Illinois (pronounced or "ill-i-NOY") is the 21st U.S. state and is located in the Midwest region of the United States of America. The state is known for its large and diverse population, its balance of rural areas, small industrial cities, vast suburbs and great metropolis, its highly diverse economic base, and its central location that has made it a transportation hub for 150 years. It is this mixture of factory and farm, of urban and rural that makes Illinois a microcosm of the nation.

About 2000 Native American hunters inhabited the area at the time of the American Revolution, and by a small number of French villagers. American settlers began arriving from Kentucky in the 1810s; they achieved statehood in 1818. Yankees arrived a little later and dominated the north, creating the metropolis of Chicago in the 1830s. 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. Northern Illinois, strongly Republican, provided major support for Illinoisans Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant during the Civil War. By 1900, factories were being rapidly built in the northern cities, along with coal mines in central and southern areas, attracting large numbers of immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe. Illinois was a major arsenal in both world wars; large numbers of blacks left the cotton fields of the South to come to Chicago, where they developed a famous jazz culture.

The state is named for the Illinois River which was named by French explorers after the indigenous Illiniwek people, a consortium of Algonquian tribes that thrived in the area. The word Illiniwek means "tribe of superior men."State of Illinois. Illinois Symbols. Accessed on April 20, 2006

More on [ Illinois ]

Illinois - Twitter Search

@DonnieWahlberg Illinois Twugs!
YandellPhillips (Yandell Phillips) Mon, 04 Jan 2010 18:21:49 -0000
@DonnieWahlberg Illinois Twugs!
published "How to Visit Alton, Illinois" on eHow http://ehow.com/a0057731e
jasonvoigt (Jason Voigt) Mon, 04 Jan 2010 18:20:32 -0000
published "How to Visit Alton, Illinois" on eHow http://ehow.com/a0057731e
Illinois abortions reached 10 year high in 2008. Some say economy I say morals
lcrtl (Lake Cty RTL) Mon, 04 Jan 2010 18:19:29 -0000
Illinois abortions reached 10 year high in 2008. Some say economy I say morals
Gloria Rubio-Cortes All-America City quilt is in Carbondale, Illinois! ...The completed 2009 All-America City Award... http://bit.ly/6zlZvb
NationalCivic (NationalCivicLeague) Mon, 04 Jan 2010 18:19:06 -0000
Gloria Rubio-Cortes All-America City quilt is in Carbondale, Illinois! ...The completed 2009 All-America City Award... http://bit.ly/6zlZvb
RT @Champaign_WX: CN: Fair and 7 F at Champaign / Urbana, University of Illinois-Willard, IL Winds are Northwest at 13.8 MPH (12 KT). Th ...
tweet1211 (Michael Badger) Mon, 04 Jan 2010 18:18:58 -0000
RT @Champaign_WX: CN: Fair and 7 F at Champaign / Urbana, University of Illinois-Willard, IL Winds are Northwest at 13.8 MPH (12 KT). Th ...
"the best we can do" ain't sayin muchRT @GregHinz: Durbin lauds impact of health-care-reform bill on Illinois http://tinyurl.com/y8f9u3o
yo60640 (Yo) Mon, 04 Jan 2010 18:16:56 -0000
"the best we can do" ain't sayin muchRT @GregHinz: Durbin lauds impact of health-care-reform bill on Illinois http://tinyurl.com/y8f9u3o

Subscribe to Illinois RSS feed