Illinois Facts
From the AAA Illinois Indiana Ohio TourBook © AAA 1998
Population 11.8 million
Area: 56,400 square miles, ranks 24th
Capital: Springfield
Highest Point: 1,235 ft. Charles Mound
Lowest Point: 239 ft. Mississippi River
Time Zone: Central, DST.
History
Illinois' heritage, apparent in such names as Peoria and Kaskaskia, attests to a long history of American Indian occupancy. Paleo-Indians roamed the prairie lands of the area now known as Illinois before 5000 B.C. Evidence of complex urban areas, inhabited sometime around A.D. 900 by a population of close to 20,000, and huge burial mounds can be found in the Cahokia Mounds at present-day Collinsville. French explorers Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette reached the area in the late 17th century, opening the territory to European fur trader and missionaries. Disease and constant warfare among various American Indian tribes drastically reduced the American Indian population. Further battles with white settlers led to a series of treaties - the last of which followed the Black Hawk War in 1832 - that removed the remaining American Indians to lands west of the Mississippi River. Although Illinois was admitted as the 21st state of the Union on Dec. 3, 1818, the divisive issue of slavery was far from settled. The southern third of the state was populated by new arrivals from Kentucky, Tennessee and the Carolinas, who brought the Southern beliefs with them. The constitution of 1818 gave black the status of indentured servants - slavery would have been legalized had there not been fear that such a move would prevent statehood. A massive influx of Yankees and European immigrants in the 1830s and '40s, however, laid claim to the northern and central sections of the state, bringing cultural diversity and abolitionist sentiment. Although slavery became illegal in 1848, it was not until the outbreak of the Civil War that Illinois was recognized as a "Northern" state. Native son Abraham Lincoln, president during the turbulent war year, brought pride to Illinoisans: The state supplied 250,000 Union soldiers and became a major weapons manufacturing center. The years following the Civil War were marked by significant growth, fueled by further European immigration. The rise of labor unions in the second half of the 19th century brought a push for child labor laws and an 8-hour workday. But violence exploded in the Haymarket Riot of 1886 and the Pullman Strike of 1894, marking the beginning of a tumultuous era characterized by bootleg liquor, newspaper wars and organized crime. Because most of the nation's major rail lines converged in Chicago, Illinois' largest city grew at an astounding rate. With the railroads came profits - by the turn of the 20th century, Chicago was a city teeming with money and power. It also as a hotbed of labor unrest and gangsterism. Notorious crime figures such as Al Capone, George "Bugs" Moran and Dion O'Bannion controlled speak-easies and gambling houses, and the political and legal systems were rife with corruption. By the early 1930s, however, the Internal Revenue Service was able to bring about a measure of control: Al Capone was successfully prosecuted for tax evasion. As the era of Prohibition wound down and the Depression subsided, Illinois retained its status as a leader in agricultural production, the arts, transportation, industry and personal income. The goals of personal security and prosperity, as well as the attainment of the "American Dream" of owning a house and a car, propelled Illinois residents forward during the decades after the World Wars. The turbulent events of the 1960s and '70s, exemplified by the 1968 Democratic National Convention, brought a new awareness of poverty and alienation to the relatively affluent residents of Illinois. Social welfare programs were expanded and bilingual education was mandated for immigrant children. Environmental issues such as air and water pollution were addressed through lawsuits against steel mills, sanitary districts and utility companies. Clean air and water legislation, coupled with massive expenditures for a "deep tunnel" sewage treatment system in and around Chicago, resulted in improved environmental quality. Politically, Illinois has raised plenty of presidential candidates. In addition to Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant, Illinois claims another, more recent, president: Ronald Reagan reached the White House in 1980.
Geography
Bordered by the Mississippi, Ohio and Wabash rivers and Lake Michigan, Illinois is one of the most level of the prairie states. The glaciers planed it to a smooth, barely perceptible southwestward slope. Their terminus is marked by the unglaciated hills and valleys of the Illinois Ozarks, which cross the southern part of the state from about Carbondale to Shawneetown. The extreme southern tip is dubbed Little Egypt for its extremely fertile soil and supposed similarity to the Nile Delta near Cairo, Egypt. Cairo (pronounced Kay-row), Karnak and Thebes are town names built upon this likeness. Separated as it is from the northern regions by the Ozarks, Little Egypt, with its cottonfields and unhurried way of life, is more like the South than the Midwest. In spite of level terrain, the state is quite well drained. The major rivers are the Illinois, Rock, Sangamon, and Kaskaskia, which flow into the Mississippi; the Vermilion and Wabash feed into the Ohio. The relatively small number of sizable natural lakes - lake Michigan and the Chain O'Lakes in the northeast corner - is augmented by man-made impoundments in the south. The largest of these are Carlyle Lake on the Kaskaskia River, Rend Lake on the Big Muddy River and Lake Kinkaid on a tributary of the lower Big Muddy.
Economy
Illinois' wide industrial base, with strengths in agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, finance and mining, virtually assures its economic stability. The key of Illinois' economic status, however, is transportation. The Illinois Waterway System, comprising more than 1,100 miles of navigable waterways, links the St. Lawrence Seaway with the Mississippi shipping lanes. Along the waterway between Chicago and East St. Louis are oil refineries, petrochemical plants, meatpacking firms, foundries, and countless other industries. The waterway also makes this inland state a chief port in international trade; the state ranks fifth nationally in total exports and third in agricultural exports. Chicago and East St. Louis also are important rail hubs. So thick and rich was the soil that early farmers, forcing their unwilling plows through the sticky muck, called it - among other things - gumbo. Now tamed by modern farm equipment, the ground yields numerous crops. The state ranks first in the production of soybeans and rivals only Iowa in corn production; apples, asparagus, barley, berries, oats, onion, peaches, rye, tomatoes and wheat also are raised. In the north seeds and bulbs are important products. Illinois is second among the states in hog raising and marketing. In income derived from both crops and livestock, the state is a consistent leader. Non-electric machinery is Illinois' first-ranked manufactured good, with major segments producing construction, farming and metalworking machinery. Food processing ranks a close second; the state is the nation's leading producer of sugar and confectionery products. Commercial printing and publishing also contributes to the state's economy. Chicago is a major finance and insurance center. Illinois is still the largest producer of coal, with more than half its land covering the great coalfield that extends into Indiana and western Kentucky. The second most important mineral is fluorspar, a substance used in enamel glazes, glass, metal alloys, steel and water fluoridation, which has been a leading product in the state since the 1840s. In addition, clay, dolomite, limestone, shale and silica sand add significantly to income derived from minerals. Oil and natural gas are found in the southern and central regions.