Metropolitan Chicago, the country's leading rail center, is also a major industrial, as well as a commercial and financial, center. Additionally, Chicago is a cultural center with an abundance of museums lining the beautiful lakefront and scattered through the various neighborhoods, each neighborhood with it's own distinctions. Theaters, restaurants and various entertainment venues are so plentiful that one could eat in a different restaurant and see a  different show every night of the year. The lake (Lake Michigan) is so large that when sitting on the coast one has the allusion that it is an ocean. 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 , Peoria, Rock Island , Moline and Rockford. Industrially important cities in central Illinois include Springfield and Decatur. The North Shore, a prized area, includes the suburbs north of Chicago and these include: Evanston, Wilmette, Glencoe, Deerfield, Winnetka, Kennilworth, Highland Park, Highwood, Glenview and Lake Forest.Northwestern suburbs include: Skokie, Niles, Park Ridge, Des Plaines, Mount Prospect, Buffallo Grove, Golf, Elk Grove Village, Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates. Illinois is a midwestern state in the North central United States. It is bordered by Lake Michigan and Indiana; Kentucky, across the Ohio River.; Missouri and Iowa, across the Mississippi River; and Wisconsin.
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.
Nicknames, Inland Empire; Prairie State.
Motto, State Sovereignty National Union.
State bird, cardinal.
State flower, native violet.
State tree, white oak.  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. |