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 -

Should comatose man be allowed to stay here?
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Some family members trying to block UIC move An undocumented immigrant at a Chicago hospital has ignited a dispute over health care.
Who calls the shots? Not you
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 06:11:13 -0500
When a homeowner tried to speak at a City Council hearing on zoning for a project in his neighborhood, aldermen threatened to toss him.
Shooting near McDonald's may have been retaliation
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The shooting that left one man dead near the Rock 'n' Roll McDonald's restaurant early Monday may have been in retaliation for the victim having testified in a court case last year, a law enforcement source said.
Jet swerves off runway in Madrid; 7 reported dead
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:32:00 -0500
MADRID, Spain (AP) _ An airliner bound for the Canary Islands swerved off the runway while departing from Madrid airport Wednesday, Spain's national airport authority said.
American Airlines launches Wi-Fi service
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 07:00:00 -0500
American Airlines launched Wi-Fi service on 15 of its airplanes Wednesday, providing broadband Internet access on coast-to-coast flights in the U.S.
Sax player for Dave Matthews Band dies
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 06:17:00 -0500
LOS ANGELES (AP) _ LeRoi Moore, saxophone player for the Dave Matthews Band, died Tuesday of injuries suffered in an accident on an all-terrain vehicle in June. He was 46.

Chicago Sun-Times :: News ::

Kids urged to attend, skip first day of school
BY MAUDLYNE IHEJIRIKA Staff Reporter mihejirika@suntimes.com Wed, 20 Aug 2008 04:00:00 -0600
As the first day of school nears for Chicago Public Schools, two movements to improve education for its mostly low-income, minority students are on a collision course. The Black Star Project and its Million Father March -- a five-year-old movement steamrolling across the country -- are calling for men, especially black men, to take children to school en masse Sept. 2.
Federal hiriing monitor eyes city layoffs, too
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter/fspielman@suntimes.com Wed, 20 Aug 2008 04:00:00 -0600
How can an administration that rigged city hiring be trusted to lay off well over 1,000 city employees on the square -- without ordering a political purge? Federal hiring monitor Noelle Brennan apparently wants to know. Now that Mayor Daley is poised to wipe out a $420 million budget shortfall, Brennan is negotiating with the city's Office of Compliance on the procedure for executing the biggest layoff of Daley's nearly 20-year reign.
Plan to sell railway picks up some steam
BY GUY TRIDGELL SouthtownStar Wed, 20 Aug 2008 04:00:00 -0600
Canadian National Railway's attempt to buy the Elgin Joliet & Eastern Railway is picking up supporters. U.S. Rep. Daniel Lipinski will announce on Thursday that he is backing the controversial sale. The Western Springs Democrat declined to comment, but his endorsement carries some weight.

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