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

Low vaccine supply raises ire
Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600
Doctors, parents fret over severe shortage amid H1N1 worries The lack of H1N1 vaccine has become increasingly frustrating for doctors, patients and the general public, particularly those with chronic illnesses. The problems have raised suspicions about the fairness of how the vaccine is being distributed.
Local families mourn lives cut short
Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600
Chicago-area privates who found happiness in military are among 13 killed in Fort Hood rampage Two Chicago-area privates were among the 13 people killed Thursday at Fort Hood. The deaths stunned family members who admired their willingness to sacrifice their lives in defense of their country. They never imagined the sacrifice would be on American soil or by the hands of one of their own.
Praise, criticism in Fenger brawl case
Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600
Police superintendent thanks witnesses against teen charged in beating, says they should have stepped up sooner Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis praised witnesses who identified a 14-year-old boy as taking part in the infamous fatal beating of a Fenger High School student but at the same time chastised them for taking too long to come forward.
Bulls' Thomas out with fracture
Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600
Hard-luck forward will miss at least a month Back on Sept. 25, Tyrus Thomas wore a smile as wide as the lane and carried buoyancy in his voice that anybody attending the first day of Bulls training camp could hear.
Driver killed by own tow truck
Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:58:32 -0600

4 charged in lottery ticket scam
Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:45:53 -0600


Chicago Sun-Times :: News ::

Top cop 'nervous' about likely retirement surge
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter fspielman@suntimes.com Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0600
Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis said Friday he is "extremely nervous" that a wave of police retirements next year -- after an arbitrator rules on the new police contract -- will stretch a burgeoning manpower shortage beyond levels he considers safe.
4 charged in lottery scam targeting elderly Hispanics
Sun-Times Media Wire Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0600
Police arrested two men and two women earlier this week who allegedly ran a lottery ticket scam that targeted elderly Hispanic victims.
TICKETS GET TOSSED, BUT NO LIDAR LETUP
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter fspielman@suntimes.com Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0600
Chicago Police will stick to their speed detector guns -- churning out tickets generated by LIDAR detectors purchased to slow neighborhood speeding -- despite widespread dismissals in Traffic Court, Supt. Jody Weis said Friday.

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