| 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.
