the ancient city of. It was a region of early German settlement, as well as the site of the first state capital, at which is separated from the rest of the state by the Mississippi River.

Climate
Because of its nearly 400 mile (640 km) length and mid-continental situation, Illinois has a widely varying climate. Most of Illinois has a ( Dfa) with hot, humid summers and cool to cold winters. The southernmost part of the state, from about southward, borders on a  (Koppen Cfa) with more moderate winters. 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. Normal annual snowfall exceeds 38 inches (96 cm) in Chicagoland, while the southern portion of the state normally receives less than 14 inches (35 cm). The highest temperature recorded in Illinois was 117 °F (47 °C), recorded on, at East St. Louis, while the lowest temperature was -36 °F (-38 °C), recorded on  , at.

Illinois averages around 50 days of activity a year which put it somewhat above average for 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 5 tornadoes per 10000 sqmi annually. The deadliest tornado on record in the nation occurred largely in Illinois. The of 1925 killed 695 people in three states; 613 of the victims lived in Illinois.

Recreation
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. And numerous museums in the city of Chicago are considered some of the best in the world. These include the, the , the , and the. The is the only building remaining from the 1893  held in Chicago to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of the new world.

The system began in 1908 with what is now  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 include the  near, the , the  in Springfield, the , and the.

Pre-Columbian
, the urban center of the pre-, was located near present-day. That civilization vanished in the 15th century for unknown reasons. The next major power in the region was the Confederation, or Illini, a political alliance among several tribes. There were about 25,000 Illinois Indians in 1700, but systematic attacks and genocide by the reduced their numbers by 90%. Members of the, , , and other tribes came in from the east and north. In the American Revolution, the Illinois and Potawatomi supported the American cause.

European exploration
explorers and  explored the  in 1673. As a result of their exploration, Illinois was part of the French empire until 1763, when it passed to the. The small French settlements continued; a few British soldiers were posted in Illinois but there were no British or American settlers. In 1778 claimed the  for. The area was ceded by Virginia to the new United States in 1783 and became part of the.

19th century
The was an early claimant to much of Illinois. The was created on , with its capital at. In 1818, Illinois became the 21st U.S. state after exaggerating its population totals. The new state debated slavery then rejected it, as settlers poured into southern Illinois from Kentucky.

Thanks to, the delegate from Illinois, Congress shifted the northern border 41 miles north to 42° 30' north, which added 8500 sqmi to the state, including Chicago, and the lead mining region. The capital remained at Kaskaskia, but in 1819 it was moved to. In the 1832 Indians who had removed to Iowa attempted to return, but were defeated by the 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. Many travelers perished. Several severe winters followed, including the "Winter of the Sudden Freeze". On, 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: "", after the story of Joseph in Egypt supplying grain to his brothers.

By 1839 the utopian city of, located on the Mississippi River, was created and settled, and flourished. In 1844 the Mormon leader was killed in the  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. In 1846 the Mormons had left Illinois for the West in a mass exodus.

gained prominence as a port and then as an  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 Illinois in the 19th century, Illinois played an important role in the formation of. The and  in particular greatly influenced the development of the American.

American Civil War
During the, over 250,000 Illinois men served in the , more than any other northern state except , , and. Beginning with '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.

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. By the end of the century, the population would reach 12.4 million. The world's fair was held at Chicago in 1933. Oil strikes in and  lead to a boom in 1937, and, by 1939, Illinois ranked 4th in U.S. oil production.

Following World War II,, near Chicago, activated the first experimental nuclear power generating system in 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, in 1959. The seaway and the connected Chicago to both the Mississippi River and the Atlantic Ocean. In 1960, opened the first  franchise in.

In 1970, the state's sixth constitutional convention authored a new constitution to replace the 1870 version. It was ratified in December. The first concert was held in Champaign to benefit American farmers, in 1985. The worst flood of the century, the, inundated many towns and thousands of acres of farmland.

Demographics
As of 2006, Illinois has an estimated population of 12,831,970, which is an increase of 65,200 from the prior year and an increase of 412,323, or 3.3%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 481,799 people (that is 1,138,398 births minus 656,599 deaths) and a decrease due to net migration of 71,456 people out of the state. from outside the United States resulted in an increase of 402,257 people, and migration within the country produced a loss of 473,713 people.

As of 2004 there were 1,682,900 foreign-born (13.3%).

At the northern edge of the state on Lake Michigan lies Chicago, the nation's third largest city. In 2000, 23.3% of the population lived in the city of Chicago, 43.3% in Cook County and 65.6% the counties of the ; Will, DuPage, Kane, Lake, and McHenry Counties as well as Cook County. The rest of the population lives in the smaller cities and in the rural areas that dot the state's plains. According to the 2000 census, the state was  in  northeast of.

The top five ancestry groups in Illinois are: (19.6%),  (15.1%),  (12.2%),  (9.2%), and  (7.5%). Nearly three in ten whites in Illinois claimed at least partial German ancestry on the Census. Blacks are present in large numbers in the city of Chicago, East St. Louis, and the southern tip of the state. Residents citing American and British ancestry are especially concentrated in the southeastern part of the state. Metropolitan Chicago has the greatest numbers of people of, , and ancestry.

7.1% of Illinois' population was reported as under age 5, 26.1% under age 18, and 12.1% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51% of the population.

According to the, 10.85% of the population aged 5 and older speak at home, while 1.60% speak.

Religion
Protestants are the largest religious group in Illinois. However, Illinois is not as heavily Protestant as neighboring states are. , who are heavily concentrated in and around Chicago, account for 30% of the population. Chicago and its suburbs are also home to a large population of s,, and s.

Economy


The 2004 total for Illinois was nearly $522 billion, placing it 5 in the nation. The 2004 per capita income was $34,721.

Illinois's state is calculated by multiplying  by a, currently 3%. There are two rates for state : 6.25% for general merchandise and 1% for qualifying food, drugs and medical appliances. The 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 local&mdash;not state&mdash;tax, imposed by local government taxing districts which include counties, s, municipalities, s, and special taxing districts. The property tax in Illinois is imposed only on.

Agricultural and industry
Illinois's agricultural outputs are, s, s, , dairy products, and. In most years Illinois is the leading state for the production of soybeans, with a harvest of 500 million bushels (14 million s) in 2004. Illinois is ranked second in total corn production. Illinois' universities are actively researching alternative agricultural products as alternative crops. As of 2004, the leading manufacturing industries in Illinois, based upon value-added, were chemical manufacturing ($16.6 billion), food manufacturing ($14.4 billion), machinery manufacturing ($13.6 billion), fabricated metal products ($10.5 billion), plastics and rubber products ($6.8 billion), transportation equipment ($6.7 billion), and computer and electronic products ($6.4 billion). Important non-manufacturing industries include financial services, publishing,, and.

Energy
Illinois is a net importer of fuels for energy, despite large coal resources and some minor oil production. The state is ranked fifth among states in electricity production and seventh in electricity consumption.

Coal
About 68% of Illinois has -bearing strata of the geologic period. According to the Illinois State Geological Survey, 211 billion tons of are estimated to lie under the surface, having a total heating value greater than the estimated oil deposits in the. However, this coal has a high content, which causes  unless special equipment is used to reduce. Many Illinois power plants 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 of.

and are being considered as sites for the 's  project, a 275 megawatt experimental  coal-burning power plant.

Petroleum
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. 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% compared to less than 1%. Illinois is ranked 14th in among states, with a daily output of approximately 28,000 barrels in 2005.

Nuclear power
arguably began in Illinois with the, the world's first artificial self-sustaining in the world's first , built on the. With six major s (,, , , , and ) housing eleven reactors, Illinois is ranked first in nuclear generating capacity among the 31 states with nuclear plants. In 2005, 48% of Illinois' electricity was generated using nuclear power.

Wind power
Illinois has seen growing interest in the use of for electrical generation. Most of Illinois is rated "fair" for wind energy production by the, with some western sections rated "good" and parts of the south rated "poor." Currently, there are four major in Illinois; the two largest farms each have a production capacity over 50 s. A number of larger projects have also been proposed. Although it currently represents only a negligible part of Illinois' energy production, it is estimated that wind power could provide 5-10% of the state's energy needs.

Biofuels
Illinois is ranked second in production among U.S. states, and Illinois corn is used to produce 40% of the ethanol consumed in the United States. The corporation in  is the world's leading producer of ethanol from corn.

is one of the partners in the (EBI), a $500 million biofuels research project funded by petroleum giant. Illinois Governor recently announced a $25 million grant program to fund the construction of five new ethanol and  plants in Illinois.

Transportation


Because of its central location and its proximity to the and, Illinois is a national crossroads for rail, auto and truck traffic.

Chicago's (ORD) is one of the busiest airports in the world, with 62 million domestic passengers annually along with 12 million international passengers. It is a for  and, and a major airport expansion project is currently underway. (MDW) is the secondary airport serving metro Chicago, with 19 million passengers in 2006.

Illinois has an extensive rail network transporting both passengers and freight. Chicago is a national hub and in-state passengers are served by Amtrak's  featuring the Chicago to Carbondale  and Chicago to Quincy. 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 immediate northern suburbs by the 's system. The largest suburban commuter rail system in the United States, operated by, 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: ,, , , , , , , , , , and. Illinois carries the distinction of having the most primary (2-digit) Interstates pass through it among the 50 states. In 2005, there were 1,355 traffic deaths on Illinois roadways, the lowest in more than 60 years.

In addition to the states rail lines, the and  provide major routes for the states agricultural interests. connects Illinois to all waterways east.

Law and government
The state government of Illinois is modeled after the Kentucky model with some adaptations. As codified in the state constitution, there are three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial. The executive branch is led by the. Legislative functions are given to the, composed of the 118-member and the 59-member. The judiciary is comprised of the, which oversees the lower and s.



Politics
Historically, Illinois had traditionally been a major battleground state between the and the. As evidenced by increasing Democratic margins in recent elections, it has gradually shifted more Democratic at the national and state level, and now leans solidly Democratic in national elections to become the most Democratic state in the Midwest. This is largely due to the Democratic stronghold of Chicago, which dominates all state-wide elections, and changing demographics in suburban areas, which are becoming increasingly diverse. Outside of Chicago, the state is more competitive between the two major parties, with Republicans usually prevailing in rural northern and central Illinois, and Democrats usually winning in southern Illinois and in downstate urban areas. Illinois voted for Democratic presidential candidates in the last four elections. John Kerry easily won the state's 21 electoral votes in 2004 by a margin of 11 percentage points with 54.8% of the vote despite winning outright in only 15 of 102 counties. Traditionally, , , and  (near St. Louis) counties have been Democratic strongholds, while the suburbs of Chicago and most of the rest of the state have been historically Republican. Both and, coloquially referred to as the "collar counties", while still mostly Republican have been trending towards the Democrats. Small cities and towns are typically Republican strongholds.

Politics in the state, particularly politics, have been famous for over a century for high visibility corruption cases, as well as for crusading reformers such as governors  (D)  and  (R). In 2006, former Governor (R) was convicted of racketeering and bribery. In the late 20th century Congressman (Dem) was imprisoned for mail fraud; former governor and federal judge  (D) was imprisoned for bribery; and State Auditor of Public Accounts (Comptroller)  (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.

Illinois has the unique distinction of having popularly elected two of the five who have served in the :  and.

The first Governor was, who served from 1818 to 1822.

Largest cities
is the largest city in the state and the city in the. The currently lists six other cities with populations of over 100,000 within Illinois. Based upon the Bureau's official 2005 scientific estimates, they are:, a Chicago which at 168,181 has recently (2002) eclipsed  for the title of "Second City" of Illinois. However, at 152,916, Rockford is not only the number three city, but also remains the largest city in the state not located within the Chicago metropolitan area. , another suburb located west of Chicago, is the fourth largest city in the state, with a population of 141,579. , a city southwest of Chicago, is fifth with 136,208. , the state capital of Illinois, comes in sixth with 115,668. The final city in the 100,000 club is, which decades ago was the second largest city in the state; its 2005 population was 112,685.

Illinois State Board of Education
The Illinois State Board of Education or ISBE, autonomous of the governor and the state legislature, administers in the state. Local municipalities and their respective s operate individual public schools but the ISBE audits performance of public schools with the. 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 and :,  or  and. 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
Education has always been a high priority in Illinois, as attested by the large number of colleges and universities in the state. The three most prominent research universities are, the , and the , the latter being the only public university of the three. Other public universities include the University of Illinois at Chicago and Springfield (which are branches of the ), as well as (1857),  (1869),  (1895),  (1895), and  (1899). Illinois supports 49 public community colleges in the, as well as dozens of private colleges and universities.

Sports


Because of its large population, Chicago is the focus of most professional sports in Illinois though outside of the Chicago area professional teams in St. Louis and Indianapolis are also supported. Chicago is the home to 15 different professional sports teams.

The of the  play in the second-oldest major league stadium and are famous as "lovable losers". They have not won the World Series since 1908. The of the  won the  championship in 2005, their first since 1917. The football team has won 9 total, the last occurring in. Coincidentally, the city's team, the, won. The of the  are one of the most recognized basketball teams in the world, thanks to the heroics of a player often cited as the best ever,, who led the team to six NBA championships in eight seasons in the 1990s. The of the  began playing in 1926 as a member of the  and have won several Stanley Cups. The soccer club are members of  and are one of the league's most successful and best-supported since its founding in 1997, winning one league and four s in that timespan. Chicago also has a professional team, the.

Chicago sports teams, like the Bulls, often carry a national following. However, downstate fans are also loyal to adjacent sports markets, such as St. Louis or Indianapolis.