About
Illinois
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About Illinois
Capital City: Springfield
Economy: Industry, manufacturing and agriculture.
Language Description: English
Population: 12,419,293
Religion: Christian (Roman Catholic, Protestant) and
Jewish, though most major religions are represented.
Time Zone: 6 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (-6 GMT).
Daylight Saving Time is observed from the first Sunday in April to the
last Sunday in October
Voltage Requirements: 110 volts
Motto: State sovereignty, national union
State Symbols:
flower violet (1908)
tree white oak (1973)
bird cardinal (1929)
animal white-tailed deer (1982)
fish bluegill (1987)
insect monarch butterfly (1975)
song “Illinois” (1925)
mineral fluorite (1965)
Nickname: Prairie State
Origin of name: Algonquin for “tribe of superior
men”
10 largest cities (2000): Chicago, 2,896,016; Rockford,
150,115; Aurora, 142,990; Naperville, 128,358; Peoria, 112,936; Springfield,
111,454; Joliet, 106,221; Elgin, 94,487; Waukegan, 87,901; Cicero, 85,616
Land area: 55,584 sq mi. (143,963 sq km)
Geographic center: In Logan Co., 28 mi. NE of Springfield
Number of counties: 102
Largest county by population and area: Cook, 5,350,269
(2001); McLean, 1,184 sq mi.
Public use areas: 186 (275,000 ac.), incl. state parks,
memorials, forests and conservation areas
Residents: Illinoisan |
French explorers Jacques Marquette
and Louis Joliet, in 1673, were the first Europeans of record to visit
the region. In 1699 French settlers established the first permanent settlement
at Cahokia, near present-day East St. Louis. Great Britain obtained the
region at the end of the French and Indian Wars in 1763. The area figured
prominently in frontier struggles during the Revolutionary War and in
Indian wars during the early 19th century.
Significant
episodes in the state's early history include the influx of settlers
following the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825; the Black Hawk War,
which virtually ended the Indian troubles in the area; and the rise
of Abraham Lincoln from farm laborer to president.
Today, Illinois stands high in manufacturing, coal
mining, agriculture, and oil production. The state's manufactures include
food and agricultural products, transportation equipment, chemicals,
industrial machinery, and computer equipment. The sprawling Chicago
district (including a slice of Indiana) is a great iron and steel producer,
meat packer, grain exchange, and railroad center. Chicago is also famous
as a Great Lakes port.
Illinois is a leading producer of soybeans, corn,
and hogs. Other agricultural commodities include cattle, wheat, oats,
sorghum, and hay.
Central Illinois is noted for shrines and memorials
associated with the life of Abraham Lincoln. In Springfield are the
Lincoln Home, the Lincoln Tomb, and the restored Old State Capitol.
Other points of interest are the home of Mormon leader Joseph Smith
in Nauvoo and, in Chicago: the Art Institute, Field Museum, Museum of
Science and Industry, Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium, Merchandise
Mart, and Chicago Portage National Historic Site.
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