Illinois, river, United States
Illinois, river, 273 mi (439 km) long, formed by the confluence of the Des Plaines and Kankakee rivers, NE Ill., and flowing SW to the Mississippi at Grafton, Ill. It is an important commercial and recreational waterway. The Illinois forms the greater part of the Illinois Waterway, which links the Great Lakes with the Mississippi. The chief city on the river is Peoria.Illinois, state, United States
Illinois, midwestern state in the N central United States. It is bordered by Lake Michigan and Indiana (E); Kentucky, across the Ohio R. (SE); Missouri and Iowa, across the Mississippi R. (W); and Wisconsin (N).Facts and Figures
Area, 56,400 sq mi (146,076 sq km). Pop. (2000) 12,419,293, an 8.6% increase since the 1990 census. Capital, Springfield. Largest city, Chicago. Statehood, Dec. 3, 1818 (21st state). Highest pt., Charles Mound, 1,235 ft (377 m); lowest pt., Mississippi River, 279 ft (85 m). Nicknames, Inland Empire; Prairie State. Motto, State Sovereignty—National Union. State bird, cardinal. State flower, native violet. State tree, white oak. Abbr., Ill.; IL
Geography
The broad level lands that gave Illinois the nickname Prairie State were fashioned by late Cenozoic glaciation, which leveled rugged ridges and filled valleys over the northern and central parts of the state. The fertile prairies are drained by more than 275 rivers, most of which flow to the Mississippi-Ohio system; the Illinois is the largest river in the state.
These rivers provided early explorers a way SW from Lake Michigan into the interior of the continent and later, in the days of canal building, played a big part in hastening settlement of the prairies. The completion of the Erie Canal linked Illinois, through the Great Lakes, to the eastern seaboard of the United States. The Illinois Waterway links Chicago to the Mississippi basin as the old Chicago and Illinois and Michigan canals once did, and the St. Lawrence Seaway provides access for oceangoing vessels. The waterways are but a part of a transportation complex that includes railroads, airlines (Chicago's O'Hare airport is one of the busiest in the world), and an extensive modern highway system.
The state's climate is continental, with extreme seasonal variations of temperature in parts of the state. Among Illinois's many tourist attractions are Shawnee National Forest, with recreational facilities; the Cahokia Mounds; and many state parks and historical sites, including New Salem and Lincoln's home and burial place in Springfield. An additional summer attraction is the Illinois State Fair. Springfield Springfield.
1 City (1990 pop. 105,227), state capital and seat of Sangamon co., central Ill., on the Sangamon River; settled 1818, inc. as a city 1840.
..... Click the link for more information. is the capital; Chicago Chicago , city (1990 pop. 2,783,726), seat of Cook co., NE Ill., on Lake Michigan; inc. 1837. The third largest city in the United States and the heart of a metropolitan area of over 8 million people, it is the commercial, financial, industrial, and cultural center
..... Click the link for more information. , Rockford Rockford, industrial city (1990 pop. 139,426), seat of Winnebago co., N Ill., on the Rock River near the Wis. line; inc. 1839 with the merger of two settlements on opposite sides of the river.
..... Click the link for more information. , and Peoria Peoria .
1 City (1990 pop. 50,618), Maricopa co., central Ariz., a suburb of Phoenix; settled 1897, inc. 1954. With the completion of the Arizona Canal in 1885, the area was settled by families from Peoria, Ill.
..... Click the link for more information. are the largest cities.
Economy
Rich land, adequate rainfall (32–36 in./81–91 cm annually), and a long growing season make Illinois an important agricultural state. It consistently ranks among the top states in the production of corn and soybeans. Hogs and cattle are also principal sources of farm income. Other major crops include hay, wheat, and sorghum. Beneath the fertile topsoil lies mineral wealth, including fluorspar, bituminous coal, and oil; Illinois ranks high among the states in the production of coal, and its reserves are greater than any other state east of the Rocky Mts. Its agricultural and mineral resources, along with its excellent lines of communication and transportation, made Illinois industrial; by 1880 income from industry was almost double that from agriculture.
Leading Illinois manufactures include electrical and nonelectrical machinery, food products, fabricated and primary metal products, and chemicals; printed and published materials are also important. Metropolitan Chicago, the country's leading rail center, is also a major industrial, as well as a commercial and financial, center. Suburbs of Chicago such as Schaumburg and Oak Brook have become important business centers. Scattered across the northern half of the state are cities with specialized industries—Elgin Elgin , city (1990 pop. 77,010), Cook and Kane counties, NE Ill., on the Fox River; inc. 1854. Elgin is a railroad, trade, and industrial city marked by a steady population growth.
..... Click the link for more information. , Peoria, Rock Island Rock Island, city (1990 pop. 40,552), seat of Rock Island co., NW Ill., on the Mississippi and Rock rivers, adjacent to Moline and opposite Davenport, Iowa; inc. 1841. These three cities, with Bettendorf, Iowa, are called the Quad Cities.
..... Click the link for more information. , Moline Moline , city (1990 pop. 43,202), Rock Island co., NW Ill., on the Mississippi River, in a coal area; inc. 1848. It is a transportation and industrial center, and has been a major producer of farm machinery since the industrialist John Deere moved there in 1847.
..... Click the link for more information. , and Rockford. Industrially important cities in central Illinois include Springfield and Decatur Decatur.
1 City (1990 pop. 48,761), seat of Morgan co., N Ala., on the Tennessee River; inc. 1826. It has shipyards, port traffic, and diverse industries, including steel manufacturing.
..... Click the link for more information. .
Government, Politics, and Higher Education
The governor of Illinois is elected for a term of four years. Jim Edgar, a Republican elected governor in 1990 and 1994, was succeeded by another Republican, George H. Ryan, elected in 1998. In 2002 a Democrat, Rod Blagojevich, was elected to the office; he was reelected in 2006. The state legislature, called the general assembly, consists of a senate with 59 members and a house of representatives with 118 members. Illinois elects 20 representatives and 2 senators to the U.S. Congress and has 22 electoral votes.
Institutions of higher learning in Illinois include the Univ. of Illinois, at Urbana-Champaign and Chicago; DePaul Univ., the Univ. of Chicago, and the Illinois Institute of Technology, at Chicago; Northwestern Univ., at Evanston; Illinois State Univ., at Normal; and Southern Illinois Univ., at Carbondale and Edwardsville.
History
Early Inhabitants and European Exploration
At the end of the 18th cent. the Illinois, Sac, Fox, and other Native American groups were living in the river forests, where many centuries before them the prehistoric Mound Builders Mound Builders, in North American archaeology, name given to those people who built mounds in a large area from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico and from the Mississippi River to the Appalachian Mts.
..... Click the link for more information. had dwelt. French explorers and missionaries came to the region early. Father Marquette Marquette, Jacques , 1637–75, French missionary and explorer in North America, a Jesuit priest. He was sent to New France in 1666 and studied Native American languages under a missionary at Trois Rivières.
..... Click the link for more information. and Louis Jolliet, on their return from a trip down the Mississippi, paddled up the Illinois River in 1673, and two years later Marquette returned to establish a mission in the Illinois country.
In 1679 the French explorer Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle La Salle, Robert Cavelier, sieur de , 1643–87, French explorer in North America, one of the most celebrated explorers and builders of New France.
He entered a Jesuit novitiate as a boy but later left the religious life.
..... Click the link for more information. , went from Lake Michigan to the Illinois, where he founded (1680) Fort Creve Coeur and with his lieutenant, Henri de Tonti Tonti or Tonty, Henri de , c.1650–1704, French explorer in North America, b. Italy. Serving in the French army, he lost a hand in battle; his skillful use of the appliance with which the hand was
..... Click the link for more information. , completed (1682–83) Fort St. Louis on Starved Rock cliff. French occupation of the area was sparse, but the settlements of Cahokia and Kaskaskia achieved a minor importance in the 18th cent., and the area was valued for fur trading.
By the Treaty of Paris of 1763, ending the French and Indian Wars French and Indian Wars, 1689–1763, the name given by American historians to the North American colonial wars between Great Britain and France in the late 17th and the 18th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. , France ceded all of the Illinois country to Great Britain. However, the British did not take possession until resistance, led by the Ottawa chief, Pontiac Pontiac, fl. 1760–66, Ottawa chief. He may have been the chief met by Robert Rogers in 1760 when Rogers was on his way to take possession of the Western forts for the English.
..... Click the link for more information. , was quelled (1766). In the American Revolution, George Rogers Clark and his expedition captured (1778) the British posts of Cahokia and Kaskaskia before going on to take Vincennes. The Illinois region was an integral part of the Old Northwest that came within U.S. boundaries by the 1783 Treaty of Paris ending the American Revolution. Under the Ordinance of 1787 Ordinance of 1787, adopted by the Congress of Confederation for the government of the Western territories ceded to the United States by the states. It created the Northwest Territory and is frequently called the Northwest Ordinance.
..... Click the link for more information. the area became the Northwest Territory Northwest Territory, first possession of the United States, comprising the region known as the Old Northwest, S and W of the Great Lakes, NW of the Ohio River, and E of the Mississippi River, including the present states of Ohio, Ind., Ill., Mich., Wis.
..... Click the link for more information. . Made part of Indiana Territory in 1800, Illinois became a separate territory in 1809.
Statehood and Settlement
The fur trade was still flourishing throughout most of Illinois when it became a state in 1818, but already settlers were pouring down the Ohio River by flatboat and barge and across the Genesee wagon road. In 1820 the capital was moved from Kaskaskia to Vandalia. The Black Hawk War Black Hawk War, conflict between the Sac and Fox and the United States in 1832. After the War of 1812, whites settling the Illinois country exerted pressure on the Native Americans.
..... Click the link for more information. (1832) practically ended the tenure of the Native Americans in Illinois and drove them W of the Mississippi. In the 1830s there was heavy and uncontrolled land speculation. Mob fury broke out with the murder (1837) of the abolitionist Elijah P. Lovejoy at Alton and in the lynching (1844) of the Mormon leader Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum at Carthage.
Industrialization and Abraham Lincoln
Industrial development came with the opening of an agricultural implements factory by Cyrus H. McCormick McCormick, Cyrus Hall, 1809–84, inventor of the reaper, b. Rockbridge co., Va. His father, Robert McCormick (1780–1846), had worked intermittently for over 20 years at his blacksmith shop on a reaping machine, but had given it up before Cyrus, his eldest
..... Click the link for more information. at Chicago in 1847 and the building of the railroads in the 1850s. During this period the career of Abraham Lincoln Lincoln, Abraham , 1809–65, 16th President of the United States (1861–65).
Early Life
Born on Feb. 12, 1809, in a log cabin in backwoods Hardin co., Ky. (now Larue co.), he grew up on newly broken pioneer farms of the frontier.
..... Click the link for more information. began. In the state legislature, Lincoln and his colleagues from Sangamon co. had worked hard and successfully to bring the capital to Springfield in 1839. As Illinois moved toward a wider role in the country's affairs, Lincoln and another Illinois lawyer, Stephen A. Douglas Douglas, Stephen Arnold, 1813–61, American statesman, b. Brandon, Vt.
Senatorial Career
He was admitted to the bar at Jacksonville, Ill., in 1834. After holding various state and local offices he became a U.S.
..... Click the link for more information. , won national attention with their debates on the slavery issue in the senatorial race of 1858. In 1861, Lincoln became president and fought to preserve the Union in the face of the South's secession. During the Civil War, Illinois supported the Union, but there was much proslavery sentiment in the southern part of the state.
By the 1860s industry was well established, and many immigrants from Europe had already settled in the state, foreshadowing the influx still to come. Immediately after the Civil War, industry expanded to tremendous proportions, and the Illinois legislature, by setting aside acreage for stockyards, prepared the way for the development of the meatpacking industry. Economic development had outrun the construction of facilities, and Chicago was a mass of flimsy wooden structures when the fire of 1871 destroyed most of the city.
Discontent and the Rise of the Labor Movement
In the latter part of the 19th cent. farmers in the state revolted against exorbitant freight rates, tariff discrimination, and the high price of manufactured goods. Illinois farmers enthusiastically joined the Granger movement Granger movement, American agrarian movement taking its name from the National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry, an organization founded in 1867 by Oliver H. Kelley and six associates. Its local units were called granges and its members grangers.
..... Click the link for more information. . Laborers in factories, railroads, and mines also became restive, and from 1870 to 1900 Illinois was the scene of such violent labor incidents as the Haymarket Square riot Haymarket Square riot, outbreak of violence in Chicago on May 4, 1886. Demands for an eight-hour working day became increasingly widespread among American laborers in the 1880s.
..... Click the link for more information. of 1886 and the Pullman strike of 1894.
In the 20th cent. labor conditions improved, but violent labor disputes persisted, notably the massacre at Herrin in 1922 during a coal-miners' strike and the bloody riot during a steel strike at Chicago in 1937. State politics became divided by the conflicting forces of farmers, laborers, and corporations, and opposing political machines came into being downstate and upstate.
Diversification and Change
In 1937 new oil fields were discovered in southern Illinois, further enhancing the state's industrial development. During World War II the nation's first controlled nuclear reaction was accomplished at the Univ. of Chicago, paving the way for development of nuclear weapons during the war. The war also spurred the further growth of the Chicago metropolitan area, and in the postwar period thousands of African Americans from the rural south came seeking industrial work.
Adlai E. Stevenson, governor of Illinois from 1949 to 1953, achieved national prominence in winning the Democratic presidential nomination in 1952 and 1956. Also during the 1950s the "gateway amendment" to the Illinois constitution simplified the state's constitutional amendment process. In 1970, Illinois adopted a new state constitution that, among other reforms, banned discrimination in employment and housing.
Southern Illinois experienced population declines in the 1950s and 60s as farms in the south became more mechanized, providing fewer jobs in the area. The area was hard hit again in the 1980s as farm prices fell and farm machinery, the major industrial product of southern Illinois, was no longer in high demand. The northern portion of the state saw a major decline in manufacturing in the 1970s and 80s, which was partially offset by an increase in the service and trade industry and Chicago's continued strength as a financial center.
Bibliography
See W. L. Burton, The Trembling Land: Illinois in the Age of Exploration (1966); V. Hicken, Illinois in the Civil War (1966); R. J. Jensen, Illinois: A History (1978); R. E. Nelson, ed., Illinois (1978); C. W. Horrell et al., Land Between the Rivers (1982); A. D. Horsley, Illinois: A Geography (1986); P. F. Nardulli, Diversity, Conflict, and State Politics (1989).
Illinois, indigenous people of North America
Illinois (ĭl'ənoi`, –noiz`), confederation of Native North Americans, comprising the Cahokia, the Kaskaskia, the Michigamea, the Moingwena, the Peoria, and the Tamaroa tribes. They belong to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages Native American languages, languages of the native peoples of the Western Hemisphere and their descendants. A number of the Native American languages that were spoken at the time of the European arrival in the New World in the late 15th cent...... Click the link for more information. ). In the mid-17th cent. they lived in S Wisconsin, N Illinois, and sections of Iowa and Missouri. They then numbered some 6,500. Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet are believed to have been the first Europeans to travel (1673) through Illinois territory. Father Claude Jean Allouez Allouez, Claude Jean , 1622–89, French Jesuit missionary in Canada and the American Midwest. After arriving (1658) in Canada he served at posts in the St.
..... Click the link for more information. , a Jesuit missionary, visited them in 1676 and stayed with them for years. By 1750 wars with the Sioux, the Fox, and the Iroquois had reduced the population to some 2,000. In 1769 the assassination of the celebrated Ottawa chief Pontiac by a Kaskaskia provoked the Lake tribes (the Ojibwa, the Ottawa, the Potawatami, the Kickapoo, and the Sac and Fox) to vengeance. They began a war of extermination, which in a few years diminished the Illinois to a small number, who sought asylum at the French settlement at Kaskaskia. By 1800 there remained some 150 Illinois. In 1833 the survivors, represented by the Kaskaskia and the Peoria, sold their lands in Illinois and moved W of the Mississippi. Their descendants now occupy tribal land in NE Oklahoma, which they share with the Wea and Piankashaw. The Peoria's relationship with the federal government was terminated in 1959. In 1990 there were about 1,300 Peoria in the United States.
Illinois
State (pop., 2000: 12,419,293), midwestern U.S. Bordered by Wisconsin, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, and Iowa, it covers 57,918 sq mi (150,008 sq km). Its capital is Springfield. The Mississippi River forms the state's western boundary, the Ohio River and Wabash River form its southeastern border, and the Illinois River traverses the state; Lake Michigan lies to the northeast. Located on its northeastern border is Chicago, the nation's third largest city. Indian settlement dates from 8000 BC. The Mississippian culture was centred at Cahokia c. AD 1300; all the tribes inhabiting the area at the time of European settlement were of Algonquian stock. The French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet entered the territory in 1673. France controlled it until 1763, when it passed to Britain after the French and Indian War. It became part of the Northwest Territory in 1783 and part of Indiana Territory in 1800; Illinois Territory was formed in 1809, and it became the 21st state in 1818. Although politically divided during the American Civil War, Illinois remained part of the Union. In the 20th century, intense party rivalry (between Republicans and Democrats) and the state's large electoral vote made it a major battleground in presidential elections (see Republican Party; Democratic Party). It is one of the largest U.S. industrial centres and a top manufacturer of nonelectrical machinery. It is also a major insurance centre.
Illinois
www.illinois.gov
Area (sq mi): 57914.38 (land 55583.58; water 2330.79). Pop per sq mi: 229.60.
Pop 2005: 12,763,371. State rank: 0. Pop change: 2000-20005 2.80%; 1990-2000 8.60%. Pop 2000: 12,419,293 (White 67.80%; Black or African American 15.10%; Hispanic or Latino 12.30%; Asian 3.40%; Other 7.90%). Foreign born: 12.30%. Median age: 34.70.
Income 2000: per capita $23,104; median household $46,590; Pop below poverty level: 10.70%. *Personal per capita income 2000-2003: $32,185-$32,965.
Unemployment 2004: 6.20%. Change from 2000: 1.70%. Median travel time to work: 28.00 minutes. Working outside county of residence: 25.20%.
List of Illinois counties:
- US National Parks
- Urban Parks
- State Parks
- Parks and Conservation-Related Organizations - US
- National Wildlife Refuges
- National Scenic Byways
- National Heritage Areas
- National Grasslands
- National Forests
Twenty-first state; admitted on December 3, 1818
The 150th, or sesquicentennial, anniversary of Illinois’ statehood was celebrated throughout the state during 1968. In December 1967, a year-long exhibit on Illinois history opened at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History. Miniature replicas of historic rooms—Carl Sandburg’s birthplace, Jane Addams’s Hull House office, and the Palmer House Hotel’s Silver Dollar Barber Shop of 1875—were on display in Carson Pirie Scott department stores. Lincoln’s birthday on February 12 was observed with programs commemorating his career in Illinois. On July 4, there was a parade, drama, musical events, fireworks, and speeches at Steeleville. As part of the year-long celebration, the Old State House in Springfield was restored.
State capital: Springfield
Nicknames: Prairie State; Land of Lincoln; Corn State
State motto: State Sovereignty, National Union
State animal: White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
State amphibian: Eastern tiger salamander
State bird: Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
State dance: Square dance
State fish: Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus)
State flower: Violet (Viola)
State fossil: Tully Monster (Tullimonstrum gregarium)
State insect: Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus)
State mineral: Fluorite
State prairie grass: Big bluestem (Andropogon furcatus)
State reptile: Painted turtle
State song: “Illinois”
State tree: White oak (Quercus alba)
More about state symbols at:
www.illinois.gov/facts/symbolsdesc.cfm
www.state.il.us/kids/learn/symbols/default.htm
More about the state at:
www.illinois.gov/facts/history.cfm
SOURCES:
AmerBkDays-2000, p. 809 AnnivHol-2000, p. 201
STATE OFFICES:
State web site: www.illinois.gov
Office of the Governor State Capitol Bldg Rm 207 Springfield, IL 62706 217-782-6830 fax: 217-782-1853 www.illinois.gov/gov
Secretary of State State Capitol Bldg Rm 213 Springfield, IL 62756 217-782-2201 fax: 217-785-0358 www.sos.state.il.us
Illinois State Library 300 S 2nd St Springfield, IL 62701 217-782-2994 fax: 217-785-4326 www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/library/home.html
Legal Holidays:
Illinois
a state in the northern United States. It is located in the northern part of the Central Plain, between Lake Michigan, the Ohio River, and the Mississippi River. Area, 146,000 sq km. Population, 11.1 million (1970; 83 percent is urban). Capital, Springfield. The most important city and chief economic center is Chicago; more than 60 percent of the state’s population lives in Chicago and its suburbs.
Illinois is located on major transcontinental routes and the most important internal waterways of the United States. The topography is a rolling plain (with heights up to 378 m in the north), covered with rich black soil. The climate is temperate and continental. During the coldest month the mean temperature is— 3°C, and during the warmest month, 25°C. The annual precipitation ranges from 800 to 1,000 mm. Illinois is rich in coal, petroleum, fluorspar, and other minerals.
Illinois is a highly developed industrial and agricultural state, ranking fifth in the United States in industrial and agricultural production and in population. Of the economically active population, 32 percent are employed in manufacturing, 0.5 percent in mining, and 4 percent in agriculture. In 1968, the state’s mineral output included 56 million tons of coal and 10.6 million tons of petroleum. Of the 1.4 million workers employed in the manufacturing industry (1969; 980,000 in Chicago), nearly 50 percent are employed in the machine-building and metal-working industries, almost 10 percent in metallurgy, and 10 percent in the food industry. The leading branches of industry include radioelec-tronics; locomotive and railroad-car building (Chicago, Rock-ford, Rock Island, and Peoria); ferrous metallurgy (primarily in Chicago); petroleum-refining; chemicals; meat packing (Chicago and East St. Louis); and the production of electrical, industrial, and construction equipment, as well as of agricultural implements. The printing, garment, and distilling industries are well developed.
Illinois is part of the Corn Belt, the most important agricultural region in the United States. Eighty-five percent of the land is under cultivation. The principal crops are corn (second in production in the USA) and soybeans (first in production); wheat, oats, and forage are also grown. Livestock-raising constitutes more than 50 percent of agricultural production. As of January 1970 livestock in Illinois included 3.3 million cattle, 6.6 million hogs, and 389,000 sheep. There are 18,000 km of railroad lines and 170,000 km of highways in Illinois. The Illinois Waterway, a canal route connecting the Great Lakes system with the Mississippi River Basin, passes through the state.
V. M. GOKHMAN
Illinois
a river in the United States, left tributary of the Mississippi River. It is formed by the junction of the Des Plaines and Kankakee rivers. Length, 437 km (from its source at the Kankakee, 653 km); basin area, 82,000 sq km. The riverbed has a number of enlargements resembling lakes. It is fed by rain and snow. There are high waters between March and May. The water is at its lowest level during the summer and fall. The average annual discharge is approximately 1,000 cu m per sec. In its upper course the Illinois is linked by navigable canals with Lake Michigan (at Chicago) and with the Mississippi River. The river has locks and is navigable along its entire course. Above the city of La Salle, it is paralleled by a canal. The city of Peoria is located on the Illinois River. [10-374 -2]
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