Illinois (/ˌɪlɪˈnɔɪ/ IL-in-OY) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash and Ohio rivers to its south. Of the fifty U.S. states, Illinois has the fifth-largest gross domestic product (GDP), the sixth-largest population, and the 25th-most land area. Its capital city is Springfield in the center of the state, and the state's largest city is Chicago in the northeast.
Illinois | |
|---|---|
 Flag  Seal | |
| Nickname(s): Land of Lincoln, Prairie State, The Inland Empire State | |
| Motto(s): State Sovereignty, National Union | |
| Anthem: "Illinois" | |
 Location of Illinois within the United States | |
| Country | United States |
| Before statehood | Illinois Territory |
| Admitted to the Union | December 3, 1818 (21st) |
| Capital | Springfield |
| Largest city | Chicago |
| Largest county or equivalent | Cook |
| Largest metro and urban areas | Chicagoland |
| Government | |
| • Governor | J. B. Pritzker (D) |
| • Lieutenant Governor | Juliana Stratton (D) |
| Legislature | General Assembly |
| • Upper house | Illinois Senate |
| • Lower house | Illinois House of Representatives |
| Judiciary | Supreme Court of Illinois |
| U.S. senators | Dick Durbin (D) Tammy Duckworth (D) |
| U.S. House delegation | 14 Democrats 3 Republicans (list) |
| Area | |
• Total | 57,915 sq mi (149,997 km2) |
| • Land | 55,593 sq mi (143,969 km2) |
| • Water | 2,320 sq mi (5,981 km2) 3.99% |
| • Rank | 25th |
| Dimensions | |
| • Length | 390 mi (628 km) |
| • Width | 210 mi (338 km) |
| Elevation | 600 ft (180 m) |
| Highest elevation (Charles Mound) | 1,235 ft (376.4 m) |
| Lowest elevation (Confluence of Mississippi River and Ohio River) | 280 ft (85 m) |
| Population (2024) | |
• Total |  12,710,158 |
| • Rank | 6th |
| • Density | 232/sq mi (89.4/km2) |
| • Rank | 12th |
| • Median household income | $80,300 (2023) |
| • Income rank | 17th |
| Demonyms | Illinoisan |
| Language | |
| • Official language | English |
| • Spoken language | English (80.8%) Spanish (14.9%) Other (5.1%) |
| Time zone | UTC−06:00 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−05:00 (CDT) |
| USPS abbreviation | IL |
| ISO 3166 code | US-IL |
| Traditional abbreviation | Ill. |
| Latitude | 36° 58′ N to 42° 30′ N |
| Longitude | 87° 30′ W to 91° 31′ W |
| Website | illinois |
| List of state symbols | |
|---|---|
 Flag of Illinois | |
Seal of Illinois | |
| Slogan | "Land of Lincoln" |
| Living insignia | |
| Amphibian | Eastern tiger salamander |
| Bird | Northern cardinal |
| Butterfly | Monarch butterfly |
| Fish | Bluegill |
| Flower | Violet |
| Grass | Big bluestem |
| Mammal | White-tailed deer |
| Mushroom | Giant puffball |
| Reptile | Painted turtle |
| Tree | White oak |
| Inanimate insignia | |
| Dance | Square dance |
| Food | Gold Rush Apple, popcorn |
| Fossil | Tully monster |
| Mineral | Fluorite |
| Rock | Dolomite |
| Soil | Drummer silty clay loam |
| State route marker | |
 | |
| State quarter | |
 Released in 2003 | |
| Lists of United States state symbols | |
Present-day Illinois was inhabited by Indigenous cultures for thousands of years. The French were the first Europeans to arrive, settling near the Mississippi and Illinois River in the 17th century Illinois Country, as part of their sprawling colony of New France. A century later, the revolutionary war Illinois campaign prefigured American involvement in the region. Following U.S. independence in 1783, which made the Mississippi River the national boundary, American settlers began arriving from Kentucky via the Ohio River. Illinois was soon part of the United States' oldest territory, the Northwest Territory, and in 1818 it achieved statehood. The Erie Canal brought increased commercial activity in the Great Lakes, and the invention of the self-scouring steel plow by Illinoisan John Deere turned the state's rich prairie into some of the world's most productive and valuable farmland, attracting immigrant farmers from Germany, Sweden and elsewhere. In the mid-19th century, the Illinois and Michigan Canal and a sprawling railroad network facilitated trade, commerce, and settlement, making the state a transportation hub for the nation. By 1900, the growth of industrial jobs in the northern cities and coal mining in the central and southern areas attracted immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe. Illinois became one of America's most industrialized states and remains a major manufacturing center. The Great Migration from the South established a large Black community, particularly in Chicago, which became a leading cultural, economic, and population center; its metropolitan area, informally referred to as Chicagoland, holds about 65% of the state's 12.8 million residents.
Two World Heritage Sites are in Illinois, the ancient Cahokia Mounds, and part of the Wright architecture site. A wide variety of protected areas seek to conserve Illinois' natural and cultural resources. Major centers of learning include the University of Chicago, University of Illinois, and Northwestern University. Three U.S. presidents have been elected while residents of Illinois: Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and Barack Obama; additionally, Ronald Reagan was born and raised in the state. Illinois honors Lincoln with its official state slogan Land of Lincoln. The state is the site of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield and the future home of the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.
Illinois has a highly diverse economy, with the global city of Chicago in the northeast, major industrial and agricultural hubs in the north and center, and natural resources such as coal, timber, and petroleum in the south. Owing to its central location and favorable geography, the state is a major transportation hub: the Port of Chicago has access to the Atlantic Ocean through the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Seaway and to the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi River via the Illinois Waterway. Chicago has been the nation's railroad hub since the 1860s, and its O'Hare International Airport has been among the world's busiest airports for decades. Illinois has long been considered a microcosm of the United States and a bellwether in American culture, exemplified by the phrase Will it play in Peoria?.
Etymology
"Illinois" is the modern spelling for the early French Catholic missionaries and explorers' name for the Illinois Native Americans, a name that was spelled in many different ways in the early records.
American scholars previously thought the name Illinois meant 'man' or 'men' in the Miami-Illinois language, with the original iliniwek transformed via French into Illinois. This etymology is not supported by the Illinois language,[citation needed] as the word for "man" is ireniwa, and plural of "man" is ireniwaki. The name Illiniwek has also been said to mean 'tribe of superior men', which is a false etymology. The name Illinois derives from the Miami-Illinois verb irenwe·wa 'he speaks the regular way'. This was taken into the Ojibwe language, perhaps in the Ottawa dialect, and modified into ilinwe· (pluralized as ilinwe·k). The French borrowed these forms, spelling the /we/ ending as -ois, a transliteration of that sound in the French of that time. The current spelling form, Illinois, began to appear in the early 1670s, when French colonists had settled in the western area. The Illinois's name for themselves, as attested in all three of the French missionary-period dictionaries of Illinois, was Inoka, of unknown meaning and unrelated to the other terms.
History
Pre-European
American Indians of successive cultures lived along the waterways of the Illinois area for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans. The Koster Site has been excavated and demonstrates 7,000 years of continuous habitation. Cahokia, the largest regional chiefdom and Urban Center of the Pre-Columbian Mississippian culture, was located near present-day Collinsville, Illinois. They built an urban complex of more than 100 platform and burial mounds, a 50-acre (20 ha) plaza larger than 35 football fields, and a woodhenge of sacred cedar, all in a planned design expressing the culture's cosmology. Monks Mound, the center of the site, is the largest Pre-Columbian structure north of the Valley of Mexico. It is 100 ft (30 m) high, 951 ft (290 m) long, 836 ft (255 m) wide, and covers 13.8 acres (5.6 ha). It contains about 814,000 cu yd (622,000 m3) of earth. It was topped by a structure thought to have measured about 105 ft (32 m) in length and 48 ft (15 m) in width, covered an area 5,000 sq ft (460 m2), and been as much as 50 ft (15 m) high, making its peak 150 ft (46 m) above the level of the plaza. The finely crafted ornaments and tools recovered by archaeologists at Cahokia include elaborate ceramics, finely sculptured stonework, carefully embossed and engraved copper and mica sheets, and one funeral blanket for an important chief fashioned from 20,000 shell beads. These artifacts indicate that Cahokia was truly an urban center, with clustered housing, markets, and specialists in toolmaking, hide dressing, potting, jewelry making, shell engraving, weaving and salt making.
The civilization vanished in the 15th century for unknown reasons, but historians and archeologists have speculated that the people depleted the area of resources. Many indigenous tribes engaged in constant warfare. According to Suzanne Austin Alchon, "At one site in the central Illinois River valley, one third of all adults died as a result of violent injuries." The next major power in the region was the Illinois Confederation or Illini, a political alliance. Around the time of European contact in 1673, the Illinois confederation had an estimated population of over 10,000 people. As the Illini declined during the Beaver Wars era, members of the Algonquian-speaking Potawatomi, Miami, Sauk, and other tribes including the Fox (Meskwaki), Iowa, Kickapoo, Mascouten, Piankeshaw, Shawnee, Wea, and Winnebago (Ho-Chunk) came into the area from the east and north around the Great Lakes.
European exploration and settlement prior to 1800
French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet explored the Illinois River in 1673. Marquette soon after founded a mission at the Grand Village of the Illinois in Illinois Country. In 1680, French explorers under René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle and Henri de Tonti constructed a fort at the site of present-day Peoria, and in 1682, a fort atop Starved Rock in today's Starved Rock State Park. French Empire Canadiens came south to settle particularly along the Mississippi River, and Illinois was part of first New France, and then of La Louisiane until 1763, when it passed to the British with their defeat of France in the Seven Years' War. The small French settlements continued, although many French migrated west to Ste. Genevieve and St. Louis, Missouri, to evade British rule.
A few British soldiers were posted in Illinois, but few British or American settlers moved there, as the Crown made it part of the territory reserved for Indians west of the Appalachians, and then part of the British Province of Quebec. In 1778, George Rogers Clark claimed Illinois County for Virginia. In a compromise, Virginia (and other states that made various claims) ceded the area to the new United States in the 1780s and it became part of the Northwest Territory, administered by the federal government and later organized as states.
19th century
Prior to statehood
The Illinois-Wabash Company was an early claimant to much of Illinois. The Illinois Territory was created on February 3, 1809, with its capital at Kaskaskia, an early French settlement.
During the discussions leading up to Illinois's admission to the Union, the proposed northern boundary of the state was moved twice. The original provisions of the Northwest Ordinance had specified a boundary that would have been tangent to the southern tip of Lake Michigan. Such a boundary would have left Illinois with no shoreline on Lake Michigan at all. However, as Indiana had successfully been granted a 10 mi (16 km) northern extension of its boundary to provide it with a usable lakefront, the original bill for Illinois statehood, submitted to Congress on January 23, 1818, stipulated a northern border at the same latitude as Indiana's, which is defined as 10 miles north of the southernmost extremity of Lake Michigan. However, the Illinois delegate, Nathaniel Pope, wanted more, and lobbied to have the boundary moved further north. The final bill passed by Congress included an amendment to shift the border to 42° 30' north, which is approximately 51 mi (82 km) north of the Indiana northern border. This shift added 8,500 sq mi (22,000 km2) to the state, including the lead mining region near Galena. More importantly, it added nearly 50 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline and the Chicago River. Pope and others envisioned a canal that would connect the Chicago and Illinois rivers and thus connect the Great Lakes to the Mississippi.
The State of Illinois prior to the Civil War
In 1818, Illinois became the 21st U.S. state. The capital remained at Kaskaskia, headquartered in a small building rented by the state. In 1819, Vandalia became the capital, and over the next 18 years, three separate buildings were built to serve successively as the capitol building. In 1837, the state legislators representing Sangamon County, under the leadership of state representative Abraham Lincoln, succeeded in having the capital moved to Springfield, where a fifth capitol building was constructed. A sixth capitol building was erected in 1867, which continues to serve as the Illinois capitol today.
Though it was ostensibly a "free state", there was nonetheless slavery in Illinois. The ethnic French had owned black slaves since the 1720s, and American settlers had already brought slaves into the area from Kentucky. Slavery was nominally banned by the Northwest Ordinance, but that was not enforced for those already holding slaves. When Illinois became a state in 1818, the Ordinance no longer applied, and about 900 slaves were held in the state. As the southern part of the state, later known as "Egypt" or "Little Egypt", was largely settled by migrants from the South, the section was hostile to free blacks. Edward Coles, the second Governor of Illinois who was born in Virginia, participated in a campaign to block extending existing slavery in Illinois after winning the 1822 Illinois gubernatorial election. In 1824, state residents voted against making slavery legal by a vote of 6640 against to 4972 for.
Still, most residents opposed allowing free blacks as permanent residents. Some settlers brought in slaves seasonally or as house servants. The Illinois Constitution of 1848 was written with a provision for exclusionary laws to be passed. In 1853, John A. Logan helped pass a law to prohibit all African Americans, including freedmen, from settling in the state.
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, and many travelers perished. Several severe winters followed, including the "Winter of the Sudden Freeze". On December 20, 1836, 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, "Little Egypt", after the Biblical story of Joseph in Egypt supplying grain to his brothers.
In 1832, the Black Hawk War was fought in Illinois and present-day Wisconsin between the United States and the Sauk, Fox (Meskwaki), and Kickapoo Indian tribes. It represents the end of Indian resistance to white settlement in the Chicago region. The Indians had been forced to leave their homes and move to Iowa in 1831; when they attempted to return, they were attacked and eventually defeated by U.S. militia. The survivors were forced back to Iowa. By 1832, when the last Indian lands in Illinois were ceded to the United States, the indigenous population of the state had been reduced by infectious diseases, warfare, and forced westward removal to only one village with fewer than 300 inhabitants.
By 1839, the Latter Day Saints had founded a utopian city called Nauvoo, formerly called Commerce. Located in Hancock County along the Mississippi River, Nauvoo flourished and, by 1844, briefly surpassed Chicago for the position of the state's largest city. But in that same year, the Latter Day Saint movement founder, Joseph Smith, was killed in the Carthage Jail, about 30 miles away from Nauvoo. Following a succession crisis, Brigham Young led most Latter Day Saints out of Illinois in a mass exodus to present-day Utah; after close to six years of rapid development, Nauvoo quickly declined afterward.
After it was established in 1833, Chicago gained prominence as a Great Lakes port, and then as an Illinois and Michigan Canal port after 1848, and as a rail hub soon afterward. By 1857, Chicago was Illinois's largest city. With the tremendous growth of mines and factories in the state in the 19th century, Illinois was the ground for the formation of labor unions in the United States.
In 1847, after lobbying by Dorothea L. Dix, Illinois became one of the first states to establish a system of state-supported treatment of mental illness and disabilities, replacing local almshouses. Dix came into this effort after having met J. O. King, a Jacksonville, Illinois businessman, who invited her to Illinois, where he had been working to build an asylum for the insane. With the lobbying expertise of Dix, plans for the Jacksonville State Hospital (now known as the Jacksonville Developmental Center) were signed into law on March 1, 1847.
Civil War and after
During the American Civil War, Illinois ranked fourth in soldiers who served (more than 250,000) in the Union Army, a figure surpassed by only New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Beginning with President Abraham Lincoln'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. The town of Cairo, at the southern tip of the state at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, served as a strategically important supply base and training center for the Union army. For several months, both General Grant and Admiral Foote had headquarters in Cairo.
During the Civil War, and more so afterwards, Chicago's population skyrocketed, which increased its prominence. The Pullman Strike and Haymarket Riot, in particular, greatly influenced the development of the American labor movement. From Sunday, October 8, 1871, until Tuesday, October 10, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire burned in downtown Chicago, destroying four sq mi (10 km2).
20th century
At the turn of the 20th century, Illinois had a population of nearly 5 million. Many people from other parts of the country were attracted to the state by employment caused by the expanding industrial base. Whites were 98% of the state's population. Bolstered by continued immigration from southern and eastern Europe, and by the African-American Great Migration from the South, Illinois grew and emerged as one of the most important states in the union. By the end of the century, the population had reached 12.4 million.
The Century of Progress World's fair was held at Chicago in 1933. Oil strikes in Marion County and Crawford County led to a boom in 1937, and by 1939, Illinois ranked fourth in U.S. oil production. Illinois manufactured 6.1 percent of total United States military armaments produced during World War II, ranking seventh among the 48 states. Chicago became an ocean port with the opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway in 1959. The seaway and the Illinois Waterway connected Chicago to both the Mississippi River and the Atlantic Ocean. In 1960, Ray Kroc opened the first McDonald's franchise in Des Plaines, which was demolished in 1984. In 1985 a replica was built on the same site to recreate how the original one looked. Though this replica was demolished in 2017, due to repeated flooding of the building.
Illinois had a prominent role in the emergence of the nuclear age. In 1942, as part of the Manhattan Project, the University of Chicago conducted the first sustained nuclear chain reaction. In 1957, Argonne National Laboratory, near Chicago, activated the first experimental nuclear power generating system in the United States. By 1960, the first privately financed nuclear plant in the United States, Dresden 1, was dedicated near Morris. In 1967, Fermilab, a national nuclear research facility near Batavia, opened a particle accelerator, which was the world's largest for over 40 years. With eleven plants currently operating, Illinois leads all states in the amount of electricity generated from nuclear power.
In 1961, Illinois became the first state in the nation to adopt the recommendation of the American Law Institute and pass a comprehensive criminal code revision that repealed the law against sodomy. The code also abrogated common law crimes and established an age of consent of 18. The state's fourth constitution was adopted in 1970, replacing the 1870 document.
The first Farm Aid concert was held in Champaign to benefit American farmers, in 1985. The worst upper Mississippi River flood of the century, the Great Flood of 1993, inundated many towns and thousands of acres of farmland.
21st century
Illinois entered the 21st century under Republican Governor George Ryan. Near the end of his term in January 2003, following a string of high-profile exonerations, Ryan commuted all death sentences in the state.
The 2002 election brought Democrat Rod Blagojevich to the governor's mansion. It also brought future president Barack Obama into a committee leadership position in the Illinois Senate, where he drafted the Health Care Justice Act, a forerunner of the Affordable Care Act. Obama's election to the presidency in Blagojevich's second term set off a chain of events culminating in Blagojevich's impeachment, trial, and subsequent criminal conviction and imprisonment, making Blagojevich the second consecutive Illinois governor to be convicted on federal corruption charges.
Blagojevich's replacement Pat Quinn was defeated by Republican Bruce Rauner in the 2014 election. Disagreements between the governor and legislature over budgetary policy led to the Illinois Budget Impasse, a 793-day period stretching from 2015 to 2018 in which the state had no budget and struggled to pay its bills.
On August 28, 2017, Rauner signed a bill into law that prohibited state and local police from arresting anyone solely due to their immigration status or due to federal detainers. Some fellow Republicans criticized Rauner for his action, claiming the bill made Illinois a sanctuary state.
In the 2018 election, Rauner was replaced by J. B. Pritzker, returning the state government to a Democratic trifecta. In January 2020 the state legalized marijuana. On March 9, 2020, Pritzker issued a disaster proclamation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He ended the state of emergency in May 2023.
Geology
During the early part of the Paleozoic Era, the area that would one day become Illinois was submerged beneath a shallow sea and located near the Equator. Diverse marine life lived at this time, including trilobites, brachiopods, and crinoids. Changing environmental conditions led to the formation of large coal swamps in the Carboniferous.
Illinois was above sea level for at least part of the Mesozoic, but by its end was again submerged by the Western Interior Seaway. This receded by the Eocene Epoch.
During the Pleistocene Epoch, vast ice sheets covered much of Illinois, with only the Driftless Area remaining exposed. These glaciers carved the basin of Lake Michigan and left behind traces of ancient glacial lakes and moraines.
Geography
Illinois is located in the Midwest region of the United States and is one of the eight states in the Great Lakes region of North America (which also includes Ontario, Canada).
Boundaries
Illinois's eastern border with Indiana consists of a north–south line at 87° 31′ 30″ west longitude in Lake Michigan at the north, to the Wabash River in the south above Post Vincennes. The Wabash River continues as the eastern/southeastern border with Indiana until the Wabash enters the Ohio River. This marks the beginning of Illinois's southern border with Kentucky, which runs along the northern shoreline of the Ohio River. Most of the western border with Missouri and Iowa is the Mississippi River; Kaskaskia is an exclave of Illinois, lying west of the Mississippi and reachable only from Missouri. The state's northern border with Wisconsin is fixed at 42° 30′ north latitude. The northeastern border of Illinois lies in Lake Michigan, within which Illinois shares a water boundary with the state of Michigan, as well as Wisconsin and Indiana.
Topography
Though Illinois lies entirely in the Interior Plains, it does have some minor variation in its elevation. In extreme northwestern Illinois, the Driftless Area, a region of unglaciated and therefore higher and more rugged topography, occupies a small part of the state. Southern Illinois includes the hilly areas around the Shawnee National Forest.
Charles Mound, located in the Driftless region, has the state's highest natural elevation above sea level at 1,235 ft (376 m). Other highlands include the Shawnee Hills in the south, and there is varying topography along its rivers; the Illinois River bisects the state northeast to southwest. The floodplain on the Mississippi River from Alton to the Kaskaskia River is known as the American Bottom.
Divisions
Illinois has three major geographical divisions. Northern Illinois is dominated by Chicago metropolitan area, or Chicagoland, which is the city of Chicago and its suburbs, and the adjoining exurban area into which the metropolis is expanding. As defined by the federal government, the Chicago metro area includes several counties in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, and has a population of over 9.8 million. Chicago itself is a cosmopolitan city, densely populated, industrialized, the transportation hub of the nation, and settled by a wide variety of ethnic groups. The city of Rockford, Illinois's third-largest city and center of the state's fourth largest metropolitan area, sits along Interstates 39 and 90 some 75 mi (121 km) northwest of Chicago. The Quad Cities region, located along the Mississippi River in northern Illinois, had a population of 381,342 in 2011.
The midsection of Illinois is the second major division, called Central Illinois. Historically prairie, it is now mainly agricultural and known as the Heart of Illinois. It is characterized by small towns and medium–small cities. The western section (west of the Illinois River) was originally part of the Military Tract of 1812 and forms the conspicuous western bulge of the state. Agriculture, particularly corn and soybeans, as well as educational institutions and manufacturing centers, figure prominently in Central Illinois. Cities include Peoria; Springfield, the state capital; Quincy; Decatur; Bloomington-Normal; and Champaign-Urbana.
The third division is Southern Illinois, comprising the area south of U.S. Route 50, including Little Egypt, near the juncture of the Mississippi River and Ohio River. Southern Illinois is the site of the ancient city of Cahokia, as well as the site of the first state capital at Kaskaskia, which today is separated from the rest of the state by the Mississippi River. This region has a somewhat warmer winter climate, different variety of crops (including some cotton farming in the past), more rugged topography (due to the area remaining unglaciated during the Illinoian Stage, unlike most of the rest of the state), as well as small-scale oil deposits and coal mining. The Illinois suburbs of St. Louis, such as East St. Louis, are located in this region, and collectively, they are known as the Metro-East. The other somewhat significant concentration of population in Southern Illinois is the Carbondale-Marion-Herrin, Illinois Combined Statistical Area centered on Carbondale and Marion, a two-county area that is home to 123,272 residents. A portion of southeastern Illinois is part of the extended Evansville, Indiana, Metro Area, locally referred to as the Tri-State with Indiana and Kentucky. Seven Illinois counties are in the area.
In addition to these three, largely latitudinally defined divisions, all of the region outside the Chicago metropolitan area is often called "downstate" Illinois. This term is flexible, but is generally meant to mean everything outside the influence of the Chicago area. Thus, some cities in Northern Illinois, such as DeKalb, which is west of Chicago, and Rockford—which is actually north of Chicago—are sometimes incorrectly considered to be 'downstate'.
Climate
Illinois has a climate that varies widely throughout the year. Because of its nearly 400-mile distance between its northernmost and southernmost extremes, as well as its mid-continental situation, most of Illinois has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa), with hot, humid summers and cold winters. The southern part of the state, from about Carbondale southward, has a humid subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa), with more moderate winters. Average yearly precipitation for Illinois varies from just over 48 in (1,219 mm) at the southern tip to around 35 in (889 mm) in the northern portion of the state. Normal annual snowfall exceeds 38 in (965 mm) in the Chicago area, while the southern portion of the state normally receives less than 14 in (356 mm). The all-time high temperature was 117 °F (47 °C), recorded on July 14, 1954, at East St. Louis, and the all-time low temperature was −38 °F (−39 °C), recorded on January 31, 2019, during the January 2019 North American cold wave at a weather station near Mount Carroll, and confirmed on March 5, 2019. This followed the previous record of −36 °F (−38 °C) recorded on January 5, 1999, near Congerville. Prior to the Mount Carroll record, a temperature of −37 °F (−38 °C) was recorded on January 15, 2009, at Rochelle, but at a weather station not subjected to the same quality control as official records.
Illinois averages approximately 51 days of thunderstorm activity a year, which ranks somewhat above average in the number of thunderstorm days for the United States. Illinois is vulnerable to tornadoes, with an average of 54 occurring annually, which puts much of the state at around five tornadoes per 10,000 sq mi (30,000 km2) annually. Some of Tornado Alley's deadliest tornadoes on record have occurred in the state. The Tri-State Tornado of 1925 killed 695 people in three states; 613 of the victims died in Illinois.
| City | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairo | 43/25 | 48/29 | 59/37 | 70/46 | 78/57 | 86/67 | 90/71 | 88/69 | 81/61 | 71/49 | 57/39 | 46/30 |
| Chicago | 31/16 | 36/21 | 47/31 | 59/42 | 70/52 | 81/61 | 85/65 | 83/65 | 75/57 | 64/45 | 48/34 | 36/22 |
| Edwardsville | 36/19 | 42/24 | 52/34 | 64/45 | 75/55 | 84/64 | 89/69 | 86/66 | 79/58 | 68/46 | 53/35 | 41/25 |
| Moline | 30/12 | 36/18 | 48/29 | 62/39 | 73/50 | 83/60 | 86/64 | 84/62 | 76/53 | 64/42 | 48/30 | 34/18 |
| Peoria | 31/14 | 37/20 | 49/30 | 62/40 | 73/51 | 82/60 | 86/65 | 84/63 | 77/54 | 64/42 | 49/31 | 36/20 |
| Rockford | 27/11 | 33/16 | 46/27 | 59/37 | 71/48 | 80/58 | 83/63 | 81/61 | 74/52 | 62/40 | 46/29 | 32/17 |
| Springfield | 33/17 | 39/22 | 51/32 | 63/42 | 74/53 | 83/62 | 86/66 | 84/64 | 78/55 | 67/44 | 51/34 | 38/23 |
Urban areas
Chicago is the largest city in the state and the third-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 2,746,388 in 2020. Furthermore, over 7 million residents of the Chicago metropolitan area reside in Illinois. The U.S. Census Bureau currently lists seven other cities with populations of over 100,000 within the state. This includes the Chicago satellite towns of Aurora, Joliet, Naperville, and Elgin, as well as the cities of Rockford, the most populous city in the state outside of the Chicago area; Springfield, the state's capital; and Peoria.
The most populated city in the state south of Springfield is Belleville, with 42,000 residents. It is located in the Metro East region of Greater St. Louis, the second-most populous urban area in Illinois with over 700,000 residents. Other major urban areas include the Peoria metropolitan area, Rockford metropolitan area, Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area (home to the University of Illinois), Springfield metropolitan area, the Illinois portion of the Quad Cities area, and the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area.
| Rank | Name | County | Pop. | Rank | Name | County | Pop. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Chicago  Aurora | 1 | Chicago | Cook | 2,746,388 | 11 | Cicero | Cook | 85,268 |  Joliet  Naperville |
| 2 | Aurora | Kane | 180,542 | 12 | Schaumburg | Cook | 78,723 | ||
| 3 | Joliet | Will | 150,362 | 13 | Bloomington | McLean | 78,680 | ||
| 4 | Naperville | DuPage | 149,540 | 14 | Evanston | Cook | 78,110 | ||
| 5 | Rockford | Winnebago | 148,655 | 15 | Arlington Heights | Cook | 77,676 | ||
| 6 | Elgin | Kane, Cook | 114,797 | 16 | Bolingbrook | Will, DuPage | 73,922 | ||
| 7 | Springfield | Sangamon | 114,394 | 17 | Decatur | Macon | 70,522 | ||
| 8 | Peoria | Peoria | 113,150 | 18 | Palatine | Cook | 67,908 | ||
| 9 | Waukegan | Lake | 89,321 | 19 | Skokie | Cook | 67,824 | ||
| 10 | Champaign | Champaign | 88,302 | 20 | Des Plaines | Cook | 60,675 | ||
Demographics
It has been suggested that this section be split out into another article titled Demographics of Illinois. (Discuss) (September 2024) |
The United States Census Bureau found that the population of Illinois was 12,812,508 in the 2020 United States census, moving from the fifth-largest state to the sixth-largest state (losing out to Pennsylvania). Illinois' population slightly declined in 2020 from the 2010 United States census by just over 18,000 residents and the overall population was quite higher than recent census estimates.
Illinois is the most populous state in the Midwest region. Chicago, the third-most populous city in the United States, is the center of the Chicago metropolitan area or Chicagoland, as this area is nicknamed. Although the Chicago metropolitan area comprises only 9% of the land area of the state, it contains 65% of the state's residents, with 21.4% of Illinois' population living in the city of Chicago itself as of 2020. The losses of population anticipated from the 2020 census results do not arise from the Chicago metro area; rather the declines are from the Downstate counties. As of the 2020 census, the state's geographic mean center of population is located at 41° 18′ 43″N 88° 22 23″W in Grundy County, about six miles northwest of Coal City.
Illinois is the most racially and ethnically diverse state in the Midwest. By several metrics, including racial and ethnic background, religious affiliation, and percentage of rural and urban divide, Illinois is the most representative of the larger demography of the United States.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1800 | 2,458 | — | |
| 1810 | 12,282 | 399.7% | |
| 1820 | 55,211 | 349.5% | |
| 1830 | 157,445 | 185.2% | |
| 1840 | 476,183 | 202.4% | |
| 1850 | 851,470 | 78.8% | |
| 1860 | 1,711,951 | 101.1% | |
| 1870 | 2,539,891 | 48.4% | |
| 1880 | 3,077,871 | 21.2% | |
| 1890 | 3,826,352 | 24.3% | |
| 1900 | 4,821,550 | 26.0% | |
| 1910 | 5,638,591 | 16.9% | |
| 1920 | 6,485,280 | 15.0% | |
| 1930 | 7,630,654 | 17.7% | |
| 1940 | 7,897,241 | 3.5% | |
| 1950 | 8,712,176 | 10.3% | |
| 1960 | 10,081,158 | 15.7% | |
| 1970 | 11,113,976 | 10.2% | |
| 1980 | 11,426,518 | 2.8% | |
| 1990 | 11,430,602 | 0.0% | |
| 2000 | 12,419,293 | 8.6% | |
| 2010 | 12,830,632 | 3.3% | |
| 2020 | 12,812,508 | −0.1% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 12,710,158 | −0.8% | |
| Source: 1910–2020 | |||
Race and ethnicity
2020 census
| Race / Ethnicity | Pop 2000 | Pop 2010 | Pop 2020 | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 8,424,140 | 8,167,753 | 7,472,751 | 67.83% | 63.66% | 58.32% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 1,856,152 | 1,832,924 | 1,775,612 | 14.95% | 14.29% | 13.86% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 18,232 | 18,849 | 16,561 | 0.15% | 0.15% | 0.13% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 419,916 | 580,586 | 747,280 | 3.38% | 4.52% | 5.83% |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 3,116 | 2,977 | 2,959 | 0.03% | 0.02% | 0.02% |
| Some Other Race alone (NH) | 13,479 | 16,008 | 45,080 | 0.11% | 0.12% | 0.35% |
| Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH) | 153,996 | 183,957 | 414,855 | 1.24% | 1.43% | 3.24% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 1,530,262 | 2,027,578 | 2,337,410 | 12.32% | 15.80% | 18.24% |
| Total | 12,419,293 | 12,830,632 | 12,812,508 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
- 40–50%50–60%60–70%70–80%80–90%90%+
| Race and ethnicity | Alone | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 58.3% | 61.3% | ||
| Hispanic or Latino | — | 18.2% | ||
| African American (non-Hispanic) | 13.9% | 15.0% | ||
| Asian | 5.8% | 6.7% | ||
| Native American | 0.1% | 1.1% | ||
| Pacific Islander | 0.02% | 0.1% | ||
| Other | 0.4% | 1.1% | ||
| Racial composition | 1950 | 1960 | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | 92.4% | 89.4% | 86.4% | 80.8% | 78.3% | 73.5% | 71.5% | 61.4% |
| Black | 7.4% | 10.3% | 12.8% | 14.7% | 14.8% | 15.1% | 14.5% | 14.1% |
| Asian | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 1.4% | 2.5% | 3.4% | 4.6% | 5.9% |
| Native | 0% | 0% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.8% |
| Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander | — | — | — | — | — | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Other race | — | — | 0.2% | 3% | 4.2% | 5.8% | 6.7% | 8.9% |
| Two or more races | — | — | — | — | — | 1.9% | 2.3% | 8.9% |
| Hispanic or Latino | — | — | 3.3% | 5.6% | 7.9% | 12.3% | 15.8% | 18.2% |
| Non-Hispanic white | — | — | 83.5% | 78% | 74.8% | 67.8% | 63.7% | 58.3% |
2022 American Community Survey
| Racial Makeup of Illinois (2022) White alone (61.07%) Black alone (13.43%) Native American alone (0.69%) Asian Alone (6.00%) Pacific Islander Alone (0.06%) Some other race alone (7.89%) Two or more races (10.87%) | Racial/Ethnic Makeup of Illinois excluding Hispanics from racial categories (2022) White NH (58.47%) Black NH (13.20%) Native American NH (0.08%) Asian NH (5.94%) Pacific Islander NH (0.03%) Other NH (0.36%) Two or more races NH (3.64%) Hispanic Any Race (18.28%) | Racial Makeup of Hispanics in Illinois (2022) White alone (14.23%) Black alone (1.27%) Native American alone (3.33%) Asian Alone (0.33%) Pacific Islander Alone (0.15%) Other race alone (41.17%) Two or more races (39.52%) |
According to 2022 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, Illinois' population was 61.1% White, 13.4% Black or African American, 0.1% Native American or Alaskan Native, 6.0% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 7.9% Some Other Race, and 10.9% from two or more races. The white population continues to remain the largest racial category in Illinois. Hispanics are allocated amongst the various racial groups and primarily identify as Some Other Race (41.2%) or Multiracial (39.5%) with the remainder identifying as White (14.2%), Black (1.3%), American Indian and Alaskan Native (3.3), Asian (0.3%), and Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (0.2%). By ethnicity, 18.3% of the total population is Hispanic-Latino (of any race) and 81.7% is Non-Hispanic (of any race). If treated as a separate category, Hispanics are the largest minority group in Illinois.
As of 2022[update], 50% of Illinois's population younger than age 4 were minorities (Note: Children born to white Hispanics or to a sole full or partial minority parent are counted as minorities).
The state's most populous ethnic group, non-Hispanic white, has declined from 83.5% in 1970 to 58.5% in 2022. Almost 60% of Illinois' minority population, including over 67% of the black population, lives in Cook County, while the county includes around 40% of the state's total population. Cook County, which is home to Chicago, is the only majority-minority county within Illinois, with non-Hispanic whites making up a plurality of 40.4% of the population. In 2020, 96,498 identified as being Native American alone, while 184,487 did in combination with one or more other races. Over half of this demographic also identified as being Hispanic or Latino.
Ancestry
According to 2022 estimates from the American Community Survey, 16% of the population had German ancestry, 14% had Mexican ancestry, 10.4% had Irish ancestry, 7.1% had English ancestry, 6.2% had Polish ancestry, 5.2% had Italian ancestry, 3.4% listed themselves as American, 2.3% had Indian ancestry, 1.7% had Puerto Rican ancestry, 1.7% had Swedish ancestry, 1.4% had Filipino ancestry, 1.4% had French ancestry, and 1.2% had Chinese ancestry. The state also has a large population of African-Americans, making up 15.3% of the population alone or in combination. This table displays all self-reported ancestries with over 50,000 members in Illinois, alone or in combination, according to estimates from the 2022 American Community Survey. Hispanic groups are not distinguished between total and partial ancestry:
| Ancestry | Number in 2022 (Alone) | Number as of 2022 (Alone or in any combination) | % Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| German | 649,997 | 2,014,297 | 16.0% |
| Black or African American (Including Afro-Caribbean & Sub-Saharan African) | 1,689,724 | 1,931,027 | 15.3% |
| Mexican | — | 1,759,842 | 14.0% |
| Irish | 338,198 | 1,312,888 | 10.4% |
| English | 278,564 | 891,189 | 7.1% |
| Polish | 336,810 | 780,152 | 6.2% |
| Italian | 205,189 | 657,830 | 5.2% |
| American (Mostly old-stock white Americans of British descent) | 345,772 | 428,431 | 3.4% |
| Indian | 270,311 | 287,101 | 2.3% |
| Puerto Rican | — | 214,835 | 1.7% |
| Swedish | 48,814 | 210,128 | 1.7% |
| Filipino | 131,433 | 175,619 | 1.4% |
| French | 27,025 | 174,964 | 1.4% |
| Chinese | 130,864 | 153,277 | 1.2% |
| Broadly "European" (No country specified) | 114,209 | 146,671 | 1.2% |
| Scottish | 33,638 | 136,636 | 1.1% |
| Norwegian | 33,099 | 133,538 | 1.1% |
| Dutch | 32,184 | 122,139 | 1.0% |
| Arab | 74,779 | 106,612 | 0.8% |
| Czech | 21,168 | 83,090 | 0.7% |
| Greek | 39,290 | 82,360 | 0.7% |
| Russian | 27,532 | 79,623 | 0.6% |
| Lithuanian | 27,001 | 73,207 | 0.6% |
| Korean | 55,515 | 71,709 | 0.6% |
| Scotch-Irish | 16,817 | 60,693 | 0.5% |
| Ukrainian | 37,306 | 60,623 | 0.5% |
Immigration
At the 2022 estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 1,810,100 foreign-born inhabitants of the state or 14.4% of the population, with 37.8% from Mexico or Central America, 31% from Asia, 20.2% from Europe, 4.3% from South America, 4.2% from Africa, 1% from Canada, and 0.2% from Oceania. Of the foreign-born population, 53.5% were naturalized U.S. citizens, and 46.5% were not U.S. citizens. The top countries of origin for immigrants in Illinois were Mexico, India, Poland, the Philippines and China in 2018.
| Place of Birth | Population (2022) | % of Total |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 10,660,218 | 84.7% |
| Illinois | 8,379,091 | 66.6% |
| Other States or D.C. | 2,227,917 | 17.7% |
| Puerto Rico | 50,577 | 0.4% |
| Other US Territories | 2,633 | 0.0% |
| Born abroad to American parents | 111,714 | 0.9% |
| Mexico & Central America | 683,766 | 5.4% |
| Mexico | 621,541 | 4.9% |
| Guatemala | 22,886 | 0.2% |
| Honduras | 13,811 | 0.1% |
| El Salvador | 12,097 | 0.1% |
| Belize | 7,150 | 0.1% |
| Other Central American countries | 6,281 | 0.0% |
| Caribbean (Not including Puerto Rico) | 25,258 | 0.2% |
| Cuba | 6,955 | 0.1% |
| Jamaica | 6,873 | 0.1% |
| Haiti | 5,265 | 0.0% |
| Other Caribbean countries | 6,165 | 0.0% |
| South America | 76,944 | 0.7% |
| Colombia | 22,796 | 0.2% |
| Venezuela | 15,387 | 0.1% |
| Ecuador | 14,356 | 0.1% |
| Brazil | 9,164 | 0.1% |
| Peru | 6,426 | 0.1% |
| Other South American countries | 8,815 | 0.1% |
| Northern America | 17,775 | 0.1% |
| Canada | 17,632 | 0.1% |
| Other Northern American countries | 143 | 0.0% |
| Eastern Europe | 271,358 | 2.2% |
| Poland | 120,473 | 1.0% |
| Ukraine | 33,575 | 0.3% |
| Romania | 15,452 | 0.1% |
| Russia | 14,930 | 0.1% |
| Bulgaria | 13,464 | 0.1% |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | 11,071 | 0.1% |
| Other Eastern European countries | 62,393 | 0.5% |
| Western Europe | 30,076 | 0.3% |
| Germany | 19,611 | 0.2% |
| Other Western European countries | 10,465 | 0.1% |
| Southern Europe | 34,997 | 0.3% |
| Italy | 18,660 | 0.1% |
| Greece | 12,463 | 0.1% |
| Other Southern European countries | 3,874 | 0.0% |
| Northern Europe | 27,573 | 0.2% |
| United Kingdom (Including overseas Crown Dependencies) | 19,123 | 0.2% |
| Ireland | 5,465 | 0.0% |
| Other Northern European countries | 2,985 | 0.0% |
| Europe, unspecified country | 1,353 | 0.0% |
| East Asia | 137,098 | 1.1% |
| China | 77,933 | 0.7% |
| Korea (North & South) | 37,662 | 0.3% |
| Japan | 9,905 | 0.1% |
| Taiwan | 8,995 | 0.1% |
| Other East Asian countries | 2,603 | 0.0% |
| South or Central Asia | 231,775 | 1.8% |
| India | 173,578 | 1.4% |
| Pakistan | 29,823 | 0.2% |
| Bangladesh | 5,858 | 0.0% |
| Other South or Central Asian countries | 22,516 | 0.2% |
| Southeast Asia | 131,684 | 1.0% |
| Philippines | 92,569 | 0.7% |
| Vietnam | 18,559 | 0.1% |
| Thailand | 5,268 | 0.0% |
| Other Southeast Asian countries | 15,288 | 0.1% |
| West Asia | 52,352 | 0.4% |
| Iraq | 13,341 | 0.1% |
| Jordan | 8,240 | 0.1% |
| Syria | 8,130 | 0.1% |
| Turkey | 5,271 | 0.0% |
| Other West Asian countries | 17,370 | 0.1% |
| Asia, unspecified country | 8,366 | 0.1% |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 63,590 | 0.6% |
| Nigeria | 22,648 | 0.2% |
| Ghana | 6,018 | 0.0% |
| Ethiopia | 5,069 | 0.0% |
| Other Sub-Saharan African countries | 29,855 | 0.3% |
| North Africa | 11,924 | 0.1% |
| Africa, unspecified country | 2,368 | 0.0% |
| Oceania | 4,211 | 0.0% |
| Total Population | 12,582,032 | 100% |
Age and sex
In 2022, 11.2% of Illinois's population was reported as being under the age of 9, 12.9% were between 10 and 19 years old, 13.4% were 20–29 years old, 13.6% were 30–39 years old, 12.6% were 40–49 years old, 12.7% were 50–59 years old, 11.9% were 60–69 years old, 7.7% were 70–79 years old, and 4% were over the age of 80. The median age in Illinois is 39.1 years. Females made up approximately 50.5% of the population, while males made up 49.5%. According to a 2022 study from the Williams Institute, an estimated 0.44% of adults in Illinois identify as transgender, a rate slightly lower than the national estimate of 0.52%. According to a Gallup survey from 2019, 4.3% of adults in Illinois identify as LGBTQ.
| Age Group | % of Total (2022) | Population (2022) |
|---|---|---|
| 0–9 | 11.2% | 1,409,553 |
| 10–19 | 12.9% | 1,628,658 |
| 20–29 | 13.4% | 1,683,823 |
| 30–39 | 13.6% | 1,709,929 |
| 40–49 | 12.6% | 1,579,665 |
| 50–59 | 12.7% | 1,596,049 |
| 60–69 | 11.9% | 1,501,221 |
| 70–79 | 7.7% | 970,961 |
| 80+ | 4% | 502,173 |
Socioeconomics
As of 2022, the per-capita income in Illinois is $43,317, and the median income for a household in the state is $76,708, slightly higher than the national average. 11.9% of the population lives below the poverty line, including 16% of children under 18 and 10% of those over the age of 65. There are 5,056,360 households in Illinois, with an average size of 2.4 people per household. 90.4% of the adult population has a high school diploma, and 37.7% of the population over 25 has a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to a national average of 35.7%.
In 2021, Illinois scored 0.929 on the UN's Human Development Index, placing it in the category of "very high" Human Development and slightly higher than the US average of 0.921.
According to HUD's 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, there were an estimated 9,212 homeless people in Illinois.
Birth data by race/ethnicity
Births do not add up, because Hispanics are counted both by ethnicity and by race.
| Race | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White: | 119,157 (75.9%) | 119,995 (75.7%) | 119,630 (75.6%) | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Non-Hispanic White | 85,866 (54.7%) | 86,227 (54.4%) | 85,424 (54.0%) | 82,318 (53.3%) | 78,925 (52.8%) | 77,244 (53.3%) | 74,434 (53.1%) | 70,550 (52.9%) | 71,482 (54.1%) | 68,107 (53.1%) |
| Black | 27,692 (17.6%) | 28,160 (17.8%) | 28,059 (17.7%) | 25,619 (16.6%) | 25,685 (17.2%) | 24,482 (16.9%) | 23,258 (16.6%) | 22,293 (16.7%) | 20,779 (15.7%) | 19,296 (15.0%) |
| Asian | 9,848 (6.3%) | 10,174 (6.4%) | 10,222 (6.5%) | 10,015 (6.5%) | 9,650 (6.5%) | 9,452 (6.5%) | 9,169 (6.5%) | 8,505 (6.4%) | 8,338 (6.3%) | 8,277 (6.4%) |
| American Indian | 234 (0.1%) | 227 (0.1%) | 205 (0.1%) | 110 (0.0%) | 133 (0.1%) | 129 (0.1%) | 119 (0.1%) | 79 (>0.1%) | 86 (>0.1%) | 126 (0.1%) |
| Hispanic (of any race) | 33,454 (21.3%) | 33,803 (21.3%) | 33,902 (21.4%) | 32,635 (21.1%) | 31,428 (21.0%) | 30,362 (21.0%) | 30,097 (21.5%) | 28,808 (21.6%) | 28,546 (21.6%) | 29,710 (23.1%) |
| Total Illinois | 156,931 (100%) | 158,556 (100%) | 158,116 (100%) | 154,445 (100%) | 149,390 (100%) | 144,815 (100%) | 140,128 (100%) | 133,298 (100%) | 132,189 (100%) | 128,350 (100%) |
- Since 2016, data for births of Hispanic origin are not collected by race, but included in one Hispanic group; persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
Languages
The official language of Illinois is English, although between 1923 and 1969, state law gave official status to "the American language". Nearly 80% of people in Illinois speak English natively, and most of the rest speak it fluently as a second language. A number of dialects of American English are spoken, ranging from Inland Northern American English and African-American English around Chicago, to Midland American English in Central Illinois, to Southern American English in the far south.
Over 23% of Illinoians speak a language other than English at home, of which Spanish is by far the most widespread, at more than 13% of the total population. A sizeable number of Polish speakers is present in the Chicago Metropolitan Area. Illinois Country French has mostly gone extinct in Illinois, although it is still celebrated in the French Colonial Historic District.
| Language spoken at home | % of Total (2022) | Population (2022) |
|---|---|---|
| English only | 76.1% | 9,067,296 |
| Spanish | 13.8% | 1,638,808 |
| Other Indo-European languages | 5.8% | 687,797 |
| Asian/Pacific Islander languages | 3.1% | 372,475 |
| Other languages | 1.2% | 141,445 |
| Total population aged 5+ | 100% | 11,907,821 |
Religion
Religion in Illinois (2014)
Christianity
Roman Catholics constitute the single largest religious denomination in Illinois; they are heavily concentrated in and around Chicago and account for nearly 30% of the state's population. However, taken together as a group, the various Protestant denominations comprise a greater percentage of the state's population than do Catholics. In 2010, Catholics in Illinois numbered 3,648,907. The largest Protestant denominations were the United Methodist Church with 314,461 members and the Southern Baptist Convention with 283,519. Illinois has one of the largest concentrations of Missouri Synod Lutherans in the United States.
Illinois played an important role in the early Latter Day Saint movement, with Nauvoo becoming a gathering place for Mormons in the early 1840s. Nauvoo was the location of the succession crisis, which led to the separation of the Mormon movement into several Latter Day Saint sects. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the largest of the sects to emerge from the Mormon schism, has more than 55,000 adherents in Illinois today.
Other Abrahamic religious communities
A significant number of adherents of other Abrahamic faiths can be found in Illinois. Largely concentrated in the Chicago metropolitan area, followers of the Muslim, Baháʼí, and Jewish religions all call the state home. Muslims constituted the largest non-Christian group, with 359,264 adherents. Illinois has the largest concentration of Muslims by state in the country, with 2,800 Muslims per 100,000 citizens.
The largest and oldest surviving Baháʼí House of Worship in the world is located on the shores of Lake Michigan in Wilmette, Illinois, one of eight continental Baháʼí House of Worship. It serves as a space for people of all backgrounds and religions to gather, meditate, reflect, and pray, expressing the Baháʼí principle of the oneness of religions. The Chicago area has a very large Jewish community, particularly in the suburbs of Skokie, Buffalo Grove, Highland Park, and surrounding suburbs. Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel was the Windy City's first Jewish mayor.
Other religions
Chicago is also home to a very large population of Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists.
Economy
As of 2022, the gross state product for Illinois reached US$1.0 trillion.
As of February 2019, the unemployment rate in Illinois reached 4.2%.
Illinois's minimum wage will rise to $15 per hour by 2025, making it one of the highest in the nation.
Agriculture
Illinois's major agricultural outputs are corn, soybeans, hogs, cattle, dairy products, and wheat. In most years, Illinois is either the first or second state for the highest production of soybeans, with a harvest of 427.7 million bushels (11.64 million metric tons) in 2008, after Iowa's production of 444.82 million bushels (12.11 million metric tons). Illinois ranks second in U.S. corn production with more than 1.5 billion bushels produced annually. With a production capacity of 1.5 billion gallons per year, Illinois is a top producer of ethanol, ranking third in the United States in 2011. Illinois is a leader in food manufacturing and meat processing. Although Chicago may no longer be "Hog Butcher for the World", the Chicago area remains a global center for food manufacture and meat processing, with many plants, processing houses, and distribution facilities concentrated in the area of the former Union Stock Yards. Illinois also produces wine, and the state is home to two American viticultural areas. In the area of The Meeting of the Great Rivers Scenic Byway, peaches and apples are grown. The German immigrants from agricultural backgrounds who settled in Illinois in the mid- to late 19th century are in part responsible for the profusion of fruit orchards in that area of Illinois. Illinois's universities are actively researching alternative agricultural products as alternative crops.
Manufacturing
Illinois is one of the nation's manufacturing leaders, boasting annual value added productivity by manufacturing of over $107 billion in 2006. As of 2011[update], Illinois is ranked as the 4th-most productive manufacturing state in the country, behind California, Texas, and Ohio. About three-quarters of the state's manufacturers are located in the Northeastern Opportunity Return Region, with 38 percent of Illinois's approximately 18,900 manufacturing plants located in Cook County. As of 2006, the leading manufacturing industries in Illinois, based upon value-added, were chemical manufacturing ($18.3 billion), machinery manufacturing ($13.4 billion), food manufacturing ($12.9 billion), fabricated metal products ($11.5 billion), transportation equipment ($7.4 billion), plastics and rubber products ($7.0 billion), and computer and electronic products ($6.1 billion).
Services
By the early 2000s, Illinois's economy had moved toward a dependence on high-value-added services, such as financial trading, higher education, law, logistics, and medicine. In some cases, these services clustered around institutions that hearkened back to Illinois's earlier economies. For example, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, a trading exchange for global derivatives, had begun its life as an agricultural futures market. Other important non-manufacturing industries include publishing, tourism, and energy production and distribution.
Investments
Venture capitalists funded a total of approximately $62 billion in the U.S. economy in 2016. Of this amount, Illinois-based companies received approximately $1.1 billion. Similarly, in FY 2016, the federal government spent $461 billion on contracts in the U.S. Of this amount, Illinois-based companies received approximately $8.7 billion.[citation needed]
Energy
Illinois is a net importer of fuels for energy, despite large coal resources and some minor oil production. Illinois exports electricity, ranking fifth among states in electricity production and seventh in electricity consumption.
Coal
The coal industry of Illinois has its origins in the middle 19th century, when entrepreneurs such as Jacob Loose discovered coal in locations such as Sangamon County. Jacob Bunn contributed to the development of the Illinois coal industry and was a founder and owner of the of Illinois. About 68% of Illinois has coal-bearing strata of the Pennsylvanian geologic period. According to the Illinois State Geological Survey, 211 billion tons of bituminous coal are estimated to lie under the surface, having a total heating value greater than the estimated oil deposits in the Arabian Peninsula. However, this coal has a high sulfur content, which causes acid rain, unless special equipment is used to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions. 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 and countries. In 2008, Illinois exported three million tons of coal and was projected to export nine million in 2011, as demand for energy grows in places such as China, India, and elsewhere in Asia and Europe. As of 2010[update], Illinois was ranked third in recoverable coal reserves at producing mines in the nation. 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 Powder River Basin of Wyoming.
Mattoon was chosen as the site for the Department of Energy's FutureGen project, a 275-megawatt experimental zero emission coal-burning power plant that the DOE just gave a second round of funding. In 2010, after a number of setbacks, the city of Mattoon backed out of the project.
Petroleum
Illinois is a leading refiner of petroleum in the American Midwest, with a combined crude oil distillation capacity of nearly 900,000 bbl/d (140,000 m3/d). However, Illinois has very limited crude oil proved reserves that account for less than 1% of the U.S. total reserves. Residential heating is 81% natural gas compared to less than 1% heating oil. Illinois is ranked 14th in oil production among states, with a daily output of approximately 28,000 bbl (4,500 m3) in 2005.
Nuclear power
Nuclear power arguably began in Illinois with the Chicago Pile-1, the world's first artificial self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction in the world's first nuclear reactor, built on the University of Chicago campus. There are six operating nuclear power plants in Illinois: Braidwood, Byron, Clinton, Dresden, LaSalle, and Quad Cities. With the exception of the single-unit Clinton plant, each of these facilities has two reactors. Three reactors have been permanently shut down and are in various stages of decommissioning: Dresden-1 and Zion-1 and 2. Illinois ranked first in the nation in 2010 in both nuclear capacity and nuclear generation. Generation from its nuclear power plants accounted for 12 percent of the nation's total. In 2007, 48% of Illinois's electricity was generated using nuclear power. The Morris Operation is the only de facto high-level radioactive waste storage site in the United States.
Wind power
Illinois has seen growing interest in the use of wind power for electrical generation. Most of Illinois was rated in 2009 as "marginal or fair" for wind energy production by the U.S. Department of Energy, with some western sections rated "good" and parts of the south rated "poor". These ratings are for wind turbines with 50 m (160 ft) hub heights; newer wind turbines are taller, enabling them to reach stronger winds farther from the ground. As a result, more areas of Illinois have become prospective wind farm sites. As of September 2009, Illinois had 1116.06 MW of installed wind power nameplate capacity with another 741.9 MW under construction. Illinois ranked ninth among U.S. states in installed wind power capacity and sixteenth by potential capacity. Large wind farms in Illinois include Twin Groves, Rail Splitter, EcoGrove, and Mendota Hills.
As of 2007, wind energy represented only 1.7% of Illinois's energy production, and it was estimated that wind power could provide 5–10% of the state's energy needs. Also, the Illinois General Assembly mandated in 2007 that by 2025, 25% of all electricity generated in Illinois is to come from renewable resources.
Biofuels
Illinois is ranked second in corn production among U.S. states, and Illinois corn is used to produce 40% of the ethanol consumed in the United States. The Archer Daniels Midland corporation in Decatur, Illinois, is the world's leading producer of ethanol from corn.
The National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center (NCERC), the world's only facility dedicated to researching the ways and means of converting corn (maize) to ethanol is located on the campus of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is one of the partners in the Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI), a $500 million biofuels research project funded by petroleum giant BP.
Taxes
Tax is collected by the Illinois Department of Revenue. State income tax is calculated by multiplying net income by a flat rate. In 1990, that rate was set at 3%, but in 2010, the General Assembly voted for a temporary increase in the rate to 5%; the new rate went into effect on January 1, 2011; the personal income rate partially sunset on January 1, 2015, to 3.75%, while the corporate income tax fell to 5.25%. Illinois failed to pass a budget from 2015 to 2017, after the 736-day budget impasse, a budget was passed in Illinois after lawmakers overturned Governor Bruce Rauner's veto; this budget raised the personal income rate to 4.95% and the corporate rate to 7%. There are two rates for state sales tax: 6.25% for general merchandise and 1% for qualifying food, drugs, and medical appliances. The property tax is a major source of tax revenue for local government taxing districts. The property tax is a local—not state—tax imposed by local government taxing districts, which include counties, townships, municipalities, school districts, and special taxation districts. The property tax in Illinois is imposed only on real property.
On May 1, 2019, the Illinois Senate voted to approve a constitutional amendment that would have stricken language from the Illinois Constitution requiring a flat state income tax, in a 73–44 vote. If approved, the amendment would have allowed the state legislature to impose a graduated income tax based on annual income. The governor, J. B. Pritzker, approved the bill on May 27, 2019. It was scheduled for a 2020 general election ballot vote and required 60 percent voter approval to effectively amend the state constitution. The amendment was not approved by Illinoisans, with 55.1% of voters voting "No" on approval and 44.9% voting "Yes".
As of 2017 Chicago had the highest state and local sales tax rate for a U.S. city with a populations above 200,000, at 10.250%. The state of Illinois has the second highest rate of real estate tax: 2.31%, which is second only to New Jersey at 2.44%.
Toll roads are a de facto user tax on the citizens and visitors to the state of Illinois. Illinois ranks seventh out of the 11 states with the most miles of toll roads, at 282.1 miles. Chicago ranks fourth in most expensive toll roads in America by the mile, with the Chicago Skyway charging 51.2 cents per mile. Illinois also has the 11th highest gasoline tax by state, at 37.5 cents per gallon.
Culture
Museums
Illinois has numerous museums; the greatest concentration of these are in Chicago. Several museums in Chicago are ranked as some of the best in the world. These include the John G. Shedd Aquarium, the Field Museum of Natural History, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Adler Planetarium, and the Museum of Science and Industry.
The modern Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield is the largest and most attended presidential library in the country. The Illinois State Museum boasts a collection of 13.5 million objects that tell the story of Illinois life, land, people, and art. The ISM is among only 5% of the nation's museums that are accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. Other historical museums in the state include the Polish Museum of America in Chicago; Magnolia Manor in Cairo; Easley Pioneer Museum in Ipava; the Elihu Benjamin Washburne; Ulysses S. Grant Homes, both in Galena; and the Chanute Air Museum, located on the former Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul.
The Chicago metropolitan area also hosts two zoos: The Brookfield Zoo, located about ten miles west of the city center in suburban Brookfield, contains more than 2,300 animals and covers 216 acres (87 ha). The Lincoln Park Zoo is located in Lincoln Park on Chicago's North Side, approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) north of the Loop. The zoo accounts for more than 35 acres (14 ha) of the park.
- Illinois Museums
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Vandalia State House State Historic Site in Vandalia -
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The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago -
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Magnolia Manor is a Victorian period historic house museum in Cairo. -
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Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield -
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The Polish Museum of America in Chicago -
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A Railway Post Office preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union
Music
Illinois is a leader in music education, having hosted the Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference since 1946, as well being home to the Illinois Music Educators Association (ILMEA, formerly IMEA), one of the largest professional music educator's organizations in the country. Each summer since 2004, Southern Illinois University Carbondale has played host to the Southern Illinois Music Festival, which presents dozens of performances throughout the region. Past featured artists include the Eroica Trio and violinist David Kim.
Chicago, in the northeast corner of the state, is a major center for music in the midwestern United States where distinctive forms of blues (greatly responsible for the future creation of rock and roll), and house music, a genre of electronic dance music, were developed.
The Great Migration of poor black workers from the South into the industrial cities brought traditional jazz and blues music to the city, resulting in Chicago blues and "Chicago-style" Dixieland jazz. Notable blues artists included Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, Howlin' Wolf and both Sonny Boy Williamsons; jazz greats included Nat King Cole, Gene Ammons, Benny Goodman, and Bud Freeman. Chicago is also well known for its soul music.
In the early 1930s, Gospel music began to gain popularity in Chicago due to Thomas A. Dorsey's contributions at Pilgrim Baptist Church.
In the 1980s and 1990s, heavy rock, punk, and hip hop also became popular in Chicago. Orchestras in Chicago include the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the Chicago Sinfonietta.
Movies
John Hughes, who moved from Grosse Pointe to Northbrook, based many films of his in Chicago, and its suburbs. Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Home Alone, The Breakfast Club, and all his films take place in the fictional Shermer, Illinois (the original name of Northbrook was Shermerville, and Hughes's High School, Glenbrook North High School, is on Shermer Road). Most locations in his films include Glenbrook North, the former Maine North High School, the Ben Rose House in Highland Park, and the famous Home Alone house in Winnetka, Illinois.
Recreation
The Illinois state parks system began in 1908 with what is now Fort Massac State Park, becoming the first park in a system encompassing more than 60 parks and about the same number of recreational and wildlife areas.
Areas under the protection of the National Park Service include: the Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor near Lockport, the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, the Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield, the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail, the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, the American Discovery Trail, the Pullman National Monument, and New Philadelphia Town Site. The federal government also manages the Shawnee National Forest and the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.
Sports
As one of the United States' major metropolises, all major sports leagues have teams headquartered in Chicago.
Two Major League Baseball teams are located in the state. The Chicago Cubs of the National League play in the second-oldest major league stadium, Wrigley Field, and went the longest length of time without a championship in all of major American sport, from 1908 to 2016, when they won the World Series. The Chicago White Sox of the American League won the World Series in 2005, their first since 1917. They play on the city's south side at Rate Field. The Chicago Bears football team has won nine total NFL Championships, the last occurring in Super Bowl XX on January 26, 1986. The Chicago Bulls of the NBA is one of the most recognized basketball teams in the world, largely as a result of the efforts of Michael Jordan, who led the team to six NBA championships in eight seasons in the 1990s. The Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL began playing in 1926 and became a member of the Original Six once the NHL dropped to that number of teams during World War II. The Blackhawks have won six Stanley Cups, most recently in 2015. Chicago Fire FC is a member of MLS and has been one of the league's most successful and best-supported clubs since its founding in 1997, winning one league and four Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cups in that timespan. The team played in Bridgeview, adjacent to Chicago from 2006 to 2019. The team now plays at Soldier Field in Chicago.
The Chicago Red Stars have played at the top level of U.S. women's soccer since their formation in 2009, except in the 2011 season. The team currently plays in the National Women's Soccer League, playing at SeatGeek Stadium, the Bridgeview venue it formerly shared with Fire FC. The Chicago Sky have played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) since 2006. The Sky won their first WNBA Championship in 2021. They play at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. The Chicago Bandits of the NPF, a women's softball league, have won four league titles, most recently in 2016. They play at Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, Illinois, in the Chicago area.
Many minor league teams also call Illinois their home. They include the Bloomington Edge of the Indoor Football League, Bloomington Flex of the Midwest Professional Basketball Association, Chicago Dogs of the American Association of Professional Baseball, Chicago Fire FC II of MLS Next Pro, Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League, Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League, Kane County Cougars of the American Association, Joliet Slammers of the Frontier League, Peoria Chiefs of the Midwest League, Peoria Rivermen of the SPHL, Rockford Aviators of the Frontier League, Rockford IceHogs of the AHL, Schaumburg Boomers of the Frontier League, Southern Illinois Miners in the Frontier League, Windy City Bulls of the NBA G League, and Windy City ThunderBolts of the Frontier League.
The state features 13 athletic programs that compete in NCAA Division I, the highest level of U.S. college sports. The two most prominent are the Illinois Fighting Illini and Northwestern Wildcats, both members of the Big Ten Conference and the only ones competing in the "Power Five conferences". The Fighting Illini football team has won five national championships and three Rose Bowl Games, whereas the men's basketball team has won 17 conference seasons and played five Final Fours. Meanwhile, the Wildcats have won eight football conference championships and one Rose Bowl Game. The Northern Illinois Huskies compete in the Mid-American Conference, having won four conference championships and earning a bid in the Orange Bowl. Four schools have football programs that compete in the second level of Division I football, the Football Championship Subdivision. The Illinois State Redbirds and Southern Illinois Salukis are members of the Missouri Valley Conference for non-football sports and the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Eastern Illinois Panthers and Western Illinois Leathernecks are members of the Ohio Valley Conference. The city of Chicago is home to four Division I programs that do not sponsor football: the DePaul Blue Demons of the Big East Conference, Loyola Ramblers of the Atlantic 10 Conference, UIC Flames of the Missouri Valley Conference, and Chicago State Cougars of the Northeast Conference. Finally, two non-football Division I programs are located downstate. The Bradley Braves are Missouri Valley Conference members, and the SIU Edwardsville Cougars compete in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Motor racing oval tracks at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, the Chicago Motor Speedway in Cicero and the Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, near St. Louis, have hosted NASCAR, CART, and IRL races, whereas the Sports Car Club of America, among other national and regional road racing clubs, have visited the Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, the Blackhawk Farms Raceway in South Beloit and the former Meadowdale International Raceway in Carpentersville. Illinois also has several short tracks and dragstrips. The dragstrip at Gateway International Raceway and the Route 66 Raceway, which sits on the same property as the Chicagoland Speedway, both host NHRA drag races.
Illinois features several golf courses, such as Olympia Fields, Medinah, Midlothian, Cog Hill, and Conway Farms, which have often hosted the BMW Championship, Western Open, and Women's Western Open. Also, the state has hosted 13 editions of the U.S. Open (latest at Olympia Fields in 2003), six editions of the PGA Championship (latest at Medinah in 2006), three editions of the U.S. Women's Open (latest at The Merit Club), the 2009 Solheim Cup (at Rich Harvest Farms), and the 2012 Ryder Cup (at Medinah). The John Deere Classic is a regular PGA Tour event played in the Quad Cities since 1971, whereas the Encompass Championship is a Champions Tour event since 2013. Previously, the LPGA State Farm Classic was an LPGA Tour event from 1976 to 2011.
Law and politics
In a 2020 study, Illinois was ranked as the 4th easiest state for citizens to vote in.
State government
The government of Illinois, under the Constitution of Illinois, has three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. The executive branch is split into several statewide elected offices, with the governor as chief executive. Legislative functions are granted to the Illinois General Assembly. The judiciary is composed of the Supreme Court and lower courts.
The executive branch is composed of six elected officers and their offices as well as numerous other departments. The six elected officers are:Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Comptroller, and Treasurer. The government of Illinois has numerous departments, agencies, boards and commissions, but the so-called code departments provide most of the state's services.
The Illinois General Assembly is the state legislature, composed of the 118-member Illinois House of Representatives and the 59-member Illinois Senate. The members of the General Assembly are elected at the beginning of each even-numbered year. The Illinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS) are the codified statutes of a general and permanent nature.
The Judiciary of Illinois is the unified court system of Illinois. It consists of the Supreme Court, Appellate Court, and Circuit Courts. The Supreme Court oversees the administration of the court system.
The administrative divisions of Illinois are counties, townships, precincts, cities, towns, villages, and special-purpose districts. The basic subdivision of Illinois are the 102 counties. Eighty-five of the 102 counties are in turn divided into townships and precincts. Municipal governments are the cities, villages, and incorporated towns. Some localities possess home rule, which allows them to govern themselves to a certain extent.
Party balance
In modern national and state politics, Illinois is a Democratic stronghold. Historically, Illinois was a political swing state, with near-parity existing between the Republican and the Democratic parties. However, in recent elections, the Democratic Party has gained ground, and Illinois has come to be seen as a solid "blue" state in both presidential and congressional campaigns. Illinois's Democratic tendencies are mostly attributable to Cook County and Chicago, by far the state's largest county and city, respectively, which have long been strongly Democratic. The collar counties, affluent suburban counties that surround Cook County, were ancestrally Republican and helped keep the state competitive; however, they have swung toward the left in recent elections as the national Republican Party has become increasingly conservative, which has cemented Democratic dominance in state politics.Outside of the Chicago metropolitan area, the state's rural areas are heavily Republican. The dominance of the Chicago area in state elections is so overwhelming that it has influenced a secessionist movement in the downstate region.
Illinois was long seen as a national bellwether, supporting the winner in every election in the 20th century, except for 1916 and 1976. Since the 1992 election, however, Illinois has trended more toward the Democratic Party and is part of the "blue wall" of states that have consistently voted Democratic in the last six presidential elections. In 2000, George W. Bush became the first Republican to win the presidency without carrying either Illinois or Vermont, with Donald Trump repeating the feat in 2016. Illinois has not elected a Republican to the Senate since Mark Kirk won in 2010; the last Republicans to hold statewide office were Governor Bruce Rauner and Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti, who both left office in 2019.
History of corruption
Politics in the state have been infamous for highly visible corruption cases, as well as for crusading reformers, such as governors Adlai Stevenson and James R. Thompson. In 2006, former governor George Ryan was convicted of racketeering and bribery, leading to a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence. On December 7, 2011, former governor Rod Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison for allegations that he conspired to sell the vacated Senate seat left by President Barack Obama to the highest bidder. Blagojevich had earlier been impeached and convicted by the legislature, resulting in his removal from office. In the late 20th century, Congressman Dan Rostenkowski was imprisoned for mail fraud; former governor and federal judge Otto Kerner, Jr. was imprisoned for bribery; Secretary of State Paul Powell was investigated and found to have gained great wealth through bribes, and State Auditor of Public Accounts (Comptroller) Orville Hodge 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 was found to have defrauded the state of a million dollars.
U.S. presidential elections
Illinois has shown a strong presence in presidential elections. Three presidents have claimed Illinois as their political base when running for president: Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and most recently Barack Obama. Lincoln was born in Kentucky, but he moved to Illinois at age 21. He served in the General Assembly and represented the 7th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives before his election to the presidency in 1860. Ulysses S. Grant was born in Ohio and had a military career that precluded settling down, but on the eve of the Civil War and approaching middle age, he moved to Illinois and thus utilized the state as his home and political base when running for president. Barack Obama was born in Hawaii and made Illinois his home after graduating from law school, and later represented Illinois in the U.S. Senate. He then became president in 2008, running as a candidate from his Illinois base.
Ronald Reagan was born in Illinois, in the city of Tampico, raised in Dixon, Illinois, and educated at Eureka College, outside Peoria. Reagan later moved to California during his young adulthood. He then became an actor, and later became California's Governor before being elected president.
Hillary Clinton was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago and became the first woman to represent a major political party in the general election of the U.S. presidency. Clinton ran from a platform based in New York State.
African-American U.S. senators
Twelve African-Americans have served as members of the United States Senate. Of which three have represented Illinois, the most of any single state: Carol Moseley-Braun,Barack Obama, and Roland Burris, who was appointed to replace Obama after his election to the presidency. Moseley-Braun was the first African-American woman to become a U.S. Senator.
Political families
Several families from Illinois have played particularly prominent roles in politics, in both the Republican Party earlier in the state's history but more recently the Democratic Party, gaining both statewide and national fame.
Ingersoll
The Ingersoll family of Illinois comprised a pair of brothers who held several prominent elected positions representing Illinois.
- Ebon C. Ingersoll (1831–1879), Illinois State Representative 1856, U.S. Representative from Illinois 1864–71. Brother of Robert G. Ingersoll.
- Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–1899), Illinois State Representative 1860, Attorney General of Illinois 1867–69, delegate to the Republican National Convention 1876. Brother of Ebon C. Ingersoll.
- John C. Ingersoll (1860–1903), U.S. Consul in Cartagena, Colombia 1902. Son of Ebon C. Ingersoll.
Stevenson
The Stevenson family, initially rooted in central Illinois and later based in the Chicago metropolitan area, has provided four generations of Illinois officeholders.
- Adlai Stevenson I (1835–1914) was a Vice President of the United States, as well as a Congressman
- Lewis Stevenson (1868–1929), son of Adlai, served as Illinois Secretary of State.
- Adlai Stevenson II (1900–1965), son of Lewis, served as Governor of Illinois and as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations; he was also the Democratic party's presidential nominee in 1952 and 1956, losing both elections to Dwight Eisenhower.
- Adlai Stevenson III (1930–2021), son of Adlai II, served ten years as a United States Senator.
Daley
The Daley family's powerbase was in Chicago.
- Richard J. Daley (1902–1976) served as Mayor of Chicago from 1955 to his death.
- Richard M. Daley (born 1942), son of Richard J, was Chicago's longest-serving mayor, in office from 1989 to 2011.
- William M. Daley (born 1948), another son of Richard J, is a former White House Chief of Staff and has served in a variety of appointed positions.
Pritzker
The Pritzker family is based in Chicago and have played important roles in both the private and the public sectors.
- Jay Pritzker (1922–1999), co-founder of Hyatt Hotel based in Chicago.
- Penny Pritzker (born 1959), 38th United States Secretary of Commerce under President Barack Obama.
- J. B. Pritzker (born 1965), current and 43rd governor of Illinois and co-founder of the Pritzker Group.
Madigan
Members of the Madigan family have held extensive influence in Illinois politics.
- Michael Madigan (born 1942), longtime speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives and notorious political boss.
- Lisa Madigan (born 1966), adopted daughter of Michael Madigan, former Illinois Attorney General.
Education
Illinois State Board of education
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) is autonomous of the governor and the state legislature, and administers public education in the state. Local municipalities and their respective school districts operate individual public schools, but the ISBE audits performance of public schools with the Illinois School Report Card. The ISBE also makes recommendations to state leaders concerning education spending and policies.
Primary and secondary schools
Education is compulsory for ages 7–17 in Illinois. Schools are commonly, but not exclusively, divided into three tiers of primary and secondary education: elementary school, middle school or junior high school, and high school. District territories are often complex in structure. Many areas in the state are actually located in two school districts—one for high school and the other for elementary and middle schools. And such districts do not necessarily share boundaries. A given high school may have several elementary districts that feed into it, yet some of those feeder districts may themselves feed into multiple high school districts.
Colleges and universities
Using the criterion established by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, there are eleven "National Universities" in the state.
As of 19 August 2010[update], six of these rank in the "first tier" among the top 500 National Universities in the nation, as determined by the U.S. News & World Report rankings: the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Loyola University Chicago, the Illinois Institute of Technology, DePaul University, University of Illinois Chicago, Illinois State University, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and Northern Illinois University. The University of Chicago is continuously ranked as one of the world's top ten universities on various independent university rankings, and its Booth School of Business, along with Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management consistently rank within the top five graduate business schools in the country and top ten globally. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is often ranked among the best engineering schools in the world and United States.
Illinois also has more than twenty additional accredited four-year universities, both public and private, and dozens of small liberal arts colleges across the state. Additionally, Illinois supports 49 public community colleges in the Illinois Community College System.
School financing
Schools in Illinois are funded primarily by property taxes, based on state assessment of property values, rather than direct state contributions. Scholar Tracy Steffes has described Illinois public education as historically "inequitable", a system where one of "the wealthiest of states" is "the stingiest in its support for education". There have been several attempts to reform school funding in Illinois. The most notable attempt came in 1973 with the adoption of the Illinois Resource Equalizer Formula, a measure through which it was hoped funding could be collected and distributed to Illinois schools more equitably. However, opposition from affluent Illinois communities who objected to having to pay for the less well-off school districts (many of them Black majority communities, produced by redlining, white flight, and other "soft" segregation methods) resulted in the formula's abolition in the late 1980s.
Transportation
Because of its central location and its proximity to the Rust Belt and Grain Belt, Illinois is a national crossroads for air, auto, rail, and truck traffic.
Airports
From 1962 until 1998, Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD) was the busiest airport in the world, measured both in terms of total flights and passengers. While it was surpassed by Atlanta's Hartsfield in 1998 (as Chicago splits its air traffic between O'Hare and Midway airports, while Atlanta uses only one airport), with 59.3 million domestic passengers annually, along with 11.4 million international passengers in 2008, O'Hare consistently remains one of the two or three busiest airports globally, and in some years still ranks number one in total flights. It is a major hub for both United Airlines and American Airlines, and a major airport expansion project is currently underway. Midway Airport (MDW), which had been the busiest airport in the world at one point until it was supplanted by O'Hare as the busiest airport in 1962, is now the secondary airport in the Chicago metropolitan area and still ranks as one of the nation's busiest airports. Midway is a major hub for Southwest Airlines and services many other carriers as well. Midway served 17.3 million domestic and international passengers in 2008.
Highways
The Interstate Highways in Illinois are all segments of the Interstate Highway System that are owned and maintained by the state. Major U.S. Interstate highways crossing the state include: Interstate 24 (I-24), I-39, I-41, I-55, I-57, I-64, I-70, I-72, I-74, I-80, I-88, I-90, and I-94.
Illinois has the distinction of having the most primary (two-digit) interstates pass through it among all the 50 states with 13. Illinois also ranks third among the fifty states with the most interstate mileage, coming in after California and Texas, which are much bigger states in area.
The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is responsible for maintaining the U.S Highways in Illinois. The system in Illinois consists of 21 primary highways. Among the U.S. highways that pass through the state, the primary ones are: US 6, US 12, US 14, US 20, US 24, US 30, US 34, US 36, US 40, US 41, US 45, US 50, US 51, US 52, US 54, US 60, US 62, and US 67.
Buses
Due to its central location, Illinois sees numerous intercity bus services primarily connecting east and west. The Chicago Bus Station is the busiest intercity bus station in the state. The following carriers provide scheduled service: Amtrak Thruway, Barons Bus Lines, Burlington Trailways, Flixbus, Greyhound Lines, Indian Trails, Miller Transportation (Hoosier Ride), Peoria Charter Coach Company, Van Galder Bus Company, and Wisconsin Coach Lines.
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  Beloit Transit C-CARTS MTD Chicago Transit Authority Coles County Zipline Connect Transit DMT DPTS DeKalb Public Transit Galesburg Transit Go West Transit CityLink JCMTD Saluki Express RMTD Madison County Transit MetroLINK Pace Quincy Transit Lines River Valley Metro RMTD SCCTD SMTD SHOW Bus South Central Transit RMTD SHOW Bus class=notpageimage| Local Transit Systems (Only systems with fixed-route services are shown) |
Railroads
Illinois has an extensive passenger and freight rail transportation network. Chicago is a national Amtrak hub and in-state passengers are served by Amtrak's Illinois Service, featuring the Chicago to Carbondale Illini and Saluki, the Chicago to Quincy Carl Sandburg and Illinois Zephyr, and the Chicago to St. Louis Lincoln Service. Currently there is trackwork on the Chicago–St. Louis line to bring the maximum speed up to 110 mph (180 km/h), which would reduce the trip time by an hour and a half. Nearly every North American railway meets at Chicago, making it the largest and most active rail hub in the country. Extensive heavy rail service is provided in the city proper and some immediate suburbs by the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' system. One of the largest suburban commuter rail system in the United States, operated by Metra, uses existing rail lines to provide direct commuter rail access for hundreds of suburbs to the city and beyond.
Waterways
In addition to the state's rail lines, the Mississippi River and Illinois River provide major transportation routes for the state's agricultural interests. Lake Michigan gives Illinois access to the Atlantic Ocean by way of the Saint Lawrence Seaway.
See also
- Index of Illinois-related articles
- List of people from Illinois
- Outline of Illinois
- USS Illinois, 4 ships
Notes
- Elevation adjusted to North American Vertical Datum of 1988.
- Illinois borders the state of Wisconsin to its north, Iowa to its northwest, Missouri to its southwest, Kentucky to its south, Indiana to its east, and has a water border with Michigan to the northeast in Lake Michigan.
- Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin are not distinguished between total and partial ancestry.
References
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- "United States Census Quick Facts Illinois". Retrieved January 5, 2025.
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Sec. 20. Official language. The official language of the State of Illinois is English.
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Illinois ˌ ɪ l ɪ ˈ n ɔɪ IL in OY is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast the Mississippi River to its west and the Wabash and Ohio rivers to its south Of the fifty U S states Illinois has the fifth largest gross domestic product GDP the sixth largest population and the 25th most land area Its capital city is Springfield in the center of the state and the state s largest city is Chicago in the northeast IllinoisStateFlagSealNickname s Land of Lincoln Prairie State The Inland Empire StateMotto s State Sovereignty National UnionAnthem Illinois source source track Location of Illinois within the United StatesCountryUnited StatesBefore statehoodIllinois TerritoryAdmitted to the UnionDecember 3 1818 21st CapitalSpringfieldLargest cityChicagoLargest county or equivalentCookLargest metro and urban areasChicagolandGovernment GovernorJ B Pritzker D Lieutenant GovernorJuliana Stratton D LegislatureGeneral Assembly Upper houseIllinois Senate Lower houseIllinois House of RepresentativesJudiciarySupreme Court of IllinoisU S senatorsDick Durbin D Tammy Duckworth D U S House delegation14 Democrats 3 Republicans list Area Total57 915 sq mi 149 997 km2 Land55 593 sq mi 143 969 km2 Water2 320 sq mi 5 981 km2 3 99 Rank25thDimensions Length390 mi 628 km Width210 mi 338 km Elevation600 ft 180 m Highest elevation Charles Mound 1 235 ft 376 4 m Lowest elevation Confluence of Mississippi River and Ohio River 280 ft 85 m Population 2024 Total12 710 158 Rank6th Density232 sq mi 89 4 km2 Rank12th Median household income 80 300 20 23 Income rank17thDemonymsIllinoisanLanguage Official languageEnglish Spoken languageEnglish 80 8 Spanish 14 9 Other 5 1 Time zoneUTC 06 00 CST Summer DST UTC 05 00 CDT USPS abbreviationILISO 3166 codeUS ILTraditional abbreviationIll Latitude36 58 N to 42 30 NLongitude87 30 W to 91 31 WWebsiteillinois wbr govState symbols of IllinoisList of state symbolsFlag of IllinoisSeal of IllinoisSlogan Land of Lincoln Living insigniaAmphibianEastern tiger salamanderBirdNorthern cardinalButterflyMonarch butterflyFishBluegillFlowerVioletGrassBig bluestemMammalWhite tailed deerMushroomGiant puffballReptilePainted turtleTreeWhite oakInanimate insigniaDanceSquare danceFoodGold Rush Apple popcornFossilTully monsterMineralFluoriteRockDolomiteSoilDrummer silty clay loamState route markerState quarterReleased in 2003Lists of United States state symbols Present day Illinois was inhabited by Indigenous cultures for thousands of years The French were the first Europeans to arrive settling near the Mississippi and Illinois River in the 17th century Illinois Country as part of their sprawling colony of New France A century later the revolutionary war Illinois campaign prefigured American involvement in the region Following U S independence in 1783 which made the Mississippi River the national boundary American settlers began arriving from Kentucky via the Ohio River Illinois was soon part of the United States oldest territory the Northwest Territory and in 1818 it achieved statehood The Erie Canal brought increased commercial activity in the Great Lakes and the invention of the self scouring steel plow by Illinoisan John Deere turned the state s rich prairie into some of the world s most productive and valuable farmland attracting immigrant farmers from Germany Sweden and elsewhere In the mid 19th century the Illinois and Michigan Canal and a sprawling railroad network facilitated trade commerce and settlement making the state a transportation hub for the nation By 1900 the growth of industrial jobs in the northern cities and coal mining in the central and southern areas attracted immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe Illinois became one of America s most industrialized states and remains a major manufacturing center The Great Migration from the South established a large Black community particularly in Chicago which became a leading cultural economic and population center its metropolitan area informally referred to as Chicagoland holds about 65 of the state s 12 8 million residents Two World Heritage Sites are in Illinois the ancient Cahokia Mounds and part of the Wright architecture site A wide variety of protected areas seek to conserve Illinois natural and cultural resources Major centers of learning include the University of Chicago University of Illinois and Northwestern University Three U S presidents have been elected while residents of Illinois Abraham Lincoln Ulysses S Grant and Barack Obama additionally Ronald Reagan was born and raised in the state Illinois honors Lincoln with its official state slogan Land of Lincoln The state is the site of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield and the future home of the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago Illinois has a highly diverse economy with the global city of Chicago in the northeast major industrial and agricultural hubs in the north and center and natural resources such as coal timber and petroleum in the south Owing to its central location and favorable geography the state is a major transportation hub the Port of Chicago has access to the Atlantic Ocean through the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Seaway and to the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi River via the Illinois Waterway Chicago has been the nation s railroad hub since the 1860s and its O Hare International Airport has been among the world s busiest airports for decades Illinois has long been considered a microcosm of the United States and a bellwether in American culture exemplified by the phrase Will it play in Peoria Etymology Illinois is the modern spelling for the early French Catholic missionaries and explorers name for the Illinois Native Americans a name that was spelled in many different ways in the early records American scholars previously thought the name Illinois meant man or men in the Miami Illinois language with the original iliniwek transformed via French into Illinois This etymology is not supported by the Illinois language citation needed as the word for man is ireniwa and plural of man is ireniwaki The name Illiniwek has also been said to mean tribe of superior men which is a false etymology The name Illinois derives from the Miami Illinois verb irenwe wa he speaks the regular way This was taken into the Ojibwe language perhaps in the Ottawa dialect and modified into ilinwe pluralized as ilinwe k The French borrowed these forms spelling the we ending as ois a transliteration of that sound in the French of that time The current spelling form Illinois began to appear in the early 1670s when French colonists had settled in the western area The Illinois s name for themselves as attested in all three of the French missionary period dictionaries of Illinois was Inoka of unknown meaning and unrelated to the other terms HistoryPre European Mississippian copper plate found at the Saddle Site in Union County Illinois American Indians of successive cultures lived along the waterways of the Illinois area for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans The Koster Site has been excavated and demonstrates 7 000 years of continuous habitation Cahokia the largest regional chiefdom and Urban Center of the Pre Columbian Mississippian culture was located near present day Collinsville Illinois They built an urban complex of more than 100 platform and burial mounds a 50 acre 20 ha plaza larger than 35 football fields and a woodhenge of sacred cedar all in a planned design expressing the culture s cosmology Monks Mound the center of the site is the largest Pre Columbian structure north of the Valley of Mexico It is 100 ft 30 m high 951 ft 290 m long 836 ft 255 m wide and covers 13 8 acres 5 6 ha It contains about 814 000 cu yd 622 000 m3 of earth It was topped by a structure thought to have measured about 105 ft 32 m in length and 48 ft 15 m in width covered an area 5 000 sq ft 460 m2 and been as much as 50 ft 15 m high making its peak 150 ft 46 m above the level of the plaza The finely crafted ornaments and tools recovered by archaeologists at Cahokia include elaborate ceramics finely sculptured stonework carefully embossed and engraved copper and mica sheets and one funeral blanket for an important chief fashioned from 20 000 shell beads These artifacts indicate that Cahokia was truly an urban center with clustered housing markets and specialists in toolmaking hide dressing potting jewelry making shell engraving weaving and salt making The civilization vanished in the 15th century for unknown reasons but historians and archeologists have speculated that the people depleted the area of resources Many indigenous tribes engaged in constant warfare According to Suzanne Austin Alchon At one site in the central Illinois River valley one third of all adults died as a result of violent injuries The next major power in the region was the Illinois Confederation or Illini a political alliance Around the time of European contact in 1673 the Illinois confederation had an estimated population of over 10 000 people As the Illini declined during the Beaver Wars era members of the Algonquian speaking Potawatomi Miami Sauk and other tribes including the Fox Meskwaki Iowa Kickapoo Mascouten Piankeshaw Shawnee Wea and Winnebago Ho Chunk came into the area from the east and north around the Great Lakes European exploration and settlement prior to 1800 Illinois in 1718 approximate modern state area highlighted from Carte de la Louisiane et du cours du Mississipi by Guillaume de L Isle French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet explored the Illinois River in 1673 Marquette soon after founded a mission at the Grand Village of the Illinois in Illinois Country In 1680 French explorers under Rene Robert Cavelier Sieur de La Salle and Henri de Tonti constructed a fort at the site of present day Peoria and in 1682 a fort atop Starved Rock in today s Starved Rock State Park French Empire Canadiens came south to settle particularly along the Mississippi River and Illinois was part of first New France and then of La Louisiane until 1763 when it passed to the British with their defeat of France in the Seven Years War The small French settlements continued although many French migrated west to Ste Genevieve and St Louis Missouri to evade British rule A few British soldiers were posted in Illinois but few British or American settlers moved there as the Crown made it part of the territory reserved for Indians west of the Appalachians and then part of the British Province of Quebec In 1778 George Rogers Clark claimed Illinois County for Virginia In a compromise Virginia and other states that made various claims ceded the area to the new United States in the 1780s and it became part of the Northwest Territory administered by the federal government and later organized as states 19th century Prior to statehood The bell donated by King Louis XV in 1741 to the French mission at Kaskaskia It was later called the Liberty Bell of the West after it was rung to celebrate U S victory in the Revolution The Illinois Wabash Company was an early claimant to much of Illinois The Illinois Territory was created on February 3 1809 with its capital at Kaskaskia an early French settlement During the discussions leading up to Illinois s admission to the Union the proposed northern boundary of the state was moved twice The original provisions of the Northwest Ordinance had specified a boundary that would have been tangent to the southern tip of Lake Michigan Such a boundary would have left Illinois with no shoreline on Lake Michigan at all However as Indiana had successfully been granted a 10 mi 16 km northern extension of its boundary to provide it with a usable lakefront the original bill for Illinois statehood submitted to Congress on January 23 1818 stipulated a northern border at the same latitude as Indiana s which is defined as 10 miles north of the southernmost extremity of Lake Michigan However the Illinois delegate Nathaniel Pope wanted more and lobbied to have the boundary moved further north The final bill passed by Congress included an amendment to shift the border to 42 30 north which is approximately 51 mi 82 km north of the Indiana northern border This shift added 8 500 sq mi 22 000 km2 to the state including the lead mining region near Galena More importantly it added nearly 50 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline and the Chicago River Pope and others envisioned a canal that would connect the Chicago and Illinois rivers and thus connect the Great Lakes to the Mississippi The State of Illinois prior to the Civil War In 1818 Illinois became the 21st U S state The southern portion of Illinois Territory was admitted as the state of Illinois and the rest was joined to Michigan Territory The second Governor of Illinois Edward Coles brought his slaves from his home state of Virginia to give them their freedom when they arrived in Illinois Old State Capitol Abraham Lincoln and other area legislators were instrumental in moving the state capitol to centrally located Springfield in 1839 In 1818 Illinois became the 21st U S state The capital remained at Kaskaskia headquartered in a small building rented by the state In 1819 Vandalia became the capital and over the next 18 years three separate buildings were built to serve successively as the capitol building In 1837 the state legislators representing Sangamon County under the leadership of state representative Abraham Lincoln succeeded in having the capital moved to Springfield where a fifth capitol building was constructed A sixth capitol building was erected in 1867 which continues to serve as the Illinois capitol today Though it was ostensibly a free state there was nonetheless slavery in Illinois The ethnic French had owned black slaves since the 1720s and American settlers had already brought slaves into the area from Kentucky Slavery was nominally banned by the Northwest Ordinance but that was not enforced for those already holding slaves When Illinois became a state in 1818 the Ordinance no longer applied and about 900 slaves were held in the state As the southern part of the state later known as Egypt or Little Egypt was largely settled by migrants from the South the section was hostile to free blacks Edward Coles the second Governor of Illinois who was born in Virginia participated in a campaign to block extending existing slavery in Illinois after winning the 1822 Illinois gubernatorial election In 1824 state residents voted against making slavery legal by a vote of 6640 against to 4972 for Still most residents opposed allowing free blacks as permanent residents Some settlers brought in slaves seasonally or as house servants The Illinois Constitution of 1848 was written with a provision for exclusionary laws to be passed In 1853 John A Logan helped pass a law to prohibit all African Americans including freedmen from settling in the state 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 and many travelers perished Several severe winters followed including the Winter of the Sudden Freeze On December 20 1836 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 Little Egypt after the Biblical story of Joseph in Egypt supplying grain to his brothers In 1832 the Black Hawk War was fought in Illinois and present day Wisconsin between the United States and the Sauk Fox Meskwaki and Kickapoo Indian tribes It represents the end of Indian resistance to white settlement in the Chicago region The Indians had been forced to leave their homes and move to Iowa in 1831 when they attempted to return they were attacked and eventually defeated by U S militia The survivors were forced back to Iowa By 1832 when the last Indian lands in Illinois were ceded to the United States the indigenous population of the state had been reduced by infectious diseases warfare and forced westward removal to only one village with fewer than 300 inhabitants By 1839 the Latter Day Saints had founded a utopian city called Nauvoo formerly called Commerce Located in Hancock County along the Mississippi River Nauvoo flourished and by 1844 briefly surpassed Chicago for the position of the state s largest city But in that same year the Latter Day Saint movement founder Joseph Smith was killed in the Carthage Jail about 30 miles away from Nauvoo Following a succession crisis Brigham Young led most Latter Day Saints out of Illinois in a mass exodus to present day Utah after close to six years of rapid development Nauvoo quickly declined afterward After it was established in 1833 Chicago gained prominence as a Great Lakes port and then as an Illinois and Michigan Canal port after 1848 and as a rail hub soon afterward By 1857 Chicago was Illinois s largest city With the tremendous growth of mines and factories in the state in the 19th century Illinois was the ground for the formation of labor unions in the United States In 1847 after lobbying by Dorothea L Dix Illinois became one of the first states to establish a system of state supported treatment of mental illness and disabilities replacing local almshouses Dix came into this effort after having met J O King a Jacksonville Illinois businessman who invited her to Illinois where he had been working to build an asylum for the insane With the lobbying expertise of Dix plans for the Jacksonville State Hospital now known as the Jacksonville Developmental Center were signed into law on March 1 1847 Civil War and after Union troops embarking at Cairo on January 10 1862 During the American Civil War Illinois ranked fourth in soldiers who served more than 250 000 in the Union Army a figure surpassed by only New York Pennsylvania and Ohio Beginning with President Abraham Lincoln 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 The town of Cairo at the southern tip of the state at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers served as a strategically important supply base and training center for the Union army For several months both General Grant and Admiral Foote had headquarters in Cairo During the Civil War and more so afterwards Chicago s population skyrocketed which increased its prominence The Pullman Strike and Haymarket Riot in particular greatly influenced the development of the American labor movement From Sunday October 8 1871 until Tuesday October 10 1871 the Great Chicago Fire burned in downtown Chicago destroying four sq mi 10 km2 20th century Police and protesters at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago Rising waters in Alton in 1993 At the turn of the 20th century Illinois had a population of nearly 5 million Many people from other parts of the country were attracted to the state by employment caused by the expanding industrial base Whites were 98 of the state s population Bolstered by continued immigration from southern and eastern Europe and by the African American Great Migration from the South Illinois grew and emerged as one of the most important states in the union By the end of the century the population had reached 12 4 million The Century of Progress World s fair was held at Chicago in 1933 Oil strikes in Marion County and Crawford County led to a boom in 1937 and by 1939 Illinois ranked fourth in U S oil production Illinois manufactured 6 1 percent of total United States military armaments produced during World War II ranking seventh among the 48 states Chicago became an ocean port with the opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway in 1959 The seaway and the Illinois Waterway connected Chicago to both the Mississippi River and the Atlantic Ocean In 1960 Ray Kroc opened the first McDonald s franchise in Des Plaines which was demolished in 1984 In 1985 a replica was built on the same site to recreate how the original one looked Though this replica was demolished in 2017 due to repeated flooding of the building Illinois had a prominent role in the emergence of the nuclear age In 1942 as part of the Manhattan Project the University of Chicago conducted the first sustained nuclear chain reaction In 1957 Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago activated the first experimental nuclear power generating system in the United States By 1960 the first privately financed nuclear plant in the United States Dresden 1 was dedicated near Morris In 1967 Fermilab a national nuclear research facility near Batavia opened a particle accelerator which was the world s largest for over 40 years With eleven plants currently operating Illinois leads all states in the amount of electricity generated from nuclear power In 1961 Illinois became the first state in the nation to adopt the recommendation of the American Law Institute and pass a comprehensive criminal code revision that repealed the law against sodomy The code also abrogated common law crimes and established an age of consent of 18 The state s fourth constitution was adopted in 1970 replacing the 1870 document The first Farm Aid concert was held in Champaign to benefit American farmers in 1985 The worst upper Mississippi River flood of the century the Great Flood of 1993 inundated many towns and thousands of acres of farmland 21st century A COVID 19 safety message in the Chicago Loop Illinois entered the 21st century under Republican Governor George Ryan Near the end of his term in January 2003 following a string of high profile exonerations Ryan commuted all death sentences in the state The 2002 election brought Democrat Rod Blagojevich to the governor s mansion It also brought future president Barack Obama into a committee leadership position in the Illinois Senate where he drafted the Health Care Justice Act a forerunner of the Affordable Care Act Obama s election to the presidency in Blagojevich s second term set off a chain of events culminating in Blagojevich s impeachment trial and subsequent criminal conviction and imprisonment making Blagojevich the second consecutive Illinois governor to be convicted on federal corruption charges Blagojevich s replacement Pat Quinn was defeated by Republican Bruce Rauner in the 2014 election Disagreements between the governor and legislature over budgetary policy led to the Illinois Budget Impasse a 793 day period stretching from 2015 to 2018 in which the state had no budget and struggled to pay its bills On August 28 2017 Rauner signed a bill into law that prohibited state and local police from arresting anyone solely due to their immigration status or due to federal detainers Some fellow Republicans criticized Rauner for his action claiming the bill made Illinois a sanctuary state In the 2018 election Rauner was replaced by J B Pritzker returning the state government to a Democratic trifecta In January 2020 the state legalized marijuana On March 9 2020 Pritzker issued a disaster proclamation due to the COVID 19 pandemic He ended the state of emergency in May 2023 GeologyDuring the early part of the Paleozoic Era the area that would one day become Illinois was submerged beneath a shallow sea and located near the Equator Diverse marine life lived at this time including trilobites brachiopods and crinoids Changing environmental conditions led to the formation of large coal swamps in the Carboniferous Illinois was above sea level for at least part of the Mesozoic but by its end was again submerged by the Western Interior Seaway This receded by the Eocene Epoch During the Pleistocene Epoch vast ice sheets covered much of Illinois with only the Driftless Area remaining exposed These glaciers carved the basin of Lake Michigan and left behind traces of ancient glacial lakes and moraines GeographyIllinois is located in the Midwest region of the United States and is one of the eight states in the Great Lakes region of North America which also includes Ontario Canada Boundaries Illinois s eastern border with Indiana consists of a north south line at 87 31 30 west longitude in Lake Michigan at the north to the Wabash River in the south above Post Vincennes The Wabash River continues as the eastern southeastern border with Indiana until the Wabash enters the Ohio River This marks the beginning of Illinois s southern border with Kentucky which runs along the northern shoreline of the Ohio River Most of the western border with Missouri and Iowa is the Mississippi River Kaskaskia is an exclave of Illinois lying west of the Mississippi and reachable only from Missouri The state s northern border with Wisconsin is fixed at 42 30 north latitude The northeastern border of Illinois lies in Lake Michigan within which Illinois shares a water boundary with the state of Michigan as well as Wisconsin and Indiana Topography Charles Mound the highest natural point in Illinois at 1 235 feet 376 m above sea level is located in the Driftless Area in the northwestern part of the state Though Illinois lies entirely in the Interior Plains it does have some minor variation in its elevation In extreme northwestern Illinois the Driftless Area a region of unglaciated and therefore higher and more rugged topography occupies a small part of the state Southern Illinois includes the hilly areas around the Shawnee National Forest Charles Mound located in the Driftless region has the state s highest natural elevation above sea level at 1 235 ft 376 m Other highlands include the Shawnee Hills in the south and there is varying topography along its rivers the Illinois River bisects the state northeast to southwest The floodplain on the Mississippi River from Alton to the Kaskaskia River is known as the American Bottom Divisions At 279 feet 85 m above sea level the lowest elevation point in the state is located near Cairo and the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers Illinois has three major geographical divisions Northern Illinois is dominated by Chicago metropolitan area or Chicagoland which is the city of Chicago and its suburbs and the adjoining exurban area into which the metropolis is expanding As defined by the federal government the Chicago metro area includes several counties in Illinois Indiana and Wisconsin and has a population of over 9 8 million Chicago itself is a cosmopolitan city densely populated industrialized the transportation hub of the nation and settled by a wide variety of ethnic groups The city of Rockford Illinois s third largest city and center of the state s fourth largest metropolitan area sits along Interstates 39 and 90 some 75 mi 121 km northwest of Chicago The Quad Cities region located along the Mississippi River in northern Illinois had a population of 381 342 in 2011 The midsection of Illinois is the second major division called Central Illinois Historically prairie it is now mainly agricultural and known as the Heart of Illinois It is characterized by small towns and medium small cities The western section west of the Illinois River was originally part of the Military Tract of 1812 and forms the conspicuous western bulge of the state Agriculture particularly corn and soybeans as well as educational institutions and manufacturing centers figure prominently in Central Illinois Cities include Peoria Springfield the state capital Quincy Decatur Bloomington Normal and Champaign Urbana The third division is Southern Illinois comprising the area south of U S Route 50 including Little Egypt near the juncture of the Mississippi River and Ohio River Southern Illinois is the site of the ancient city of Cahokia as well as the site of the first state capital at Kaskaskia which today is separated from the rest of the state by the Mississippi River This region has a somewhat warmer winter climate different variety of crops including some cotton farming in the past more rugged topography due to the area remaining unglaciated during the Illinoian Stage unlike most of the rest of the state as well as small scale oil deposits and coal mining The Illinois suburbs of St Louis such as East St Louis are located in this region and collectively they are known as the Metro East The other somewhat significant concentration of population in Southern Illinois is the Carbondale Marion Herrin Illinois Combined Statistical Area centered on Carbondale and Marion a two county area that is home to 123 272 residents A portion of southeastern Illinois is part of the extended Evansville Indiana Metro Area locally referred to as the Tri State with Indiana and Kentucky Seven Illinois counties are in the area In addition to these three largely latitudinally defined divisions all of the region outside the Chicago metropolitan area is often called downstate Illinois This term is flexible but is generally meant to mean everything outside the influence of the Chicago area Thus some cities in Northern Illinois such as DeKalb which is west of Chicago and Rockford which is actually north of Chicago are sometimes incorrectly considered to be downstate Climate Koppen climate types of Illinois Illinois has a climate that varies widely throughout the year Because of its nearly 400 mile distance between its northernmost and southernmost extremes as well as its mid continental situation most of Illinois has a humid continental climate Koppen climate classification Dfa with hot humid summers and cold winters The southern part of the state from about Carbondale southward has a humid subtropical climate Koppen Cfa with more moderate winters Average yearly precipitation for Illinois varies from just over 48 in 1 219 mm at the southern tip to around 35 in 889 mm in the northern portion of the state Normal annual snowfall exceeds 38 in 965 mm in the Chicago area while the southern portion of the state normally receives less than 14 in 356 mm The all time high temperature was 117 F 47 C recorded on July 14 1954 at East St Louis and the all time low temperature was 38 F 39 C recorded on January 31 2019 during the January 2019 North American cold wave at a weather station near Mount Carroll and confirmed on March 5 2019 This followed the previous record of 36 F 38 C recorded on January 5 1999 near Congerville Prior to the Mount Carroll record a temperature of 37 F 38 C was recorded on January 15 2009 at Rochelle but at a weather station not subjected to the same quality control as official records Illinois averages approximately 51 days of thunderstorm activity a year which ranks somewhat above average in the number of thunderstorm days for the United States Illinois is vulnerable to tornadoes with an average of 54 occurring annually which puts much of the state at around five tornadoes per 10 000 sq mi 30 000 km2 annually Some of Tornado Alley s deadliest tornadoes on record have occurred in the state The Tri State Tornado of 1925 killed 695 people in three states 613 of the victims died in Illinois Monthly Normal High and Low Temperatures For Various Illinois Cities F City January February March April May June July August September October November DecemberCairo 43 25 48 29 59 37 70 46 78 57 86 67 90 71 88 69 81 61 71 49 57 39 46 30Chicago 31 16 36 21 47 31 59 42 70 52 81 61 85 65 83 65 75 57 64 45 48 34 36 22Edwardsville 36 19 42 24 52 34 64 45 75 55 84 64 89 69 86 66 79 58 68 46 53 35 41 25Moline 30 12 36 18 48 29 62 39 73 50 83 60 86 64 84 62 76 53 64 42 48 30 34 18Peoria 31 14 37 20 49 30 62 40 73 51 82 60 86 65 84 63 77 54 64 42 49 31 36 20Rockford 27 11 33 16 46 27 59 37 71 48 80 58 83 63 81 61 74 52 62 40 46 29 32 17Springfield 33 17 39 22 51 32 63 42 74 53 83 62 86 66 84 64 78 55 67 44 51 34 38 23Urban areas Chicago is the largest city in the state and the third most populous city in the United States with a population of 2 746 388 in 2020 Furthermore over 7 million residents of the Chicago metropolitan area reside in Illinois The U S Census Bureau currently lists seven other cities with populations of over 100 000 within the state This includes the Chicago satellite towns of Aurora Joliet Naperville and Elgin as well as the cities of Rockford the most populous city in the state outside of the Chicago area Springfield the state s capital and Peoria The most populated city in the state south of Springfield is Belleville with 42 000 residents It is located in the Metro East region of Greater St Louis the second most populous urban area in Illinois with over 700 000 residents Other major urban areas include the Peoria metropolitan area Rockford metropolitan area Champaign Urbana metropolitan area home to the University of Illinois Springfield metropolitan area the Illinois portion of the Quad Cities area and the Bloomington Normal metropolitan area Largest cities or towns in Illinois 2020 U S censusRank Name County Pop Rank Name County Pop Chicago Aurora 1 Chicago Cook 2 746 388 11 Cicero Cook 85 268 Joliet Naperville2 Aurora Kane 180 542 12 Schaumburg Cook 78 7233 Joliet Will 150 362 13 Bloomington McLean 78 6804 Naperville DuPage 149 540 14 Evanston Cook 78 1105 Rockford Winnebago 148 655 15 Arlington Heights Cook 77 6766 Elgin Kane Cook 114 797 16 Bolingbrook Will DuPage 73 9227 Springfield Sangamon 114 394 17 Decatur Macon 70 5228 Peoria Peoria 113 150 18 Palatine Cook 67 9089 Waukegan Lake 89 321 19 Skokie Cook 67 82410 Champaign Champaign 88 302 20 Des Plaines Cook 60 675DemographicsIt has been suggested that this section be split out into another article titled Demographics of Illinois Discuss September 2024 The United States Census Bureau found that the population of Illinois was 12 812 508 in the 2020 United States census moving from the fifth largest state to the sixth largest state losing out to Pennsylvania Illinois population slightly declined in 2020 from the 2010 United States census by just over 18 000 residents and the overall population was quite higher than recent census estimates Illinois 2020 Population Density Map Illinois is the most populous state in the Midwest region Chicago the third most populous city in the United States is the center of the Chicago metropolitan area or Chicagoland as this area is nicknamed Although the Chicago metropolitan area comprises only 9 of the land area of the state it contains 65 of the state s residents with 21 4 of Illinois population living in the city of Chicago itself as of 2020 The losses of population anticipated from the 2020 census results do not arise from the Chicago metro area rather the declines are from the Downstate counties As of the 2020 census the state s geographic mean center of population is located at 41 18 43 N 88 22 23 W in Grundy County about six miles northwest of Coal City Illinois is the most racially and ethnically diverse state in the Midwest By several metrics including racial and ethnic background religious affiliation and percentage of rural and urban divide Illinois is the most representative of the larger demography of the United States Historical population CensusPop Note 18002 458 181012 282399 7 182055 211349 5 1830157 445185 2 1840476 183202 4 1850851 47078 8 18601 711 951101 1 18702 539 89148 4 18803 077 87121 2 18903 826 35224 3 19004 821 55026 0 19105 638 59116 9 19206 485 28015 0 19307 630 65417 7 19407 897 2413 5 19508 712 17610 3 196010 081 15815 7 197011 113 97610 2 198011 426 5182 8 199011 430 6020 0 200012 419 2938 6 201012 830 6323 3 202012 812 508 0 1 2024 est 12 710 158 0 8 Source 1910 2020Race and ethnicity 2020 census Illinois Racial and Ethnic Composition NH Non Hispanic Note the US census treats Hispanic Latino as an ethnic category This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category Hispanics Latinos may be of any race Race Ethnicity Pop 2000 Pop 2010 Pop 2020 2000 2010 2020White alone NH 8 424 140 8 167 753 7 472 751 67 83 63 66 58 32 Black or African American alone NH 1 856 152 1 832 924 1 775 612 14 95 14 29 13 86 Native American or Alaska Native alone NH 18 232 18 849 16 561 0 15 0 15 0 13 Asian alone NH 419 916 580 586 747 280 3 38 4 52 5 83 Pacific Islander alone NH 3 116 2 977 2 959 0 03 0 02 0 02 Some Other Race alone NH 13 479 16 008 45 080 0 11 0 12 0 35 Mixed Race Multi Racial NH 153 996 183 957 414 855 1 24 1 43 3 24 Hispanic or Latino any race 1 530 262 2 027 578 2 337 410 12 32 15 80 18 24 Total 12 419 293 12 830 632 12 812 508 100 00 100 00 100 00 Ethnic origins in IllinoisMap of counties in Illinois by racial plurality per the 2020 U S censusNon Hispanic White 40 50 50 60 60 70 70 80 80 90 90 Ethnic composition as of the 2020 census Race and ethnicity Alone TotalWhite non Hispanic 58 3 58 3 61 3 61 3 Hispanic or Latino 18 2 18 2 African American non Hispanic 13 9 13 9 15 0 15 Asian 5 8 5 8 6 7 6 7 Native American 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 Pacific Islander 0 02 0 02 0 1 0 1 Other 0 4 0 4 1 1 1 1 Illinois Racial Breakdown of Population Racial composition 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020White 92 4 89 4 86 4 80 8 78 3 73 5 71 5 61 4 Black 7 4 10 3 12 8 14 7 14 8 15 1 14 5 14 1 Asian 0 2 0 2 0 4 1 4 2 5 3 4 4 6 5 9 Native 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 2 0 3 0 8 Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander 0 0 0 Other race 0 2 3 4 2 5 8 6 7 8 9 Two or more races 1 9 2 3 8 9 Hispanic or Latino 3 3 5 6 7 9 12 3 15 8 18 2 Non Hispanic white 83 5 78 74 8 67 8 63 7 58 3 2022 American Community Survey The template Pie chart is being considered for merging Racial Makeup of Illinois 2022 White alone 61 07 Black alone 13 43 Native American alone 0 69 Asian Alone 6 00 Pacific Islander Alone 0 06 Some other race alone 7 89 Two or more races 10 87 The template Pie chart is being considered for merging Racial Ethnic Makeup of Illinois excluding Hispanics from racial categories 2022 NH Non Hispanic White NH 58 47 Black NH 13 20 Native American NH 0 08 Asian NH 5 94 Pacific Islander NH 0 03 Other NH 0 36 Two or more races NH 3 64 Hispanic Any Race 18 28 The template Pie chart is being considered for merging Racial Makeup of Hispanics in Illinois 2022 White alone 14 23 Black alone 1 27 Native American alone 3 33 Asian Alone 0 33 Pacific Islander Alone 0 15 Other race alone 41 17 Two or more races 39 52 According to 2022 U S Census Bureau estimates Illinois population was 61 1 White 13 4 Black or African American 0 1 Native American or Alaskan Native 6 0 Asian 0 1 Pacific Islander 7 9 Some Other Race and 10 9 from two or more races The white population continues to remain the largest racial category in Illinois Hispanics are allocated amongst the various racial groups and primarily identify as Some Other Race 41 2 or Multiracial 39 5 with the remainder identifying as White 14 2 Black 1 3 American Indian and Alaskan Native 3 3 Asian 0 3 and Hawaiian and Pacific Islander 0 2 By ethnicity 18 3 of the total population is Hispanic Latino of any race and 81 7 is Non Hispanic of any race If treated as a separate category Hispanics are the largest minority group in Illinois As of 2022 update 50 of Illinois s population younger than age 4 were minorities Note Children born to white Hispanics or to a sole full or partial minority parent are counted as minorities The state s most populous ethnic group non Hispanic white has declined from 83 5 in 1970 to 58 5 in 2022 Almost 60 of Illinois minority population including over 67 of the black population lives in Cook County while the county includes around 40 of the state s total population Cook County which is home to Chicago is the only majority minority county within Illinois with non Hispanic whites making up a plurality of 40 4 of the population In 2020 96 498 identified as being Native American alone while 184 487 did in combination with one or more other races Over half of this demographic also identified as being Hispanic or Latino Ancestry According to 2022 estimates from the American Community Survey 16 of the population had German ancestry 14 had Mexican ancestry 10 4 had Irish ancestry 7 1 had English ancestry 6 2 had Polish ancestry 5 2 had Italian ancestry 3 4 listed themselves as American 2 3 had Indian ancestry 1 7 had Puerto Rican ancestry 1 7 had Swedish ancestry 1 4 had Filipino ancestry 1 4 had French ancestry and 1 2 had Chinese ancestry The state also has a large population of African Americans making up 15 3 of the population alone or in combination This table displays all self reported ancestries with over 50 000 members in Illinois alone or in combination according to estimates from the 2022 American Community Survey Hispanic groups are not distinguished between total and partial ancestry Ancestry Number in 2022 Alone Number as of 2022 Alone or in any combination TotalGerman 649 997 2 014 297 16 0 Black or African American Including Afro Caribbean amp Sub Saharan African 1 689 724 1 931 027 15 3 Mexican 1 759 842 14 0 Irish 338 198 1 312 888 10 4 English 278 564 891 189 7 1 Polish 336 810 780 152 6 2 Italian 205 189 657 830 5 2 American Mostly old stock white Americans of British descent 345 772 428 431 3 4 Indian 270 311 287 101 2 3 Puerto Rican 214 835 1 7 Swedish 48 814 210 128 1 7 Filipino 131 433 175 619 1 4 French 27 025 174 964 1 4 Chinese 130 864 153 277 1 2 Broadly European No country specified 114 209 146 671 1 2 Scottish 33 638 136 636 1 1 Norwegian 33 099 133 538 1 1 Dutch 32 184 122 139 1 0 Arab 74 779 106 612 0 8 Czech 21 168 83 090 0 7 Greek 39 290 82 360 0 7 Russian 27 532 79 623 0 6 Lithuanian 27 001 73 207 0 6 Korean 55 515 71 709 0 6 Scotch Irish 16 817 60 693 0 5 Ukrainian 37 306 60 623 0 5 Immigration At the 2022 estimates from the U S Census Bureau there were 1 810 100 foreign born inhabitants of the state or 14 4 of the population with 37 8 from Mexico or Central America 31 from Asia 20 2 from Europe 4 3 from South America 4 2 from Africa 1 from Canada and 0 2 from Oceania Of the foreign born population 53 5 were naturalized U S citizens and 46 5 were not U S citizens The top countries of origin for immigrants in Illinois were Mexico India Poland the Philippines and China in 2018 Place of Birth Population 2022 of TotalUnited States 10 660 218 84 7 Illinois 8 379 091 66 6 Other States or D C 2 227 917 17 7 Puerto Rico 50 577 0 4 Other US Territories 2 633 0 0 Born abroad to American parents 111 714 0 9 Mexico amp Central America 683 766 5 4 Mexico 621 541 4 9 Guatemala 22 886 0 2 Honduras 13 811 0 1 El Salvador 12 097 0 1 Belize 7 150 0 1 Other Central American countries 6 281 0 0 Caribbean Not including Puerto Rico 25 258 0 2 Cuba 6 955 0 1 Jamaica 6 873 0 1 Haiti 5 265 0 0 Other Caribbean countries 6 165 0 0 South America 76 944 0 7 Colombia 22 796 0 2 Venezuela 15 387 0 1 Ecuador 14 356 0 1 Brazil 9 164 0 1 Peru 6 426 0 1 Other South American countries 8 815 0 1 Northern America 17 775 0 1 Canada 17 632 0 1 Other Northern American countries 143 0 0 Eastern Europe 271 358 2 2 Poland 120 473 1 0 Ukraine 33 575 0 3 Romania 15 452 0 1 Russia 14 930 0 1 Bulgaria 13 464 0 1 Bosnia amp Herzegovina 11 071 0 1 Other Eastern European countries 62 393 0 5 Western Europe 30 076 0 3 Germany 19 611 0 2 Other Western European countries 10 465 0 1 Southern Europe 34 997 0 3 Italy 18 660 0 1 Greece 12 463 0 1 Other Southern European countries 3 874 0 0 Northern Europe 27 573 0 2 United Kingdom Including overseas Crown Dependencies 19 123 0 2 Ireland 5 465 0 0 Other Northern European countries 2 985 0 0 Europe unspecified country 1 353 0 0 East Asia 137 098 1 1 China 77 933 0 7 Korea North amp South 37 662 0 3 Japan 9 905 0 1 Taiwan 8 995 0 1 Other East Asian countries 2 603 0 0 South or Central Asia 231 775 1 8 India 173 578 1 4 Pakistan 29 823 0 2 Bangladesh 5 858 0 0 Other South or Central Asian countries 22 516 0 2 Southeast Asia 131 684 1 0 Philippines 92 569 0 7 Vietnam 18 559 0 1 Thailand 5 268 0 0 Other Southeast Asian countries 15 288 0 1 West Asia 52 352 0 4 Iraq 13 341 0 1 Jordan 8 240 0 1 Syria 8 130 0 1 Turkey 5 271 0 0 Other West Asian countries 17 370 0 1 Asia unspecified country 8 366 0 1 Sub Saharan Africa 63 590 0 6 Nigeria 22 648 0 2 Ghana 6 018 0 0 Ethiopia 5 069 0 0 Other Sub Saharan African countries 29 855 0 3 North Africa 11 924 0 1 Africa unspecified country 2 368 0 0 Oceania 4 211 0 0 Total Population 12 582 032 100 Age and sex In 2022 11 2 of Illinois s population was reported as being under the age of 9 12 9 were between 10 and 19 years old 13 4 were 20 29 years old 13 6 were 30 39 years old 12 6 were 40 49 years old 12 7 were 50 59 years old 11 9 were 60 69 years old 7 7 were 70 79 years old and 4 were over the age of 80 The median age in Illinois is 39 1 years Females made up approximately 50 5 of the population while males made up 49 5 According to a 2022 study from the Williams Institute an estimated 0 44 of adults in Illinois identify as transgender a rate slightly lower than the national estimate of 0 52 According to a Gallup survey from 2019 4 3 of adults in Illinois identify as LGBTQ Age Group of Total 2022 Population 2022 0 9 11 2 1 409 55310 19 12 9 1 628 65820 29 13 4 1 683 82330 39 13 6 1 709 92940 49 12 6 1 579 66550 59 12 7 1 596 04960 69 11 9 1 501 22170 79 7 7 970 96180 4 502 173Socioeconomics As of 2022 the per capita income in Illinois is 43 317 and the median income for a household in the state is 76 708 slightly higher than the national average 11 9 of the population lives below the poverty line including 16 of children under 18 and 10 of those over the age of 65 There are 5 056 360 households in Illinois with an average size of 2 4 people per household 90 4 of the adult population has a high school diploma and 37 7 of the population over 25 has a bachelor s degree or higher compared to a national average of 35 7 In 2021 Illinois scored 0 929 on the UN s Human Development Index placing it in the category of very high Human Development and slightly higher than the US average of 0 921 According to HUD s 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report there were an estimated 9 212 homeless people in Illinois Birth data by race ethnicity Births do not add up because Hispanics are counted both by ethnicity and by race Live Births by Single Race Ethnicity of Mother Race 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022White 119 157 75 9 119 995 75 7 119 630 75 6 Non Hispanic White 85 866 54 7 86 227 54 4 85 424 54 0 82 318 53 3 78 925 52 8 77 244 53 3 74 434 53 1 70 550 52 9 71 482 54 1 68 107 53 1 Black 27 692 17 6 28 160 17 8 28 059 17 7 25 619 16 6 25 685 17 2 24 482 16 9 23 258 16 6 22 293 16 7 20 779 15 7 19 296 15 0 Asian 9 848 6 3 10 174 6 4 10 222 6 5 10 015 6 5 9 650 6 5 9 452 6 5 9 169 6 5 8 505 6 4 8 338 6 3 8 277 6 4 American Indian 234 0 1 227 0 1 205 0 1 110 0 0 133 0 1 129 0 1 119 0 1 79 gt 0 1 86 gt 0 1 126 0 1 Hispanic of any race 33 454 21 3 33 803 21 3 33 902 21 4 32 635 21 1 31 428 21 0 30 362 21 0 30 097 21 5 28 808 21 6 28 546 21 6 29 710 23 1 Total Illinois 156 931 100 158 556 100 158 116 100 154 445 100 149 390 100 144 815 100 140 128 100 133 298 100 132 189 100 128 350 100 Since 2016 data for births of Hispanic origin are not collected by race but included in one Hispanic group persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race Languages The official language of Illinois is English although between 1923 and 1969 state law gave official status to the American language Nearly 80 of people in Illinois speak English natively and most of the rest speak it fluently as a second language A number of dialects of American English are spoken ranging from Inland Northern American English and African American English around Chicago to Midland American English in Central Illinois to Southern American English in the far south Over 23 of Illinoians speak a language other than English at home of which Spanish is by far the most widespread at more than 13 of the total population A sizeable number of Polish speakers is present in the Chicago Metropolitan Area Illinois Country French has mostly gone extinct in Illinois although it is still celebrated in the French Colonial Historic District Language spoken at home of Total 2022 Population 2022 English only 76 1 9 067 296Spanish 13 8 1 638 808Other Indo European languages 5 8 687 797Asian Pacific Islander languages 3 1 372 475Other languages 1 2 141 445Total population aged 5 100 11 907 821Religion The template Pie chart is being considered for merging Religion in Illinois 2014 Protestantism 43 Roman Catholicism 28 No religion 22 Judaism 2 Islam 1 Buddhism 1 Hinduism 1 Other religion 1 No response given Unknown 1 Christianity Roman Catholics constitute the single largest religious denomination in Illinois they are heavily concentrated in and around Chicago and account for nearly 30 of the state s population However taken together as a group the various Protestant denominations comprise a greater percentage of the state s population than do Catholics In 2010 Catholics in Illinois numbered 3 648 907 The largest Protestant denominations were the United Methodist Church with 314 461 members and the Southern Baptist Convention with 283 519 Illinois has one of the largest concentrations of Missouri Synod Lutherans in the United States Illinois played an important role in the early Latter Day Saint movement with Nauvoo becoming a gathering place for Mormons in the early 1840s Nauvoo was the location of the succession crisis which led to the separation of the Mormon movement into several Latter Day Saint sects The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints the largest of the sects to emerge from the Mormon schism has more than 55 000 adherents in Illinois today Other Abrahamic religious communities The Bahaʼi House of Worship in Wilmette Illinois A significant number of adherents of other Abrahamic faiths can be found in Illinois Largely concentrated in the Chicago metropolitan area followers of the Muslim Bahaʼi and Jewish religions all call the state home Muslims constituted the largest non Christian group with 359 264 adherents Illinois has the largest concentration of Muslims by state in the country with 2 800 Muslims per 100 000 citizens The largest and oldest surviving Bahaʼi House of Worship in the world is located on the shores of Lake Michigan in Wilmette Illinois one of eight continental Bahaʼi House of Worship It serves as a space for people of all backgrounds and religions to gather meditate reflect and pray expressing the Bahaʼi principle of the oneness of religions The Chicago area has a very large Jewish community particularly in the suburbs of Skokie Buffalo Grove Highland Park and surrounding suburbs Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel was the Windy City s first Jewish mayor Other religions Chicago is also home to a very large population of Hindus Sikhs Jains and Buddhists EconomyIllinois counties by GDP 2021 As of 2022 the gross state product for Illinois reached US 1 0 trillion As of February 2019 the unemployment rate in Illinois reached 4 2 Illinois s minimum wage will rise to 15 per hour by 2025 making it one of the highest in the nation Agriculture A John Deere combine harvester on an Illinois farm the company is headquartered in Moline Illinois Illinois s major agricultural outputs are corn soybeans hogs cattle dairy products and wheat In most years Illinois is either the first or second state for the highest production of soybeans with a harvest of 427 7 million bushels 11 64 million metric tons in 2008 after Iowa s production of 444 82 million bushels 12 11 million metric tons Illinois ranks second in U S corn production with more than 1 5 billion bushels produced annually With a production capacity of 1 5 billion gallons per year Illinois is a top producer of ethanol ranking third in the United States in 2011 Illinois is a leader in food manufacturing and meat processing Although Chicago may no longer be Hog Butcher for the World the Chicago area remains a global center for food manufacture and meat processing with many plants processing houses and distribution facilities concentrated in the area of the former Union Stock Yards Illinois also produces wine and the state is home to two American viticultural areas In the area of The Meeting of the Great Rivers Scenic Byway peaches and apples are grown The German immigrants from agricultural backgrounds who settled in Illinois in the mid to late 19th century are in part responsible for the profusion of fruit orchards in that area of Illinois Illinois s universities are actively researching alternative agricultural products as alternative crops Manufacturing Illinois is one of the nation s manufacturing leaders boasting annual value added productivity by manufacturing of over 107 billion in 2006 As of 2011 update Illinois is ranked as the 4th most productive manufacturing state in the country behind California Texas and Ohio About three quarters of the state s manufacturers are located in the Northeastern Opportunity Return Region with 38 percent of Illinois s approximately 18 900 manufacturing plants located in Cook County As of 2006 the leading manufacturing industries in Illinois based upon value added were chemical manufacturing 18 3 billion machinery manufacturing 13 4 billion food manufacturing 12 9 billion fabricated metal products 11 5 billion transportation equipment 7 4 billion plastics and rubber products 7 0 billion and computer and electronic products 6 1 billion Services The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago one of twelve Federal Reserve Banks at the heart of Chicago s financial center By the early 2000s Illinois s economy had moved toward a dependence on high value added services such as financial trading higher education law logistics and medicine In some cases these services clustered around institutions that hearkened back to Illinois s earlier economies For example the Chicago Mercantile Exchange a trading exchange for global derivatives had begun its life as an agricultural futures market Other important non manufacturing industries include publishing tourism and energy production and distribution Investments Venture capitalists funded a total of approximately 62 billion in the U S economy in 2016 Of this amount Illinois based companies received approximately 1 1 billion Similarly in FY 2016 the federal government spent 461 billion on contracts in the U S Of this amount Illinois based companies received approximately 8 7 billion citation needed Energy Illinois is a net importer of fuels for energy despite large coal resources and some minor oil production Illinois exports electricity ranking fifth among states in electricity production and seventh in electricity consumption Coal Location of the Illinois Basin The coal industry of Illinois has its origins in the middle 19th century when entrepreneurs such as Jacob Loose discovered coal in locations such as Sangamon County Jacob Bunn contributed to the development of the Illinois coal industry and was a founder and owner of the of Illinois About 68 of Illinois has coal bearing strata of the Pennsylvanian geologic period According to the Illinois State Geological Survey 211 billion tons of bituminous coal are estimated to lie under the surface having a total heating value greater than the estimated oil deposits in the Arabian Peninsula However this coal has a high sulfur content which causes acid rain unless special equipment is used to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions 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 and countries In 2008 Illinois exported three million tons of coal and was projected to export nine million in 2011 as demand for energy grows in places such as China India and elsewhere in Asia and Europe As of 2010 update Illinois was ranked third in recoverable coal reserves at producing mines in the nation 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 Powder River Basin of Wyoming Mattoon was chosen as the site for the Department of Energy s FutureGen project a 275 megawatt experimental zero emission coal burning power plant that the DOE just gave a second round of funding In 2010 after a number of setbacks the city of Mattoon backed out of the project Petroleum Illinois is a leading refiner of petroleum in the American Midwest with a combined crude oil distillation capacity of nearly 900 000 bbl d 140 000 m3 d However Illinois has very limited crude oil proved reserves that account for less than 1 of the U S total reserves Residential heating is 81 natural gas compared to less than 1 heating oil Illinois is ranked 14th in oil production among states with a daily output of approximately 28 000 bbl 4 500 m3 in 2005 Nuclear power Byron Nuclear Generating Station in Ogle County Nuclear power arguably began in Illinois with the Chicago Pile 1 the world s first artificial self sustaining nuclear chain reaction in the world s first nuclear reactor built on the University of Chicago campus There are six operating nuclear power plants in Illinois Braidwood Byron Clinton Dresden LaSalle and Quad Cities With the exception of the single unit Clinton plant each of these facilities has two reactors Three reactors have been permanently shut down and are in various stages of decommissioning Dresden 1 and Zion 1 and 2 Illinois ranked first in the nation in 2010 in both nuclear capacity and nuclear generation Generation from its nuclear power plants accounted for 12 percent of the nation s total In 2007 48 of Illinois s electricity was generated using nuclear power The Morris Operation is the only de facto high level radioactive waste storage site in the United States Wind power Average annual wind power distribution for Illinois 50 m 160 ft height above ground 2009 Illinois has seen growing interest in the use of wind power for electrical generation Most of Illinois was rated in 2009 as marginal or fair for wind energy production by the U S Department of Energy with some western sections rated good and parts of the south rated poor These ratings are for wind turbines with 50 m 160 ft hub heights newer wind turbines are taller enabling them to reach stronger winds farther from the ground As a result more areas of Illinois have become prospective wind farm sites As of September 2009 Illinois had 1116 06 MW of installed wind power nameplate capacity with another 741 9 MW under construction Illinois ranked ninth among U S states in installed wind power capacity and sixteenth by potential capacity Large wind farms in Illinois include Twin Groves Rail Splitter EcoGrove and Mendota Hills As of 2007 wind energy represented only 1 7 of Illinois s energy production and it was estimated that wind power could provide 5 10 of the state s energy needs Also the Illinois General Assembly mandated in 2007 that by 2025 25 of all electricity generated in Illinois is to come from renewable resources Biofuels Illinois is ranked second in corn production among U S states and Illinois corn is used to produce 40 of the ethanol consumed in the United States The Archer Daniels Midland corporation in Decatur Illinois is the world s leading producer of ethanol from corn The National Corn to Ethanol Research Center NCERC the world s only facility dedicated to researching the ways and means of converting corn maize to ethanol is located on the campus of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville University of Illinois Urbana Champaign is one of the partners in the Energy Biosciences Institute EBI a 500 million biofuels research project funded by petroleum giant BP Taxes Tax is collected by the Illinois Department of Revenue State income tax is calculated by multiplying net income by a flat rate In 1990 that rate was set at 3 but in 2010 the General Assembly voted for a temporary increase in the rate to 5 the new rate went into effect on January 1 2011 the personal income rate partially sunset on January 1 2015 to 3 75 while the corporate income tax fell to 5 25 Illinois failed to pass a budget from 2015 to 2017 after the 736 day budget impasse a budget was passed in Illinois after lawmakers overturned Governor Bruce Rauner s veto this budget raised the personal income rate to 4 95 and the corporate rate to 7 There are two rates for state sales tax 6 25 for general merchandise and 1 for qualifying food drugs and medical appliances The property tax is a major source of tax revenue for local government taxing districts The property tax is a local not state tax imposed by local government taxing districts which include counties townships municipalities school districts and special taxation districts The property tax in Illinois is imposed only on real property On May 1 2019 the Illinois Senate voted to approve a constitutional amendment that would have stricken language from the Illinois Constitution requiring a flat state income tax in a 73 44 vote If approved the amendment would have allowed the state legislature to impose a graduated income tax based on annual income The governor J B Pritzker approved the bill on May 27 2019 It was scheduled for a 2020 general election ballot vote and required 60 percent voter approval to effectively amend the state constitution The amendment was not approved by Illinoisans with 55 1 of voters voting No on approval and 44 9 voting Yes As of 2017 Chicago had the highest state and local sales tax rate for a U S city with a populations above 200 000 at 10 250 The state of Illinois has the second highest rate of real estate tax 2 31 which is second only to New Jersey at 2 44 Toll roads are a de facto user tax on the citizens and visitors to the state of Illinois Illinois ranks seventh out of the 11 states with the most miles of toll roads at 282 1 miles Chicago ranks fourth in most expensive toll roads in America by the mile with the Chicago Skyway charging 51 2 cents per mile Illinois also has the 11th highest gasoline tax by state at 37 5 cents per gallon CultureMuseums Illinois has numerous museums the greatest concentration of these are in Chicago Several museums in Chicago are ranked as some of the best in the world These include the John G Shedd Aquarium the Field Museum of Natural History the Art Institute of Chicago the Adler Planetarium and the Museum of Science and Industry The modern Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield is the largest and most attended presidential library in the country The Illinois State Museum boasts a collection of 13 5 million objects that tell the story of Illinois life land people and art The ISM is among only 5 of the nation s museums that are accredited by the American Alliance of Museums Other historical museums in the state include the Polish Museum of America in Chicago Magnolia Manor in Cairo Easley Pioneer Museum in Ipava the Elihu Benjamin Washburne Ulysses S Grant Homes both in Galena and the Chanute Air Museum located on the former Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul The Chicago metropolitan area also hosts two zoos The Brookfield Zoo located about ten miles west of the city center in suburban Brookfield contains more than 2 300 animals and covers 216 acres 87 ha The Lincoln Park Zoo is located in Lincoln Park on Chicago s North Side approximately 3 miles 4 8 km north of the Loop The zoo accounts for more than 35 acres 14 ha of the park Illinois Museums Vandalia State House State Historic Site in Vandalia The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago Magnolia Manor is a Victorian period historic house museum in Cairo Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield The Polish Museum of America in Chicago A Railway Post Office preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum in UnionMusic Illinois is a leader in music education having hosted the Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference since 1946 as well being home to the Illinois Music Educators Association ILMEA formerly IMEA one of the largest professional music educator s organizations in the country Each summer since 2004 Southern Illinois University Carbondale has played host to the Southern Illinois Music Festival which presents dozens of performances throughout the region Past featured artists include the Eroica Trio and violinist David Kim Chicago in the northeast corner of the state is a major center for music in the midwestern United States where distinctive forms of blues greatly responsible for the future creation of rock and roll and house music a genre of electronic dance music were developed The Great Migration of poor black workers from the South into the industrial cities brought traditional jazz and blues music to the city resulting in Chicago blues and Chicago style Dixieland jazz Notable blues artists included Muddy Waters Junior Wells Howlin Wolf and both Sonny Boy Williamsons jazz greats included Nat King Cole Gene Ammons Benny Goodman and Bud Freeman Chicago is also well known for its soul music In the early 1930s Gospel music began to gain popularity in Chicago due to Thomas A Dorsey s contributions at Pilgrim Baptist Church In the 1980s and 1990s heavy rock punk and hip hop also became popular in Chicago Orchestras in Chicago include the Chicago Symphony Orchestra the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Chicago Sinfonietta Movies John Hughes who moved from Grosse Pointe to Northbrook based many films of his in Chicago and its suburbs Ferris Bueller s Day Off Home Alone The Breakfast Club and all his films take place in the fictional Shermer Illinois the original name of Northbrook was Shermerville and Hughes s High School Glenbrook North High School is on Shermer Road Most locations in his films include Glenbrook North the former Maine North High School the Ben Rose House in Highland Park and the famous Home Alone house in Winnetka Illinois Recreation Sunset on the Garden of the Gods Wilderness part of the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois The Illinois state parks system began in 1908 with what is now Fort Massac State Park becoming the first park in a system encompassing more than 60 parks and about the same number of recreational and wildlife areas Areas under the protection of the National Park Service include the Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor near Lockport the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail the Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail the American Discovery Trail the Pullman National Monument and New Philadelphia Town Site The federal government also manages the Shawnee National Forest and the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie Sports Soldier Field is home to the National Football League s Chicago BearsWrigley Field is home to Major League Baseball s Chicago Cubs As one of the United States major metropolises all major sports leagues have teams headquartered in Chicago Two Major League Baseball teams are located in the state The Chicago Cubs of the National League play in the second oldest major league stadium Wrigley Field and went the longest length of time without a championship in all of major American sport from 1908 to 2016 when they won the World Series The Chicago White Sox of the American League won the World Series in 2005 their first since 1917 They play on the city s south side at Rate Field The Chicago Bears football team has won nine total NFL Championships the last occurring in Super Bowl XX on January 26 1986 The Chicago Bulls of the NBA is one of the most recognized basketball teams in the world largely as a result of the efforts of Michael Jordan who led the team to six NBA championships in eight seasons in the 1990s The Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL began playing in 1926 and became a member of the Original Six once the NHL dropped to that number of teams during World War II The Blackhawks have won six Stanley Cups most recently in 2015 Chicago Fire FC is a member of MLS and has been one of the league s most successful and best supported clubs since its founding in 1997 winning one league and four Lamar Hunt U S Open Cups in that timespan The team played in Bridgeview adjacent to Chicago from 2006 to 2019 The team now plays at Soldier Field in Chicago The Chicago Red Stars have played at the top level of U S women s soccer since their formation in 2009 except in the 2011 season The team currently plays in the National Women s Soccer League playing at SeatGeek Stadium the Bridgeview venue it formerly shared with Fire FC The Chicago Sky have played in the Women s National Basketball Association WNBA since 2006 The Sky won their first WNBA Championship in 2021 They play at Wintrust Arena in Chicago The Chicago Bandits of the NPF a women s softball league have won four league titles most recently in 2016 They play at Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont Illinois in the Chicago area Many minor league teams also call Illinois their home They include the Bloomington Edge of the Indoor Football League Bloomington Flex of the Midwest Professional Basketball Association Chicago Dogs of the American Association of Professional Baseball Chicago Fire FC II of MLS Next Pro Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League Kane County Cougars of the American Association Joliet Slammers of the Frontier League Peoria Chiefs of the Midwest League Peoria Rivermen of the SPHL Rockford Aviators of the Frontier League Rockford IceHogs of the AHL Schaumburg Boomers of the Frontier League Southern Illinois Miners in the Frontier League Windy City Bulls of the NBA G League and Windy City ThunderBolts of the Frontier League The state features 13 athletic programs that compete in NCAA Division I the highest level of U S college sports The two most prominent are the Illinois Fighting Illini and Northwestern Wildcats both members of the Big Ten Conference and the only ones competing in the Power Five conferences The Fighting Illini football team has won five national championships and three Rose Bowl Games whereas the men s basketball team has won 17 conference seasons and played five Final Fours Meanwhile the Wildcats have won eight football conference championships and one Rose Bowl Game The Northern Illinois Huskies compete in the Mid American Conference having won four conference championships and earning a bid in the Orange Bowl Four schools have football programs that compete in the second level of Division I football the Football Championship Subdivision The Illinois State Redbirds and Southern Illinois Salukis are members of the Missouri Valley Conference for non football sports and the Missouri Valley Football Conference The Eastern Illinois Panthers and Western Illinois Leathernecks are members of the Ohio Valley Conference The city of Chicago is home to four Division I programs that do not sponsor football the DePaul Blue Demons of the Big East Conference Loyola Ramblers of the Atlantic 10 Conference UIC Flames of the Missouri Valley Conference and Chicago State Cougars of the Northeast Conference Finally two non football Division I programs are located downstate The Bradley Braves are Missouri Valley Conference members and the SIU Edwardsville Cougars compete in the Ohio Valley Conference The inaugural Enjoy Illinois 300 at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison Motor racing oval tracks at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet the Chicago Motor Speedway in Cicero and the Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison near St Louis have hosted NASCAR CART and IRL races whereas the Sports Car Club of America among other national and regional road racing clubs have visited the Autobahn Country Club in Joliet the Blackhawk Farms Raceway in South Beloit and the former Meadowdale International Raceway in Carpentersville Illinois also has several short tracks and dragstrips The dragstrip at Gateway International Raceway and the Route 66 Raceway which sits on the same property as the Chicagoland Speedway both host NHRA drag races Illinois features several golf courses such as Olympia Fields Medinah Midlothian Cog Hill and Conway Farms which have often hosted the BMW Championship Western Open and Women s Western Open Also the state has hosted 13 editions of the U S Open latest at Olympia Fields in 2003 six editions of the PGA Championship latest at Medinah in 2006 three editions of the U S Women s Open latest at The Merit Club the 2009 Solheim Cup at Rich Harvest Farms and the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah The John Deere Classic is a regular PGA Tour event played in the Quad Cities since 1971 whereas the Encompass Championship is a Champions Tour event since 2013 Previously the LPGA State Farm Classic was an LPGA Tour event from 1976 to 2011 Law and politicsIn a 2020 study Illinois was ranked as the 4th easiest state for citizens to vote in State government The Illinois State Capitol in Springfield The government of Illinois under the Constitution of Illinois has three branches of government executive legislative and judicial The executive branch is split into several statewide elected offices with the governor as chief executive Legislative functions are granted to the Illinois General Assembly The judiciary is composed of the Supreme Court and lower courts The executive branch is composed of six elected officers and their offices as well as numerous other departments The six elected officers are Governor Lieutenant Governor Attorney General Secretary of State Comptroller and Treasurer The government of Illinois has numerous departments agencies boards and commissions but the so called code departments provide most of the state s services Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois General Assembly is the state legislature composed of the 118 member Illinois House of Representatives and the 59 member Illinois Senate The members of the General Assembly are elected at the beginning of each even numbered year The Illinois Compiled Statutes ILCS are the codified statutes of a general and permanent nature The Judiciary of Illinois is the unified court system of Illinois It consists of the Supreme Court Appellate Court and Circuit Courts The Supreme Court oversees the administration of the court system The administrative divisions of Illinois are counties townships precincts cities towns villages and special purpose districts The basic subdivision of Illinois are the 102 counties Eighty five of the 102 counties are in turn divided into townships and precincts Municipal governments are the cities villages and incorporated towns Some localities possess home rule which allows them to govern themselves to a certain extent Party balance Governor J B Pritzker D In modern national and state politics Illinois is a Democratic stronghold Historically Illinois was a political swing state with near parity existing between the Republican and the Democratic parties However in recent elections the Democratic Party has gained ground and Illinois has come to be seen as a solid blue state in both presidential and congressional campaigns Illinois s Democratic tendencies are mostly attributable to Cook County and Chicago by far the state s largest county and city respectively which have long been strongly Democratic The collar counties affluent suburban counties that surround Cook County were ancestrally Republican and helped keep the state competitive however they have swung toward the left in recent elections as the national Republican Party has become increasingly conservative which has cemented Democratic dominance in state politics Outside of the Chicago metropolitan area the state s rural areas are heavily Republican The dominance of the Chicago area in state elections is so overwhelming that it has influenced a secessionist movement in the downstate region Illinois was long seen as a national bellwether supporting the winner in every election in the 20th century except for 1916 and 1976 Since the 1992 election however Illinois has trended more toward the Democratic Party and is part of the blue wall of states that have consistently voted Democratic in the last six presidential elections In 2000 George W Bush became the first Republican to win the presidency without carrying either Illinois or Vermont with Donald Trump repeating the feat in 2016 Illinois has not elected a Republican to the Senate since Mark Kirk won in 2010 the last Republicans to hold statewide office were Governor Bruce Rauner and Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti who both left office in 2019 History of corruption Politics in the state have been infamous for highly visible corruption cases as well as for crusading reformers such as governors Adlai Stevenson and James R Thompson In 2006 former governor George Ryan was convicted of racketeering and bribery leading to a six and a half year prison sentence On December 7 2011 former governor Rod Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison for allegations that he conspired to sell the vacated Senate seat left by President Barack Obama to the highest bidder Blagojevich had earlier been impeached and convicted by the legislature resulting in his removal from office In the late 20th century Congressman Dan Rostenkowski was imprisoned for mail fraud former governor and federal judge Otto Kerner Jr was imprisoned for bribery Secretary of State Paul Powell was investigated and found to have gained great wealth through bribes and State Auditor of Public Accounts Comptroller Orville Hodge 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 was found to have defrauded the state of a million dollars U S presidential elections Illinois has shown a strong presence in presidential elections Three presidents have claimed Illinois as their political base when running for president Abraham Lincoln Ulysses S Grant and most recently Barack Obama Lincoln was born in Kentucky but he moved to Illinois at age 21 He served in the General Assembly and represented the 7th congressional district in the U S House of Representatives before his election to the presidency in 1860 Ulysses S Grant was born in Ohio and had a military career that precluded settling down but on the eve of the Civil War and approaching middle age he moved to Illinois and thus utilized the state as his home and political base when running for president Barack Obama was born in Hawaii and made Illinois his home after graduating from law school and later represented Illinois in the U S Senate He then became president in 2008 running as a candidate from his Illinois base Ronald Reagan was born in Illinois in the city of Tampico raised in Dixon Illinois and educated at Eureka College outside Peoria Reagan later moved to California during his young adulthood He then became an actor and later became California s Governor before being elected president Hillary Clinton was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago and became the first woman to represent a major political party in the general election of the U S presidency Clinton ran from a platform based in New York State African American U S senators Twelve African Americans have served as members of the United States Senate Of which three have represented Illinois the most of any single state Carol Moseley Braun Barack Obama and Roland Burris who was appointed to replace Obama after his election to the presidency Moseley Braun was the first African American woman to become a U S Senator Political families Several families from Illinois have played particularly prominent roles in politics in both the Republican Party earlier in the state s history but more recently the Democratic Party gaining both statewide and national fame Ingersoll The Ingersoll family of Illinois comprised a pair of brothers who held several prominent elected positions representing Illinois Ebon C Ingersoll 1831 1879 Illinois State Representative 1856 U S Representative from Illinois 1864 71 Brother of Robert G Ingersoll Robert G Ingersoll 1833 1899 Illinois State Representative 1860 Attorney General of Illinois 1867 69 delegate to the Republican National Convention 1876 Brother of Ebon C Ingersoll John C Ingersoll 1860 1903 U S Consul in Cartagena Colombia 1902 Son of Ebon C Ingersoll Stevenson The Stevenson family initially rooted in central Illinois and later based in the Chicago metropolitan area has provided four generations of Illinois officeholders Adlai Stevenson I 1835 1914 was a Vice President of the United States as well as a Congressman Lewis Stevenson 1868 1929 son of Adlai served as Illinois Secretary of State Adlai Stevenson II 1900 1965 son of Lewis served as Governor of Illinois and as the U S Ambassador to the United Nations he was also the Democratic party s presidential nominee in 1952 and 1956 losing both elections to Dwight Eisenhower Adlai Stevenson III 1930 2021 son of Adlai II served ten years as a United States Senator Daley The Daley family s powerbase was in Chicago Richard J Daley 1902 1976 served as Mayor of Chicago from 1955 to his death Richard M Daley born 1942 son of Richard J was Chicago s longest serving mayor in office from 1989 to 2011 William M Daley born 1948 another son of Richard J is a former White House Chief of Staff and has served in a variety of appointed positions Pritzker The Pritzker family is based in Chicago and have played important roles in both the private and the public sectors Jay Pritzker 1922 1999 co founder of Hyatt Hotel based in Chicago Penny Pritzker born 1959 38th United States Secretary of Commerce under President Barack Obama J B Pritzker born 1965 current and 43rd governor of Illinois and co founder of the Pritzker Group Madigan Members of the Madigan family have held extensive influence in Illinois politics Michael Madigan born 1942 longtime speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives and notorious political boss Lisa Madigan born 1966 adopted daughter of Michael Madigan former Illinois Attorney General EducationThe Illini Union at the University of Illinois Urbana ChampaignCampus of the University of ChicagoIllinois State Board of education The Illinois State Board of Education ISBE is autonomous of the governor and the state legislature and administers public education in the state Local municipalities and their respective school districts operate individual public schools but the ISBE audits performance of public schools with the Illinois School Report Card The ISBE also makes recommendations to state leaders concerning education spending and policies Primary and secondary schools Education is compulsory for ages 7 17 in Illinois Schools are commonly but not exclusively divided into three tiers of primary and secondary education elementary school middle school or junior high school and high school District territories are often complex in structure Many areas in the state are actually located in two school districts one for high school and the other for elementary and middle schools And such districts do not necessarily share boundaries A given high school may have several elementary districts that feed into it yet some of those feeder districts may themselves feed into multiple high school districts Colleges and universities Using the criterion established by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching there are eleven National Universities in the state As of 19 August 2010 update six of these rank in the first tier among the top 500 National Universities in the nation as determined by the U S News amp World Report rankings the University of Chicago Northwestern University the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign Loyola University Chicago the Illinois Institute of Technology DePaul University University of Illinois Chicago Illinois State University Southern Illinois University Carbondale and Northern Illinois University The University of Chicago is continuously ranked as one of the world s top ten universities on various independent university rankings and its Booth School of Business along with Northwestern s Kellogg School of Management consistently rank within the top five graduate business schools in the country and top ten globally The University of Illinois Urbana Champaign is often ranked among the best engineering schools in the world and United States Illinois also has more than twenty additional accredited four year universities both public and private and dozens of small liberal arts colleges across the state Additionally Illinois supports 49 public community colleges in the Illinois Community College System School financing Schools in Illinois are funded primarily by property taxes based on state assessment of property values rather than direct state contributions Scholar Tracy Steffes has described Illinois public education as historically inequitable a system where one of the wealthiest of states is the stingiest in its support for education There have been several attempts to reform school funding in Illinois The most notable attempt came in 1973 with the adoption of the Illinois Resource Equalizer Formula a measure through which it was hoped funding could be collected and distributed to Illinois schools more equitably However opposition from affluent Illinois communities who objected to having to pay for the less well off school districts many of them Black majority communities produced by redlining white flight and other soft segregation methods resulted in the formula s abolition in the late 1980s TransportationBecause of its central location and its proximity to the Rust Belt and Grain Belt Illinois is a national crossroads for air auto rail and truck traffic Airports Concourse B inside O Hare International Airport one of the world s busiest airports From 1962 until 1998 Chicago s O Hare International Airport ORD was the busiest airport in the world measured both in terms of total flights and passengers While it was surpassed by Atlanta s Hartsfield in 1998 as Chicago splits its air traffic between O Hare and Midway airports while Atlanta uses only one airport with 59 3 million domestic passengers annually along with 11 4 million international passengers in 2008 O Hare consistently remains one of the two or three busiest airports globally and in some years still ranks number one in total flights It is a major hub for both United Airlines and American Airlines and a major airport expansion project is currently underway Midway Airport MDW which had been the busiest airport in the world at one point until it was supplanted by O Hare as the busiest airport in 1962 is now the secondary airport in the Chicago metropolitan area and still ranks as one of the nation s busiest airports Midway is a major hub for Southwest Airlines and services many other carriers as well Midway served 17 3 million domestic and international passengers in 2008 Highways An Illinois welcome sign along U S Route 67 in Rock Island The Interstate Highways in Illinois are all segments of the Interstate Highway System that are owned and maintained by the state Major U S Interstate highways crossing the state include Interstate 24 I 24 I 39 I 41 I 55 I 57 I 64 I 70 I 72 I 74 I 80 I 88 I 90 and I 94 Illinois has the distinction of having the most primary two digit interstates pass through it among all the 50 states with 13 Illinois also ranks third among the fifty states with the most interstate mileage coming in after California and Texas which are much bigger states in area Standard license plate introduced in 2017 The Illinois Department of Transportation IDOT is responsible for maintaining the U S Highways in Illinois The system in Illinois consists of 21 primary highways Among the U S highways that pass through the state the primary ones are US 6 US 12 US 14 US 20 US 24 US 30 US 34 US 36 US 40 US 41 US 45 US 50 US 51 US 52 US 54 US 60 US 62 and US 67 Buses Due to its central location Illinois sees numerous intercity bus services primarily connecting east and west The Chicago Bus Station is the busiest intercity bus station in the state The following carriers provide scheduled service Amtrak Thruway Barons Bus Lines Burlington Trailways Flixbus Greyhound Lines Indian Trails Miller Transportation Hoosier Ride Peoria Charter Coach Company Van Galder Bus Company and Wisconsin Coach Lines Local transit mapBeloit TransitC CARTSMTDChicago Transit AuthorityColes County ZiplineConnect TransitDMTDPTSDeKalb Public TransitGalesburg TransitGo West TransitCityLinkJCMTDSaluki ExpressRMTDMadison County TransitMetroLINKPaceQuincy Transit LinesRiver Valley MetroRMTDSCCTDSMTDSHOW BusSouth Central TransitRMTDSHOW Busclass notpageimage Local Transit Systems Only systems with fixed route services are shown Railroads Illinois major rail network Illinois has an extensive passenger and freight rail transportation network Chicago is a national Amtrak hub and in state passengers are served by Amtrak s Illinois Service featuring the Chicago to Carbondale Illini and Saluki the Chicago to Quincy Carl Sandburg and Illinois Zephyr and the Chicago to St Louis Lincoln Service Currently there is trackwork on the Chicago St Louis line to bring the maximum speed up to 110 mph 180 km h which would reduce the trip time by an hour and a half Nearly every North American railway meets at Chicago making it the largest and most active rail hub in the country Extensive heavy rail service is provided in the city proper and some immediate suburbs by the Chicago Transit Authority s L system One of the largest suburban commuter rail system in the United States operated by Metra uses existing rail lines to provide direct commuter rail access for hundreds of suburbs to the city and beyond Waterways In addition to the state s rail lines the Mississippi River and Illinois River provide major transportation routes for the state s agricultural interests Lake Michigan gives Illinois access to the Atlantic Ocean by way of the Saint Lawrence Seaway See alsoIllinois portalUnited States portalIndex of Illinois related articles List of people from Illinois Outline of Illinois USS Illinois 4 shipsNotesElevation adjusted to North American Vertical Datum of 1988 Illinois borders the state of Wisconsin to its north Iowa to its northwest Missouri to its southwest Kentucky to its south Indiana to its east and has a water border with Michigan to the northeast in Lake Michigan Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin are not distinguished between total and partial ancestry References Charles NGS Data Sheet National Geodetic Survey National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration United States Department of Commerce Retrieved October 20 2011 Elevations and Distances in the United States United States Geological Survey 2001 Archived from the original on November 2 2011 Retrieved October 21 2011 United States Census Quick Facts Illinois Retrieved January 5 2025 Household Income in States and Metropolitan Areas 2023 PDF Retrieved January 12 2025 5 ILCS 460 20 from Ch 1 par 2901 20 State Designations Act Illinois Compiled Statutes Springfield Illinois Illinois General Assembly September 4 1991 Archived from the original on March 5 2009 Retrieved April 10 2009 Sec 20 Official language The official language of the State of Illinois is English Ryburn LaMonte Terri 1999 The Historical Development of Transportation in Illinois Illinois Periodicals Online Archived from the original on October 10 2017 2021 Illinois Manufacturing Facts NAM April 26 2021 Retrieved October 19 2022 The History of Illinois License Plates Cyberdriveillinois com Archived from the original on January 29 2012 Retrieved February 15 2012 Slogan Illinois State Museum Archived from the original on May 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20 2006 Callary Edward 2008 Place Names of Illinois University of Illinois Press p 169 ISBN 978 0 252 03356 8 Archived from the original on February 4 2021 Retrieved October 3 2020 Costa David J January 2007 Three American Placenames Illinois PDF Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas Newsletter 25 4 9 12 ISSN 1046 4476 Archived from the original PDF on July 16 2011 Retrieved May 29 2011 Pauketat Timothy R 2009 Cahokia Ancient America s Great City on the Mississippi Penguin library of American Indian history Viking Press pp 23 34 ISBN 978 0 670 02090 4 OCLC 276819729 Cahokia was so large covering three to five square miles that archaeologists have yet to probe many portions of it Its centerpiece was an open fifty acre Grand Plaza surrounded by packed clay pyramids The size of thirty five football fields the Grand Plaza was at the time the biggest public space ever conceived and executed north of Mexico a flat public square 1 600 plus feet in length and 900 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