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

About 2000 Native American hunters inhabited the area at the time of the American Revolution, and by a small number of French villagers. American settlers began arriving from Kentucky in the 1810s; they achieved statehood in 1818. Yankees arrived a little later and dominated the north, creating the metropolis of Chicago in the 1830s. The coming of the railroads in the 1850s made highly profitable the rich prairie farmlands in central Illinois, attracting large numbers of immigrant farmers from Germany and Sweden. Northern Illinois, strongly Republican, provided major support for Illinoisans Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant during the Civil War. By 1900, factories were being rapidly built in the northern cities, along with coal mines in central and southern areas, attracting large numbers of immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe. Illinois was a major arsenal in both world wars; large numbers of blacks left the cotton fields of the South to come to Chicago, where they developed a famous jazz culture.

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

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chicagotribune.com - News

Bicyclist hit-and-run may be intentional
Wed, 16 Dec 2009 06:06:45 -0600
Jepson Livingston, 32, was killed Tuesday afternoon when he was struck by a van in Logan Square. Police are looking into the possibility that the incident involved criminal activity and was not solely an accident. Video

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:15:24 -0600
As the Feb. 2 primary election approaches, visit our online headquarters for the latest on major races in the state.
McDonald's to offer free Wi-Fi
Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0600
McDonald's Corp. said it will soon offer free wireless Internet access at most of its U.S. restaurants as it tries to broaden its appeal.
Dreamliner takes first flight
Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0600
Dreamliner 'truly changes the game,' says Boeing official -- For the first time, a passenger jetliner with a body and wings made of superhardened plastics took flight on Tuesday, a milestone that promises to usher in a new era in aviation, more than two years behind schedule.
Residents in Thomson focus on jobs, not terror
Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0600
Thomson Correctional Center may bring thousands of jobs along with housing terror suspects from Guantanamo prison Thomson Correctional Center may bring thousands of jobs along with housing terror suspects from Guantanamo prison, and residents there say they're focusing on that more than terror fears.
Mom's 7-year flight leads huge blinds recall
Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:40:19 -0600


Chicago Sun-Times :: News ::

U. of C. 'treasure' really just a fake
BY STEFANO ESPOSITO Staff Reporter sesposito@suntimes.com Wed, 16 Dec 2009 04:00:00 -0600
It is considered one of the University of Chicago's "treasures," kept safe in a climate-controlled underground vault. Had it been put on the auction block, it might have fetched millions. But that was before scholars and scientists peered closely at the blotchy parchment pages of the U. of C.'s "Byzantine" Gospel of St. Mark.
CPS board may tighten expense account rules
BY ROSALIND ROSSI Education Reporter Wed, 16 Dec 2009 04:00:00 -0600
Chicago School Board members will decide Wednesday whether to dump their $24,000-a-year receipt-free expense accounts -- tabs once likened to "slush funds" -- in favor of submitting receipts for all work-related expenses. The change comes less than a month after board members decided to hire former federal prosecutor Walter Jones Jr. to review board members' spending.
New baby beluga at Shedd Aquarium
BY KARA SPAK Staff Reporter/kspak@suntimes.com Wed, 16 Dec 2009 04:00:00 -0600
Break out the champagne and cigars, or at least the smelt and squid -- there's a new baby boy at the Shedd Aquarium. A 5-feet 4-inch, 162-pound beluga whale calf was born at 6:36 a.m. Monday.

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