Illinois (State)

State of Illinois
Coordinates 40°0’1″NB, 89°15’1″WL
General
Surface 140.998 km²
(4,0% water)
Residents 12.713.634
(86,27 inhabitants/km²)
Capital city Springfield
Politics
Governor J. B. Pritzker (D)
Other
Time zone Central Standard Time (UTC−6)
Joined 3 december 1818
Nickname Prairie State
ISO 3166-2 US-IL
Website illinois.gov

Illinois (IPA: [ɪlɨˈnɔɪ]) is one of the states of the United States. The capital is Springfield and the standard abbreviation is IL.

The state is named after the Indian tribe of the same name and became a state of the United States on December 3, 1818, as the 21st.

It is the most demographically diverse state in the Midwestern United States and ranks fifth among the most populous states in the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial towns and many farms in central and western Illinois, plus natural resources such as coal, timber, and petroleum in the south, Illinois has a broad economic base. Illinois is an important crossroads for transportation matters. The Port of Chicago connects the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River via the Illinois River. Illinois is regularly considered amicrocosm of the United States. According to an Associated Press analysis of 21 demographic factors, Illinois is ranked as the “most average state,” while the Illinois village of Peoria has long been the figurative social and cultural crossroads.

Nicknames

The state is also known as ‘(The) Land of Lincoln’ because President Abraham Lincoln grew up there. Yet another nickname is ‘Prairie State’.

Geography

The state of Illinois covers 140,998 km². The highest point is the summit of Charles Mound (376 m).

According to JIBIN123.COM, Illinois borders Lake Michigan and the state of Wisconsin to the north, Iowa and Missouri to the west, and Indiana and Kentucky to the east.

The entire western border is defined by the Mississippi River, part of the southeastern border by the Ohio. The Illinois River runs right through the state, flowing into the Mississippi. The mouth is very wide.

The state is in the Central time zone.

Demography and Economics

Illinois had a population of 12,859,995 (89.4 per km²). More than 20% are of German descent. The gross product of the state in 1999 was $ 446 billion. The Roman Catholic Church is the largest religious organization in this state.

Chicago, the third largest city in the US, is by far the largest city in Illinois with 2.5 million inhabitants. The total Chicago metropolitan area, which also includes adjacent parts of Indiana and Wisconsin, has 9,157,540 residents (2000 census).

Some suburbs of the metropolitan area of ​​Saint Louis, Missouri lie within the borders of Illinois (for example, the city of East Saint Louis).

Language

78% of the inhabitants speak English at home and for 13% of the population Spanish is the language of instruction in domestic circles. Polish (2%) and Chinese (1%) are the third and fourth largest languages.

Administrative division

According to COUNTRYAAH, Illinois is divided into 102 counties.

County Inhabitants
1 July, 2007
County Seat Inhabitants
1 July, 2007
Adams 67.046 Quincy 40.069
Alexander 8458 Cairo 3151
Bond 18.103 Greenville 7163
Boone 53.531 Belvidere 26.156
Brown 6566 Mount Sterling 1904
Bureau 35.036 Princeton 7526
Calhoun 5167 Hardin 948
Carroll 15.928 Mount Carroll 1670
Cass 13.727 Virginia 1684
Champaign 190.260 Urbana 39.484
Christian 34.543 Taylorville 12.222
Clark 16.884 Marshall 3737
Clay 13.893 Louisville 1235
Clinton 36.450 Carlyle 3369
Coles 51.011 Charleston 20.296
Cook 5.285.107 Chicago 2.836.658
Crawford 19.611 Robinson 6392
Cumberland 10.842 Toledo 1128
DeKalb 103.729 Clinton 7190
DeWitt 16.437 Sycamore 17.188
Douglas 19.598 Tuscola 4547
DuPage 929.192 Wheaton 54.552
Edgar 18.919 Paris 8785
Edwards 6572 Albion 1833
Effingham 34.225 Effingham 12.452
Fayette 21.466 Vandalia 6756
Ford 14.170 Paxton 4545
Franklin 39.491 Benton 6934
Fulton 36.843 Lewistown 2381
Gallatin 6025 Shawneetown 1318
Greene 13.890 Carrollton 2448
Grundy 47.144 Morris 13.562
Hamilton 8245 McLeansboro 2757
Hancock 18.839 Carthage 2511
Hardin 4468 Elizabethtown 316
Henderson 7587 Oquawka 1398
Henry 49.654 Cambridge 2094
Iroquois 30.294 Watseka 5493
Jackson 58.841 Murphysboro 8291
Jasper 9707 Newton 2945
Jefferson 40.168 Mount Vernon 16.319
Jersey 22.455 Jerseyville 8270
Jo Daviess 22.304 Galena 3354
Johnson 13.065 Vienna 1288
Kane 501.021 Geneva 24.182
Kankakee 110.705 Kankakee 26.608
Kendall 96.818 Yorkville 15.193
Knox 51.855 Galesburg 31.091
Lake 710.241 Waukegan 91.138
LaSalle 112.616 Ottawa 19.142
Lawrence 15.588 Lawrenceville 4416
Lee 35.450 Dixon 15.272
Livingston 38.258 Pontiac 11.329
Logan 29.962 Lincoln 14.636
Macon 108.732 Decatur 76.674
Macoupin 48.235 Carlinville 5949
Madison 267.347 Edwardsville 24.460
Marion 39.857 Salem 7470
Marshall 12.851 Lacon 1861
Mason 15.151 Havana 3343
Massac 15.109 Metropolis 6464
McDonough 31.992 Macomb 18.701
McHenry 315.943 Woodstock 23.215
McLean 164.209 Bloomington 72.416
Menard 12.466 Petersburg 2207
Mercer 16.490 Aledo 3566
Monroe 32.372 Waterloo 9634
Montgomery 29.810 Hillsboro 6181
Morgan 35.272 Jacksonville 19.319
Moultrie 14.324 Sullivan 4339
Ogle 55.011 Oregon 4138
Peoria 182.993 Peoria 113.546
Perry 22.596 Pinckneyville 5407
Piatt 16.493 Monticello 5315
Pike 16.707 Pittsfield 4517
Pope 4182 Golconda 661
Pulaski 6490 Mound City 602
Putnam 6014 Hennepin 705
Randolph 32.760 Chester 7795
Richland 15.546 Olney 8344
Rock Island 147.329 Rock Island 38.243
Saline 26.102 Harrisburg 9638
Sangamon 194.122 Springfield 117.090
Schuyler 6990 Rushville 3128
Scott 5215 Winchester 1558
Shelby 21.759 Shelbyville 4615
St. Clair 261.316 Belleville 41.034
Stark 6191 Toulon 1352
Stephenson 46.573 Freeport 24.769
Tazewell 131.154 Pekin 33.406
Union 18.257 Jonesboro 1832
Vermilion 81.191 Danville 32.476
Wabash 12.165 Mount Carmel 7477
Warren 17.402 Monmouth 9104
Washington 14.769 Nashville 3040
Wayne 16.568 Fairfield 5190
White 14.657 Carmi 5196
Whiteside 59.198 Morrison 4305
Will 673.586 Joliet 144.316
Williamson 64.541 Marion 17.275
Winnebago 298.759 Rockford 156.596
Woodford 38.017 Eureka 5235

Politics

The executive branch of the state is headed by a governor, who is directly elected by the voters in the state. The 2018 gubernatorial election was won by Democratic Party JB Pritzker. He took office as governor of Illinois in January 2019.

Legislative power is fulfilled by the Illinois General Assembly consisting of the Illinois House of Representatives (Illinois House of Representatives) with 118 members and the Illinois Senate with 59 members. Since the 2002 elections, Democrats have had a majority in both houses.

Since 1983, with a brief hiatus in 1995-1997, Democrat Michael Madigan has been Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. He has also been chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party since 1998. Because of his power, he is often regarded as the “true governor of Illinois”. His daughter, Lisa Madigan, has been Illinois Attorney General since 2013; however, she will not run for re-election in 2018.

Tourism

By far the biggest attraction of Illinois is the city of Chicago, also one of the largest cities in the US, with its museums, skyscrapers, architecture, Lake Michigan and the immediate vicinity.

A number of national tourist routes run through Illinois:

  • National Historic Trail
  • Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor
  • Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail
  • Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail
  • Trail Of Tears National Historic Trail
  • The historic Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles, sung by the Rolling Stones, among others

In the state capital Springfield is the preserved home of Abraham Lincoln. In Tampico, the home of former President Ronald Reagan, where he also spent his childhood, is open to visit.

Illinois has a large number of state parks, including Starved Rock Park on the Illinois River. In this park is a hill where Native American tribes have besieged and starved each other.

Flag of Illinois