Present-day Illinois was inhabited byIndigenous cultures for thousands of years. The French were the first Europeans to arrive, settling near the Mississippi andIllinois rivers in the 17th centuryIllinois Country, as part of their sprawling colony ofNew France. A century later, the revolutionary warIllinois campaign prefigured American involvement in the region. FollowingU.S. independence in 1783, which made the Mississippi River the national boundary, American settlers began arriving fromKentucky via the Ohio River. Illinois was soon part of the United States' oldest territory, theNorthwest Territory, and in 1818 it achievedstatehood. TheErie Canal brought increased commercial activity in the Great Lakes, and the invention of the self-scouringsteel plow by IllinoisanJohn Deere turned the state's richprairie into some of the world's most productive and valuable farmland, attractingimmigrant farmers fromGermany,Sweden and elsewhere. In the mid-19th century, theIllinois and Michigan Canal and a sprawling railroad network facilitated trade, commerce, and settlement, making the state a transportation hub for the nation, especially in the city ofChicago, which became the world's fastest growing city by the late 19th century.[6] By 1900, the growth of industrial jobs in the northern cities andcoal mining in the central and southern areas attracted immigrants fromEastern andSouthern Europe. Illinois became one of America's most industrialized states and remains a major manufacturing center.[7] TheGreat Migration from the South established a large Black community, particularly inChicago, which became a leading cultural, economic, and population center; itsmetropolitan area, informally referred to asChicagoland, holds about 65% of the state's 12.8 million residents.
American scholars previously thought the nameIllinois meant 'man' or 'men' in theMiami-Illinois language, with the originaliliniwek transformed via French into Illinois.[13][14] This etymology is not supported by the Illinois language,[citation needed] as the word for "man" isireniwa, and plural of "man" isireniwaki. The nameIlliniwek has also been said to mean 'tribe of superior men',[citation needed] which is afalse etymology. The nameIllinois derives from the Miami-Illinois verbirenwe·wa 'he speaks the regular way'. This was taken into theOjibwe language, perhaps in theOttawa dialect, and modified intoilinwe· (pluralized asilinwe·k). The French borrowed these forms, spelling the/we/ ending as-ois, atransliteration of that sound in the French of that time. The current spelling form,Illinois, began to appear in the early 1670s, when French colonists had settled in the western area. The Illinois's name for themselves, as attested in all three of the French missionary-period dictionaries of Illinois, wasInoka, of unknown meaning and unrelated to the other terms.[15][16]
American Indians of successive cultures lived along the waterways of the Illinois area for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans. TheKoster Site has been excavated and demonstrates 7,000 years of continuous habitation.Cahokia, the largest regionalchiefdom andUrban Center of thePre-ColumbianMississippian culture, was located near present-dayCollinsville, Illinois. They built an urban complex of more than 100platform andburial mounds, a 50-acre (20 ha)plaza larger than 35 football fields,[17] and a woodhenge of sacred cedar, all in a planned design expressing the culture's cosmology.Monks Mound, the center of the site, is the largest Pre-Columbian structure north of theValley of Mexico. It is 100 ft (30 m) high, 951 ft (290 m) long, 836 ft (255 m) wide, and covers 13.8 acres (5.6 ha).[18] It contains about 814,000 cu yd (622,000 m3) of earth.[19] It was topped by a structure thought to have measured about 105 ft (32 m) in length and 48 ft (15 m) in width, covered an area 5,000 sq ft (460 m2), and been as much as 50 ft (15 m) high, making its peak 150 ft (46 m) above the level of the plaza. The finely crafted ornaments and tools recovered by archaeologists atCahokia include elaborate ceramics, finely sculptured stonework, carefully embossed and engraved copper andmica sheets, and one funeral blanket for an important chief fashioned from 20,000 shell beads. These artifacts indicate that Cahokia was truly an urban center, with clustered housing, markets, and specialists in toolmaking, hide dressing, potting, jewelry making, shell engraving, weaving and salt making.[20]
The civilization vanished in the 15th century for unknown reasons, but historians and archeologists have speculated that the people depleted the area of resources. Many indigenous tribes engaged in constant warfare. According to Suzanne Austin Alchon, "At one site in the centralIllinois River valley, one third of all adults died as a result of violent injuries."[21] The next major power in the region was theIllinois Confederation or Illini, a political alliance.[22] Around the time of European contact in 1673, the Illinois confederation had an estimated population of over 10,000 people.[23] As the Illini declined during theBeaver Wars era, members of theAlgonquian-speakingPotawatomi,Miami,Sauk, and other tribes including the Fox (Meskwaki),Iowa,Kickapoo,Mascouten,Piankeshaw,Shawnee,Wea, and Winnebago (Ho-Chunk) came into the area from the east and north around the Great Lakes.[24][25]
A few British soldiers were posted in Illinois, but few British or American settlers moved there, as the Crown made it part of the territory reserved for Indians west of the Appalachians, and then part of theBritish Province of Quebec. In 1778,George Rogers Clark claimedIllinois County forVirginia. In a compromise, Virginia (and other states that made various claims) ceded the area to the new United States in the 1780s and it became part of theNorthwest Territory, administered by the federal government and later organized as states.[27]
The bell donated by King Louis XV in 1741 to the French mission at Kaskaskia. It was later called the "Liberty Bell of the West", after it was rung to celebrate U.S. victory in the Revolution
During the discussions leading up to Illinois'sadmission to the Union, the proposed northern boundary of the state was moved twice.[28] The original provisions of theNorthwest Ordinance had specified a boundary that would have been tangent to the southern tip of Lake Michigan. Such a boundary would have left Illinois with no shoreline on Lake Michigan at all. However, as Indiana had successfully been granted a 10 mi (16 km) northern extension of its boundary to provide it with a usable lakefront, the original bill for Illinois statehood, submitted to Congress on January 23, 1818, stipulated a northern border at the same latitude as Indiana's, which is defined as 10 miles north of the southernmost extremity of Lake Michigan. However, the Illinois delegate,Nathaniel Pope, wanted more, and lobbied to have the boundary moved further north. The final bill passed by Congress included an amendment to shift the border to 42° 30' north, which is approximately 51 mi (82 km) north of the Indiana northern border. This shift added 8,500 sq mi (22,000 km2) to the state, including thelead mining region nearGalena. More importantly, it added nearly 50 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline and the Chicago River. Pope and others envisioned a canal that would connect the Chicago and Illinois rivers and thus connect the Great Lakes to the Mississippi.
The State of Illinois prior to the Civil War
In 1818, Illinois became the 21st U.S. state. The southern portion ofIllinois Territory was admitted as the state of Illinois, and the rest was joined toMichigan Territory.The secondGovernor of Illinois,Edward Coles brought his slaves from his home state ofVirginia to give them theirfreedom when they arrived in Illinois.Old State Capitol: Abraham Lincoln and other area legislators were instrumental in moving the state capitol to centrally located Springfield in 1839.
In 1818, Illinois became the 21st U.S. state. The capital remained at Kaskaskia, headquartered in a small building rented by the state. In 1819,Vandalia became the capital, and over the next 18 years, three separate buildings were built to serve successively as the capitol building. In 1837, the state legislators representingSangamon County, under the leadership of state representativeAbraham Lincoln, succeeded in having the capital moved toSpringfield,[29] where afifth capitol building was constructed. Asixth capitol building was erected in 1867, which continues to serve as the Illinois capitol today.
Though it was ostensibly a "free state", there was nonethelessslavery in Illinois. The ethnic French had owned black slaves since the 1720s, and American settlers had already brought slaves into the area fromKentucky. Slavery was nominally banned by the Northwest Ordinance, but that was not enforced for those already holding slaves. When Illinois became a state in 1818, the Ordinance no longer applied, and about 900 slaves were held in the state. As the southern part of the state, later known as "Egypt" or "Little Egypt",[30][31] was largely settled by migrants from the South, the section was hostile to free blacks.Edward Coles, the second Governor of Illinois who was born in Virginia, participated in a campaign to block extending existing slavery in Illinois after winning the1822 Illinois gubernatorial election. In 1824, state residents voted against making slavery legal by a vote of 6640 against to 4972 for.[32]
Still, most residents opposed allowing free blacks as permanent residents. Some settlers brought in slaves seasonally or as house servants.[33] TheIllinois Constitution of 1848 was written with a provision for exclusionary laws to be passed. In 1853,John A. Logan helped pass a law to prohibit all African Americans, includingfreedmen, from settling in the state.[34]
Thewinter of 1830–1831 is called the "Winter of the Deep Snow";[35] a sudden, deep snowfall blanketed the state, making travel impossible for the rest of the winter, and many travelers perished. Several severe winters followed, including the "Winter of the Sudden Freeze". On December 20, 1836, a fast-moving cold front passed through, freezing puddles in minutes and killing many travelers who could not reach shelter. The adverse weather resulted in crop failures in the northern part of the state. The southern part of the state shipped food north, and this may have contributed to its name, "Little Egypt", after the Biblical story ofJoseph in Egypt supplying grain to his brothers.[36]
In 1832, theBlack Hawk War was fought in Illinois and present-dayWisconsin between the United States and a coalition of theSauk,Fox (Meskwaki), andKickapoo Indian tribes, who had been forced to leave their homes and relocate to Iowa in 1831. The tribes had lost their territory east of the Mississippi river in Illinois under adisputed treaty in 1804. The Indians, under Sauk ChiefBlack Hawk, attempted to return to Illinois in April 1832 to reclaim this land. They were attacked and defeated by theU.S. Militia and rival tribes allied with the US forces, including thePotawatomi,Dakota,Menominee, andHo-Chunk. The survivors of Black Hawk's band were forced back to Iowa.[37] This represented the end of Indian resistance to white settlement in the Chicago and Northern Illinois regions.[38] By 1832, when the last Indian lands in Illinois were ceded to the United States, the indigenous population of the state had been reduced by infectious diseases, warfare, andforced westward removal to only one village with fewer than 300 inhabitants.[23]
After it was established in 1833,Chicago gained prominence as aGreat Lakes port, and then as anIllinois and Michigan Canal port after 1848, and as a rail hub soon afterward. By 1857, Chicago was Illinois's largest city.[27] With the tremendous growth of mines and factories in the state in the 19th century, Illinois was the ground for the formation oflabor unions in the United States.
In 1847, after lobbying byDorothea L. Dix, Illinois became one of the first states to establish a system of state-supported treatment of mental illness and disabilities, replacing localalmshouses. Dix came into this effort after having met J. O. King, aJacksonville, Illinois businessman, who invited her to Illinois, where he had been working to build an asylum for the insane. With the lobbying expertise of Dix, plans for the Jacksonville State Hospital (now known as theJacksonville Developmental Center) were signed into law on March 1, 1847.[41]
Union troops embarking atCairo on January 10, 1862
During theAmerican Civil War, Illinois ranked fourth in soldiers who served (more than 250,000) in theUnion Army, a figure surpassed by only New York,Pennsylvania, andOhio. Beginning with PresidentAbraham Lincoln's first call for troops and continuing throughout the war, Illinois mustered 150 infantry regiments, which were numbered from the 7th to the 156th regiments. Seventeen cavalry regiments were also gathered, as well as two light artillery regiments.[42] The town ofCairo, at the southern tip of the state at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, served as a strategically important supply base and training center for theUnion army. For several months, both GeneralGrant and AdmiralFoote had headquarters in Cairo.
During the Civil War, and more so afterwards, Chicago's population skyrocketed, which increased its prominence. ThePullman Strike andHaymarket Riot, in particular, greatly influenced the development of the Americanlabor movement. From Sunday, October 8, 1871, until Tuesday, October 10, 1871, theGreat Chicago Fire burned in downtown Chicago, killing 300 people and destroying four sq mi (10 km2).[43]
At the turn of the 20th century, Illinois had a population of nearly 5 million. Many people from other parts of the country were attracted to the state by employment caused by the expanding industrial base. Whites were 98% of the state's population.[44] Bolstered by continuedimmigration from southern and eastern Europe, and by the African-AmericanGreat Migration from the South, Illinois grew and emerged as one of the most important states in the union. By the end of the century, the population had reached 12.4 million.
TheCentury of ProgressWorld's fair was held at Chicago in 1933. Oil strikes inMarion County andCrawford County led to a boom in 1937, and by 1939, Illinois ranked fourth in U.S. oil production. Illinois manufactured 6.1 percent of total United States military armaments produced duringWorld War II, ranking seventh among the 48 states.[45] Chicago became an ocean port with the opening of theSaint Lawrence Seaway in 1959. The seaway and theIllinois Waterway connected Chicago to both the Mississippi River and theAtlantic Ocean. In 1960,Ray Kroc opened the firstMcDonald's franchise inDes Plaines, which was demolished in 1984.[46] In 1985 a replica was built on the same site to recreate how the original one looked.[46] Though this replica was demolished in 2017, due to repeated flooding of the building.[47][48]
Illinois had a prominent role in the emergence of thenuclear age. In 1942, as part of theManhattan Project, theUniversity of Chicago conducted the first sustainednuclear chain reaction. In 1957,Argonne National Laboratory, nearChicago, activated the first experimental nuclear power generating system in the United States. By 1960, the first privately financed nuclear plant in the United States,Dresden 1, was dedicated nearMorris. In 1967,Fermilab, a national nuclear research facility nearBatavia, opened aparticle accelerator, which was the world's largest for over 40 years. With eleven plants currently operating, Illinois leads all states in the amount of electricity generated from nuclear power.[49][50]
In 1961, Illinois became the first state in the nation to adopt the recommendation of theAmerican Law Institute and pass a comprehensive criminal code revision that repealed the law againstsodomy. The code also abrogatedcommon law crimes and established anage of consent of 18.[51] The state'sfourth constitution was adopted in 1970, replacing the 1870 document.[52]
Illinois entered the 21st century under Republican GovernorGeorge Ryan. Near the end of his term in January 2003, following a string of high-profile exonerations, Ryan commuted alldeath sentences in the state.[53]
The2002 election brought DemocratRod Blagojevich to the governor's mansion. It also brought future presidentBarack Obama into a committee leadership position in the Illinois Senate, where he drafted theHealth Care Justice Act, a forerunner of theAffordable Care Act.[54] Obama's election to the presidency in Blagojevich's second term set off a chain of events culminating inBlagojevich's impeachment, trial, and subsequent criminal conviction and imprisonment, making Blagojevich the second consecutive Illinois governor to be convicted on federal corruption charges.[55]
Blagojevich's replacementPat Quinn was defeated by RepublicanBruce Rauner in the2014 election. Disagreements between the governor and legislature over budgetary policy led to theIllinois Budget Impasse, a 793-day period stretching from 2015 to 2018 in which the state had no budget and struggled to pay its bills.[56]
On August 28, 2017, Rauner signed a bill into law that prohibited state and local police from arresting anyone solely due to their immigration status or due to federal detainers.[57][58] Some fellow Republicans criticized Rauner for his action, claiming the bill made Illinois asanctuary state.[59]
Illinois is located in theMidwest region of the United States and is one of the eight states in theGreat Lakes region of North America. Illinois's eastern border withIndiana consists of a north–south line at 87° 31′ 30″ west longitude inLake Michigan at the north, to theWabash River in the south abovePost Vincennes. The Wabash River continues as the eastern/southeastern border with Indiana until the Wabash enters theOhio River. This marks the beginning of Illinois's southern border withKentucky, which runs along the northern shoreline of the Ohio River.[63] Most of the western border withMissouri andIowa is theMississippi River; Kaskaskia is anexclave of Illinois, lying west of the Mississippi and reachable only from Missouri. The state's northern border withWisconsin is fixed at 42° 30′ north latitude. The northeastern border of Illinois lies inLake Michigan, within which Illinois shares a water boundary with the state ofMichigan, as well as Wisconsin and Indiana.[24]
Topography
Charles Mound, the highest natural point in Illinois at 1,235 feet (376 m) above sea level, is located in theDriftless Area in the northwestern part of the state.
Though Illinois lies entirely in theInterior Plains, it does have some minor variation in its elevation. In extreme northwestern Illinois, theDriftless Area, a region of unglaciated and therefore higher and more rugged topography, occupies a small part of the state.Southern Illinois includes the hilly areas around theShawnee National Forest.
Charles Mound, located in the Driftless region, has the state's highest natural elevation above sea level at 1,235 ft (376 m). Other highlands include theShawnee Hills in the south, and there is varying topography along its rivers; theIllinois River bisects the state northeast to southwest. The floodplain on the Mississippi River fromAlton to theKaskaskia River is known as theAmerican Bottom.
During the early part of thePaleozoic Era, the area that would one day become Illinois was submerged beneath a shallow sea and located near the Equator. Diverse marine life lived at this time, includingtrilobites,brachiopods, andcrinoids. Changing environmental conditions led to the formation of largecoal swamps in theCarboniferous.
At 279 feet (85 m) above sea level,[65] the lowest elevation point in the state is located nearCairo and the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.
Illinois has three major geographical divisions.Northern Illinois is dominated byChicago metropolitan area, or Chicagoland, which is the city of Chicago and its suburbs, and the adjoining exurban area into which the metropolis is expanding. As defined by the federal government, the Chicago metro area includes several counties in Illinois,Indiana, andWisconsin, and has a population of over 9.8 million. Chicago itself is a cosmopolitan city, densely populated, industrialized, the transportation hub of the nation, and settled by a wide variety of ethnic groups. The city ofRockford, Illinois's third-largest city and center of the state's fourth largest metropolitan area, sits along Interstates39 and90 some 75 mi (121 km) northwest of Chicago. TheQuad Cities region, located along theMississippi River in northern Illinois, had a population of 381,342 in 2011.
The midsection of Illinois is the second major division, calledCentral Illinois. Historicallyprairie, it is now mainly agricultural and known as the Heart of Illinois. It is characterized by small towns and medium–small cities. The western section (west of the Illinois River) was originally part of theMilitary Tract of 1812 and forms the conspicuous western bulge of the state. Agriculture, particularlycorn andsoybeans, as well as educational institutions and manufacturing centers, figure prominently in Central Illinois. Cities includePeoria;Springfield, the state capital;Quincy;Decatur;Bloomington-Normal; andChampaign-Urbana.[24]
The third division isSouthern Illinois, comprising the area south ofU.S. Route 50, includingLittle Egypt, near the juncture of theMississippi River andOhio River. Southern Illinois is the site of the ancient city ofCahokia, as well as the site of the first state capital atKaskaskia, which today is separated from the rest of the state by the Mississippi River.[24][66] This region has a somewhat warmer winter climate, different variety of crops (including some cotton farming in the past), more rugged topography (due to the area remaining unglaciated during theIllinoian Stage, unlike most of the rest of the state), as well as small-scale oil deposits andcoal mining. The Illinois suburbs ofSt. Louis, such asEast St. Louis, are located in this region, and collectively, they are known as theMetro-East. The other somewhat significant concentration of population in Southern Illinois is the Carbondale-Marion-Herrin, Illinois Combined Statistical Area centered onCarbondale andMarion, a two-county area that is home to 123,272 residents.[24] A portion of southeastern Illinois is part of the extendedEvansville, Indiana, Metro Area, locally referred to as the Tri-State with Indiana and Kentucky. Seven Illinois counties are in the area.
In addition to these three, largely latitudinally defined divisions, all of the region outside the Chicago metropolitan area is often called "downstate" Illinois. This term is flexible, but is generally meant to mean everything outside the influence of the Chicago area. Thus, some cities inNorthern Illinois, such asDeKalb, which is west of Chicago, andRockford—which is actually north of Chicago—are sometimes incorrectly considered to be 'downstate'.
Illinois has a climate that varies widely throughout the year. Because of its nearly 400-mile distance between its northernmost and southernmost extremes, as well as its mid-continental situation, most of Illinois has ahumid continental climate (Köppen climate classificationDfa), with hot, humid summers and cold winters. The southern part of the state, from aboutCarbondale southward, has ahumid subtropical climate (KoppenCfa), with more moderate winters. Average yearly precipitation for Illinois varies from just over 48 in (1,219 mm) at the southern tip to around 35 in (889 mm) in the northern portion of the state. Normal annual snowfall exceeds 38 in (965 mm) in the Chicago area, while the southern portion of the state normally receives less than 14 in (356 mm).[67] The all-time high temperature was 117 °F (47 °C), recorded on July 14, 1954, atEast St. Louis, and the all-time low temperature was −38 °F (−39 °C), recorded on January 31, 2019, during theJanuary 2019 North American cold wave at a weather station nearMount Carroll,[68][69] and confirmed on March 5, 2019.[70] This followed the previous record of −36 °F (−38 °C) recorded on January 5, 1999, nearCongerville.[70] Prior to the Mount Carroll record, a temperature of −37 °F (−38 °C) was recorded on January 15, 2009, atRochelle, but at a weather station not subjected to the same quality control as official records.[71][72]
Illinois averages approximately 51 days ofthunderstorm activity a year, which ranks somewhat above average in the number of thunderstorm days for the United States. Illinois is vulnerable to tornadoes, with an average of 54 occurring annually, which puts much of the state at around five tornadoes per 10,000 sq mi (30,000 km2) annually.[73] Some ofTornado Alley's deadliest tornadoes on record have occurred in the state. TheTri-State Tornado of 1925 killed 695 people in three states; 613 of the victims died in Illinois.[74]
Monthly Normal High and Low Temperatures For Various Illinois Cities (°F)
Chicago is the largest city in the state and thethird-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 2,746,388 in 2020. Furthermore, over 7 million residents of theChicago metropolitan area reside in Illinois. TheU.S. Census Bureau currently lists seven other cities with populations of over 100,000 within the state. This includes the Chicagosatellite towns ofAurora,Joliet,Naperville, andElgin, as well as the cities ofRockford, the most populous city in the state outside of the Chicago area;Springfield, the state's capital; andPeoria.
TheUnited States Census Bureau found that the population of Illinois was 12,812,508 in the2020 United States census, moving from the fifth-largest state to the sixth-largest state (losing out to Pennsylvania). Illinois' population slightly declined in 2020 from the2010 United States census by just over 18,000 residents and the overall population was quite higher than recent census estimates.[83]
Illinois 2020 Population Density Map
Illinois is the most populous state in theMidwest region. Chicago, thethird-most populous city in the United States, is the center of theChicago metropolitan area or Chicagoland, as this area is nicknamed. Although the Chicago metropolitan area comprises only 9% of the land area of the state, it contains 65% of the state's residents, with 21.4% of Illinois' population living in the city of Chicago itself as of 2020.[84] The fivemost populous counties in the state, as of 2024, areCook (5,182,617),DuPage (937,142),Lake (718,604),Will (708,583), andKane (520,997), all located in the Chicago metropolitan area. While the state's population has declined in recent years, according to the 2020 census, these losses do not arise from the Chicago metro area; rather the declines are from the Downstate counties.[85] As of the 2020 census, the state's geographic meancenter of population is located at 41° 18′ 43″N 88° 22 23″W inGrundy County, about six miles northwest ofCoal City.[86]
Illinois is the most racially and ethnically diverse state in the Midwest. By several metrics, including racial and ethnic background, religious affiliation, and percentage of rural and urban divide, Illinois is the most representative of the largerdemography of the United States.[87]
Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
Racial/Ethnic Makeup of Illinois excluding Hispanics from racial categories (2023)[101] NH=Non-Hispanic
White NH (57.9%)
Black NH (13.1%)
Native American NH (0.10%)
Asian NH (5.93%)
Pacific Islander NH (0.03%)
Other NH (0.38%)
Two or more races NH (3.65%)
Hispanic Any Race (18.9%)
Racial Makeup of Hispanics in Illinois (2023)[101]
White alone (15.0%)
Black alone (1.19%)
Native American alone (3.15%)
Asian Alone (0.50%)
Pacific Islander Alone (0.08%)
Other race alone (40.9%)
Two or more races (39.2%)
According to 2023 U.S. Census Bureau estimates (with Hispanics allocated amongst the various racial groups), Illinois' population was 60.7%White, 13.3% Black orAfrican American, 0.1%Native American orAlaskan Native, 6.0%Asian, 0.1%Pacific Islander, 8.1% Some Other Race, and 11.8% fromtwo or more races.[101] The white population continues to remain the largest racial category in Illinois. Under this methodology, Hispanics are allocated amongst the various racial groups and primarily identify as Some Other Race (40.9%) or Multiracial (39.2%) with the remainder identifying as White (15.0%), Black (1.2%), American Indian and Alaskan Native (3.2%), Asian (0.5%), and Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (0.1%).[101] By ethnicity, 19.0% of the total population isHispanic-Latino (of any race) and 81.0% is Non-Hispanic (of any race). Illinois has the largest share of Hispanic residents in theMidwest, with over 37% of Hispanics in the region living in Illinois.[102][103]
Hispanic Americans
If treated as a separate category, Hispanics are the largest minority group in Illinois, making up nearly a fifth of the population.[101] Around 75% of the state's Hispanic population isMexican-American, numbering 1,794,369 and making up 14.3% of the total population of the state.[104] Illinois is home to the largest population of Mexican descent in the US outside of theWestern United States. The second largest Hispanic group in Illinois arePuerto Ricans, numbering 211,676 and making up 9% of the Hispanic population and 1.7% of the total population. The state is also home to significant Central American and South American communities, including 44,373 Guatemalan-Americans, 41,047 Ecuadorian-Americans, and 42,101 Colombian-Americans.[105] Hispanics are the second fastest growing demographic in Illinois after Asians, growing by 15% between 2010 and 2020, while the overall population of the state declined.
The vast majority of Hispanics in Illinois live in Chicago or the surrounding suburbs, with 786,464 Hispanics living in the city of Chicago itself, making up nearly a third of the city's population. Many large suburbs of Chicago, includingAurora,[106]Berwyn,[107]Cicero,[108] andElgin,[109] have either a majority or plurality Hispanic population. The county with the highest share of Hispanic residents in the state, at 33.5% of the population, isKane County, located on the western edge of the Chicago suburbs and including the cities of Elgin and Aurora.[110] Hispanics have the lowest per-capita income of any major ethnic or racial group in Illinois, at $28,541.[111] However, the Hispanic poverty rate, at 14.1%, is lower than that of Black residents, who have a poverty rate of 23%.[112] Hispanic residents are the youngest demographic group in Illinois, with a median age of 30.7.[113]
While those of Hispanic ethnicity are not distinguished between total and partial Hispanic origin, 2021 estimates show that almost 10% of the state's Hispanic population also reported a non-Spanish European ancestry, with this group making up 1.7% of the state's total population.[114]
African-Americans
Black Americans form the second largest minority group in Illinois. In 2023, 1,922,259 Illinoisans identified as Black alone or in combination, making up 15.3% of the states population. Of this population, 1,643,638 (13.1%) are non-Hispanic Black alone, while 28,321 identify asAfro-Latino, and 250,300 identify as Black in combination with any other race.[115][116][117] While most of the state's Black population identifies as African-American,[118] there are also 45,393 people of West Indian descent and 43,911 of Nigerian descent in the state.[119] A majority of the state's Black population resides in the Chicago metropolitan area, with 42% living in Chicago itself.[120]
According to a study from the Brookings Institution, the Chicago area has the third highest level of black-white residential segregation in the United States.[121] While some areas, including many neighborhoods on the city's west side and south side, as well as many suburbs in theChicago Southland, are majority Black, most neighborhoods on the north and northwest sides of Chicago, as well as most of the northern and southwestern suburbs of the city, have very small Black populations.[122]
Outside of Chicagoland, urban areas in Southern and Central Illinois, including theMetro East,Peoria,Springfield, andDecatur also have significant Black populations. The counties with the highest share of Black residents in Illinois arePulaski andAlexander County, located at the southern tip of the state along the banks of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers in the region known as "Little Egypt", with Black residents making up 32% of the population in both counties.[123]
The per-capita income of Black residents, at $30,295, is the second lowest of all major ethnic or racial groups in the state, after Hispanics of any race. However, Black Illinoisans have the highest overall poverty rate of all groups in the state, at 23%.[124] The median age of Black residents in Illinois is 36.8 years.[125]
Illinois has a long history of milestones regardingAfrican American involvement in politics. It was the first state to elect a Black person to the U.S.House of Representatives in the post-reconstruction era, with the election ofOscar De Priest in 1928.[126] It was also the first state to elect a Black woman to theUS Senate, with the election ofCarol Mosley Brown in 1992.[127] Illinois senatorBarack Obama would become the first Black president of the United States following his victory in the2008 presidential election.
Asian-Americans
The third largest minority group in Illinois are Asian-Americans. In 2023, 894,048 Illinoisans identified as being Asian alone or in combination, making up 7.1% of the state's population.[128] 756,661 identified as Asian alone, making up 6.0% of the population.[116] The state's Asian-American population has grown rapidly in recent decades, from only 2.5% of the total population in 1990, to over 7% in 2023.
Around 37% of the state's Asian population is ofSouth Asian origin, 31% areEast Asian, 29% areSoutheast Asian (Mostly Filipino), 1% areCentral Asian, and 2% are of 'unspecified' Asian origins.[129] The largest specific Asian groups in the state are Indian (277,961), Filipino (184,508), Chinese (160,880), Korean (67,452), and Pakistani (50,508).[130] Around 85% of the state's Asian-American population identifies as Asian alone, while 15% identify as multiracial. Illinoisans of South Asian ancestry are significantly less likely than other Asian-Americans in the state to report multiracial ancestry, with 94% of Indian-Americans and 90% of Pakistani-Americans in the state identifying as Asian alone, compared to 82% of Chinese-American residents, 73% of Filipino-American residents, and only 44% of the state's 33,000 Japanese-American residents.[131][130]
The overwhelming majority of the state's Asian population resides in theChicago metropolitan area, mostly in suburban areas.[132] SuburbanDuPage County has the highest share of Asian residents in the state, at 14.7%.[133] While Asians aren't the majority in any municipality within Illinois, they make up a significant share of the population (between 20 and 40%) in multiple western and northern suburbs of Chicago, includingNaperville,Schaumburg,Hoffman Estates,Skokie,Niles, andMorton Grove. Additionally, the Chicagocommunity area of Armour Square, which includes the city'sChinatown neighborhood, is majority Asian at 63.7% of the population.[134] Asian residents have the highest per-capita income of any major ethnic or racial group in the state, at $54,122, and the second lowest poverty rate, after non-Hispanic whites, at 10.4%.[135][136] The median age of single-race Asian residents in Illinois is 38.9 years.[137] Illinois senatorTammy Duckworth, ofThai descent, is one of only three Asian Americans currently serving in theUS Senate.[138]
Native Americans
In 2023, 271,494 Illinoisans identified as Native American alone or in combination, making up 2.2% of the state's population. 184,155 Illinoisans identified as Native American in combination with any other race, while 87,339 identified as being Native American alone. Over 80% of the state's Native American population also identified as being Hispanic or Latino, with only 12,385, or 0.1% of the population, identifying as non-Hispanic Native American alone.[139][115] According to the 2023 American Community Survey, the largest self-identified Indigenous groups in the state wereAztec (53,815) andMaya (17,866).[140] The largest non-Latin American Indigenous groups in the state wereBlackfeet (8,674) andNavajo (3,950).
Pacific Islanders
The state has a very small number ofPacific Islanders, numbering 17,982 and making only 0.1% of the population in 2023.[141] The majority of Pacific Islanders in the state identify as multiracial, with only 5,852 identifying as Pacific Islander alone.[139] The largest Pacific Islander groups in the state areNative Hawaiians (6,362),Samoans (2,211), andChamorros (1,519).[142]
European-Americans
In 2023, 7,260,529 Illinoisans identified as non-Hispanic white alone, making up 57.9% of the population.[102] Although a majority of white residents in the state live in the Chicago area, the counties with the highest percent share of white population are all located in rural areas with smaller populations, with non-Hispanic white people making up over 80 or 90% of the population in most non-urban counties in the state.[143]
In the Chicago metro area, the white population is located mostly in suburban areas, with non-Hispanic white residents making up a majority of the population (between 53%[144] and 75%[145]) in every metropolitan county other thanCook County, while making up only 31.7% of the population in the city of Chicago itself.[146] Within Chicago, there is significantracial segregation, with the white population concentrated primarily on theNorth Side of the city, while many predominantly African-American or Hispanic neighborhoods on theWest Side andSouth Side of the city have almost no non-Hispanic white residents.[147]
The largest European ancestry reported in Illinois isGerman. 1,983,050 Illinoisans, or 15.8% of the total population, identify with German ancestry, making it the single largest ancestry group in the state.[148] German ancestry predominates among the white population in every county innorthern Illinois, as well as most counties in the southwestern part of the state, whileEnglish-Americans, making up 6.8% of Illinois' population, predominate in most of the southeastern counties.[118] The state's white population also includes a large number ofIrish (10.5%),Polish (6.1%), andItalian-Americans (5.5%), with these groups concentrated mainly in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs.[149] Illinois' Polish-American population of 761,948 is the highest out of any state. The state is also home to a significant population of otherEastern European ethnicities, also largely concentrated around the Chicago area, including 86,814Russians, 83,679Czechs, 71,279Ukrainians, and 35,407Croatians.[150][151]
Most Illinoisans who report any European ancestry identify with multiple ancestries. Those of partial descent make up the majority of most European ancestry groups in Illinois, including 58% of Polish-Americans, 68% of English-Americans, 69% of German-Americans, and 75% of Irish-Americans in the state. Of all European ancestries numbering over 50,000 in Illinois, those identifying solely with that ancestry are only a majority among the state's 71,279Ukrainian-Americans, with two thirds of this group identifying as Ukrainian alone.[152][119]
Along with white residents reporting multiple European ancestries, around 3% of the state's population identifies as non-Hispanic white in combination with another racial group.[93] Additionally, while those of Hispanic ethnicity are not distinguished between total and partial Hispanic origin, an estimated 1.7% of Illinois' population are Hispanics who report a non-Spanish European ancestry.[114]
Non-Hispanic whites have the second highest per-capita income of any racial group in the state, at $53,591, just slightly below that of Asians.[111] The white poverty rate, at only 8.3%, is the lowest of all major racial or ethnic groups in the state, including Asians.[136] The median age of non-Hispanic white residents is the oldest of all racial or ethnic groups in the state, at 44.2 years.[153]
Arab Americans
The state is home to a significant Middle Eastern population, with 101,464 people (0.8% of the population) identifying asArab.[e][119] 71,422, (0.6% of the population) identify as Arab alone.[152] The highest concentration of Arab-Americans in the state are found in the southern suburbs of Chicago, in the towns ofBrigeview,[154]Oak Lawn,[155]Palos Hills,[156] andHickory Hills, where they make up between 5–12% of the population.[157]
Illinois has the largestPalestinian population in the United States. According to census estimates, 19,255 Illinoisans have Palestinian ancestry, while other estimates place the population of Palestinian descent in the Chicago area as high as 85,000.[158]
Demographic Trends
As of 2023[update], 50% of Illinois's population younger than age 18 were minorities. This marks an increase from 2010, when 47% of children in the state were minorities, and 2000, when 41% were minorities.[159] (Note: Children born to white Hispanics or to a sole full or partial minority parent are counted as minorities. Arabs are classified as white in census data.).[160]
The state's most populous ethnic group, non-Hispanic white, has declined from 83.5% in 1970[161] to 58.5% in 2022.[101] Almost 60% of Illinois' minority population, including over 67% of the black population, lives inCook County, while the county includes around 40% of the state's total population.[162] Cook County, which is home toChicago, is the onlymajority-minority county within Illinois, with non-Hispanic whites making up a plurality of 40.4% of the population.[163] Despite being the most ethnically diverse state in the Midwest, urban areas in Illinois have had a persistently high level ofracial segregation, with a study from theBrookings Institution finding that the Chicago area has the third highest level of black-whiteresidential segregation out of all major metropolitan areas in the United States.[121]
Ancestry
According to 2022 estimates from the American Community Survey, 16% of the population hadGerman ancestry, 14% hadMexican ancestry, 10.4% hadIrish ancestry, 7.1% hadEnglish ancestry, 6.2% hadPolish ancestry, 5.2% hadItalian ancestry, 3.4% listed themselves asAmerican, 2.3% hadIndian ancestry, 1.7% hadPuerto Rican ancestry, 1.7% hadSwedish ancestry, 1.4% hadFilipino ancestry, 1.4% hadFrench ancestry, and 1.2% hadChinese ancestry. The state also has a large population ofAfrican-Americans, making up 15.3% of the population alone or in combination.[148][130][104][117]This table displays all self-reportedancestries with over 50,000 members in Illinois, alone or in combination, according to estimates from the 2022 American Community Survey. Hispanic groups are not distinguished between total and partial ancestry:
At the 2022 estimates from theU.S. Census Bureau, there were 1,810,100 foreign-born inhabitants of the state or 14.4% of the population, with 37.8% from Mexico or Central America, 31% from Asia, 20.2% from Europe, 4.3% from South America, 4.2% from Africa, 1% from Canada, and 0.2% from Oceania.[165][166] Of the foreign-born population, 53.5% werenaturalized U.S. citizens, and 46.5% were not U.S. citizens.[167] The top countries of origin for immigrants in Illinois wereMexico,India,Poland, thePhilippines andChina in 2018 and 2023.[168]
In 2022, 11.2% of Illinois's population was reported as being under the age of 9, 12.9% were between 10 and 19 years old, 13.4% were 20–29 years old, 13.6% were 30–39 years old, 12.6% were 40–49 years old, 12.7% were 50–59 years old, 11.9% were 60–69 years old, 7.7% were 70–79 years old, and 4% were over the age of 80.[171] As of 2023, 21.5% of the population is under the age of 18.[172] The median age in Illinois is 39.1 years.
Females make up approximately 50.5% of the population, while males make up 49.5%.[172] According to a 2022 study from theWilliams Institute, an estimated 0.44% of adults in Illinois identify astransgender, a rate slightly lower than the national estimate of 0.52%.[173] According to a Gallup survey from 2019, 4.3% of adults in Illinois identify asLGBTQ.[174]
Age Group
% of total (2022)
Population (2022)
0–9
11.2%
1,409,553
10–19
12.9%
1,628,658
20–29
13.4%
1,683,823
30–39
13.6%
1,709,929
40–49
12.6%
1,579,665
50–59
12.7%
1,596,049
60–69
11.9%
1,501,221
70–79
7.7%
970,961
80+
4%
502,173
Socioeconomics
As of 2023, theper-capita income in Illinois is $45,043,[175] and themedian income for a household in the state is $80,306, slightly higher than the national average. 11.6% of the population lives below thepoverty line, including 15% of children under 18 and 11% of those over the age of 65. There is significant racial income inequality in the state, with Asians and Non-Hispanic Whites having a per-capita income almost double that of Black and Hispanic residents.
There are 5,071,288 households in Illinois, with an average size of 2.4 people per household. 48% of the population over the age of 15 is married. As of 2023, Illinois'total fertility rate is the 11th lowest of all US states, with a lifetime average of 1.50 births per woman, in comparison to an average of 1.64 on the national level.[177]
90.6% of the adult population has a high school diploma, and 38.3% of the population over 25 has a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to a national average of 36.2%.[171]
In 2022, Illinois scored 0.932 on the UN'sHuman Development Index, placing it in the category of "very high" Human Development and slightly higher than the US average of 0.927.[178]
According to 2022 data from thePrison Policy Initiative, an estimated 53,000 people were imprisoned in local jails, state prisons, federal prisons, or detention centers in the state, meaning that around 0.43% of the state's total population was incarcerated.[181] Census data from 2023 reports an estimated 59,254 people (0.47%) imprisoned in adult correctional facilities in the state.[182] However, Illinois' prison incarceration rate has declined by almost 50% since 2014, and the state has the 13th lowest total incarceration rate out of all 50 states.[183]
The religious demographics of Illinois closely mirror the religious demography of the nation as a whole.Christians of any denomination make up 62% of the population of Illinois, a share identical to the estimated national percentage of 62%, according to the Pew Research Center.[199]
However, looking at specific denominations, Illinois has a significantly larger Catholic population than most states. Roman Catholics constitute the single largest religious denomination in Illinois; they are heavily concentrated in and around Chicago, reflecting the prominent Hispanic, Polish, Irish, and Italian diasporas in the area.[200] As of 2023, Catholics account for nearly 25% of the state's population. In 2010, Catholics in Illinois numbered 3,648,907, while by 2020, this number had declined to 3,099,544.[200] The first and only American-born Catholicpope,Pope Leo XIV, was born in Chicago and raised in the suburb ofDolton.
When taken together as a group, the various Protestant denominations comprise a greater percentage of the state's population than do Catholics, making up 36% of the state's population. The largest Protestant denominations in 2020 were theUnited Methodist Church with 235,045 members and theSouthern Baptist Convention with 222,589. Illinois has one of the largest concentrations ofMissouri Synod Lutherans in the United States, at 182,097.
A significant number of adherents of otherAbrahamic faiths can be found in Illinois. Largely concentrated in theChicago metropolitan area, followers of theMuslim,Baháʼí, andJewish religions all call the state home.[202] Muslims constituted the largest non-Christian group, with 473,792 adherents. Illinois has the largest concentration of Muslims by state in the country, with 3.7% of the population being Muslim.[203] The highest concentration of Muslims in the state is in suburbanDuPage county, where they make up approximately 7.6% of the population.[204] In the Chicago area as a whole, around 4.7% of the population are Muslim, the highest rate of any major metropolitan area in the United States.[203]
The Chicago area has a very large Jewish community, particularly in the northern suburbs ofSkokie,Buffalo Grove,Highland Park, and surrounding areas. Former Chicago MayorRahm Emanuel was the Windy City's first Jewish mayor. The current governor of Illinois,J.B. Pritzker, is Jewish, being the third person of Jewish descent to hold the office afterHenry Horner andSamuel H. Shapiro.[207] Almost 4% of the Chicago area's population is Jewish, numbering over 300,000 people.[208]
Illinois's major agricultural outputs arecorn,soybeans,hogs,cattle,dairy products, and wheat. In most years, Illinois is either the first or second state for the highest production of soybeans, with a harvest of 427.7 million bushels (11.64 millionmetric tons) in 2008, after Iowa's production of 444.82 million bushels (12.11 million metric tons).[212] Illinois ranks second in U.S. corn production with more than 1.5 billion bushels produced annually.[213] With a production capacity of 1.5 billion gallons per year, Illinois is a top producer of ethanol, ranking third in the United States in 2011.[214] Illinois is a leader in food manufacturing and meat processing.[215] Although Chicago may no longer be "Hog Butcher for the World", the Chicago area remains a global center forfood manufacture and meat processing,[215] with many plants, processing houses, and distribution facilities concentrated in the area of the formerUnion Stock Yards.[216] Illinois also produceswine, and the state is home to twoAmerican viticultural areas. In the area of The Meeting of the Great Rivers Scenic Byway, peaches and apples are grown. The German immigrants from agricultural backgrounds who settled in Illinois in the mid- to late 19th century are in part responsible for the profusion of fruit orchards in that area of Illinois.[217] Illinois's universities are actively researching alternative agricultural products as alternative crops.
Manufacturing
Illinois is one of the nation's manufacturing leaders, boasting annual value added productivity by manufacturing of over $107 billion in 2006. As of 2011[update], Illinois is ranked as the 4th-most productive manufacturing state in the country, behind California, Texas, and Ohio.[218] About three-quarters of the state's manufacturers are located in the Northeastern Opportunity Return Region, with 38 percent of Illinois's approximately 18,900 manufacturing plants located in Cook County. As of 2006, the leading manufacturing industries in Illinois, based upon value-added, were chemical manufacturing ($18.3 billion), machinery manufacturing ($13.4 billion), food manufacturing ($12.9 billion), fabricated metal products ($11.5 billion), transportation equipment ($7.4 billion), plastics and rubber products ($7.0 billion), and computer and electronic products ($6.1 billion).[219]
By the early 2000s, Illinois's economy had moved toward a dependence on high-value-added services, such as financial trading, higher education, law, logistics, and medicine. In some cases, these services clustered around institutions that hearkened back to Illinois's earlier economies. For example, theChicago Mercantile Exchange, a trading exchange for globalderivatives, had begun its life as an agriculturalfutures market. Other important non-manufacturing industries include publishing, tourism, and energy production and distribution.
Investments
Venture capitalists funded a total of approximately $62 billion in the U.S. economy in 2016. Of this amount, Illinois-based companies received approximately $1.1 billion. Similarly, in FY 2016, the federal government spent $461 billion on contracts in the U.S. Of this amount, Illinois-based companies received approximately $8.7 billion.[citation needed]
Illinois is a net importer of fuels for energy, despite large coal resources and some minor oil production. Illinois exports electricity, ranking fifth among states in electricity production and seventh in electricity consumption.[220]
The coal industry of Illinois has its origins in the middle 19th century, when entrepreneurs such asJacob Loose discovered coal in locations such asSangamon County.Jacob Bunn contributed to the development of the Illinois coal industry. Coal mining in central and southern Illinois was important in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The1909 Cherry Mine disaster was an underground fire that killed 259 miners in the third worst disaster in the history of American coal miing. After 1940 there was a slow decline in coal mining.[221] About 68% of Illinois has coal-bearing strata of thePennsylvanian geologic period. According to the Illinois State Geological Survey, 211 billion tons ofbituminous coal are estimated to lie under the surface, having a total heating value greater than the estimated oil deposits in theArabian Peninsula.[222] However, this coal has a highsulfur content, which causesacid rain, unless special equipment is used to reducesulfur dioxideemissions.[24][27][66] Many Illinoispower plants are not equipped to burn high-sulfur coal. In 1999, Illinois produced 40.4 million tons of coal, but only 17 million tons (42%) of Illinois coal was consumed in Illinois. Most of the coal produced in Illinois is exported to other states and countries. In 2008, Illinois exported three million tons of coal and was projected to export nine million in 2011, as demand for energy grows in places such as China, India, and elsewhere in Asia and Europe.[223] As of 2010[update], Illinois was ranked third in recoverable coal reserves at producing mines in the nation.[214] Most of the coal produced in Illinois is exported to other states, while much of the coal burned for power in Illinois (21 million tons in 1998) is mined in thePowder River Basin ofWyoming.[220]
Mattoon was chosen as the site for theDepartment of Energy'sFutureGen project, a 275-megawatt experimentalzero emission coal-burning power plant that the DOE just gave a second round of funding. In 2010, after a number of setbacks, the city of Mattoon backed out of the project.[224]
Petroleum
Illinois is a leading refiner of petroleum in the AmericanMidwest, with a combined crude oil distillation capacity of nearly 900,000 bbl/d (140,000 m3/d). However, Illinois has very limited crude oil proved reserves that account for less than 1% of the U.S. total reserves. Residential heating is 81% natural gas compared to less than 1%heating oil. Illinois is ranked 14th inoil production among states, with a daily output of approximately 28,000 bbl (4,500 m3) in 2005.[225][226]
Worldwidenuclear power began in Illinois during 1942 with theChicago Pile-1, the world's first artificial self-sustainingnuclear chain reaction in the world's firstnuclear reactor, built on theUniversity of Chicago campus. There are six operatingnuclear power plants in Illinois:Braidwood,Byron,Clinton,Dresden,LaSalle, andQuad Cities.[227] With the exception of the single-unit Clinton plant, each of these facilities has two reactors. Three reactors have been permanently shut down and are in various stages of decommissioning:Dresden-1 andZion-1 and 2. Illinois ranked first in the nation in 2010 in both nuclear capacity and nuclear generation. Generation from its nuclear power plants accounted for 12 percent of the nation's total.[214] In 2007, 48% of Illinois's electricity was generated using nuclear power.[228] TheMorris Operation is the only de facto high-levelradioactive waste storage site in the United States.
Average annual wind power distribution for Illinois, 50 m (160 ft) height above ground (2009)
Illinois has seen growing interest in the use ofwind power for electrical generation.[229] Most of Illinois was rated in 2009 as "marginal or fair" for wind energy production by theU.S. Department of Energy, with some western sections rated "good" and parts of the south rated "poor".[230] These ratings are for wind turbines with 50 m (160 ft) hub heights; newer wind turbines are taller, enabling them to reachstronger winds farther from the ground. As a result, more areas of Illinois have become prospective wind farm sites. As of September 2009, Illinois had 1116.06MW of installed wind powernameplate capacity with another 741.9 MW under construction.[231] Illinois ranked ninth among U.S. states in installed wind power capacity and sixteenth by potential capacity.[231] Largewind farms in Illinois includeTwin Groves,Rail Splitter,EcoGrove, andMendota Hills.[231]
As of 2007, wind energy represented only 1.7% of Illinois's energy production, and it was estimated that wind power could provide 5–10% of the state's energy needs.[232][233] Also, theIllinois General Assembly mandated in 2007 that by 2025, 25% of all electricity generated in Illinois is to come fromrenewable resources.[234]
Biofuels
Illinois is ranked second incorn production among U.S. states, and Illinois corn is used to produce 40% of theethanol consumed in the United States.[213] TheArcher Daniels Midland corporation inDecatur, Illinois, is the world's leading producer of ethanol from corn.
The National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center (NCERC), the world's only facility dedicated to researching the ways and means of converting corn (maize) to ethanol is located on the campus ofSouthern Illinois University Edwardsville.[235][236]
Tax is collected by theIllinois Department of Revenue. Stateincome tax is calculated by multiplyingnet income by aflat rate. In 1990, that rate was set at 3%, but in 2010, the General Assembly voted for a temporary increase in the rate to 5%; the new rate went into effect on January 1, 2011; the personal income rate partially sunset on January 1, 2015, to 3.75%, while the corporate income tax fell to 5.25%.[239][240] Illinois failed to pass a budget from 2015 to 2017, after the 736-daybudget impasse, a budget was passed in Illinois after lawmakers overturned Governor Bruce Rauner's veto; this budget raised the personal income rate to 4.95% and the corporate rate to 7%.[241] There are two rates for statesales tax: 6.25% for general merchandise and 1% for qualifying food, drugs, and medical appliances.[242] Theproperty tax is a major source of tax revenue for local government taxing districts. The property tax is a local—not state—tax imposed by local government taxing districts, which include counties,townships, municipalities,school districts, and special taxation districts. The property tax in Illinois is imposed only onreal property.[24][27][66]
On May 1, 2019, the Illinois Senate voted to approve aconstitutional amendment that would have stricken language from theIllinois Constitution requiring a flat state income tax, in a 73–44 vote. If approved, the amendment would have allowed the state legislature to impose a graduated income tax based on annual income. The governor,J. B. Pritzker, approved the bill on May 27, 2019. It was scheduled for a 2020 general election ballot vote[243][244] and required 60 percent voter approval to effectively amend the state constitution.[245] The amendment was not approved by Illinoisans, with 55.1% of voters voting "No" on approval and 44.9% voting "Yes".[246]
As of 2017 Chicago had the highest state and local sales tax rate for a U.S. city with a populations above 200,000, at 10.250%.[247] The state of Illinois has the second highest rate of real estate tax: 2.31%, which is second only to New Jersey at 2.44%.[248]
Toll roads are ade facto user tax on the citizens and visitors to the state of Illinois. Illinois ranks seventh out of the 11 states with the most miles of toll roads, at 282.1 miles. Chicago ranks fourth in most expensive toll roads in America by the mile, with theChicago Skyway charging 51.2 cents per mile.[249] Illinois also has the 11th highest gasoline tax by state, at 37.5 cents per gallon.[250]
The Chicago metropolitan area also hosts two zoos: TheBrookfield Zoo, located about ten miles west of the city center in suburbanBrookfield, contains more than 2,300 animals and covers 216 acres (87 ha).Lincoln Park Zoo is located inLincoln Park on Chicago's North Side, approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) north of theLoop. The zoo, includingNature Boardwalk, occupies 49 acres (20 ha) of the park.
Illinois is a leader in music education, having hosted theMidwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference since 1946, as well being home to the Illinois Music Educators Association (ILMEA, formerly IMEA), one of the largest professional music educator's organizations in the country. Each summer since 2004,Southern Illinois University Carbondale has played host to the Southern Illinois Music Festival, which presents dozens of performances throughout the region. Past featured artists include theEroica Trio and violinistDavid Kim.
TheIllinois state parks system began in 1908 with what is nowFort Massac State Park, becoming the first park in a system encompassing more than 60 parks and about the same number of recreational and wildlife areas.
As one of the United States' major metropolises, allmajor sports leagues have teams headquartered in Chicago.
TwoMajor League Baseball teams are located in the state. TheChicago Cubs of theNational League play in the second-oldest major league stadium,Wrigley Field, and went the longest length of time without a championship in all of major American sport, from 1908 to 2016, when they won theWorld Series.[255][256] TheChicago White Sox of theAmerican League won theWorld Series in 2005, their first since 1917. They play on the city's south side atRate Field. TheChicago Bears football team has won nine totalNFL Championships, the last occurring inSuper Bowl XX on January 26, 1986. TheChicago Bulls of theNBA is one of the most recognizedbasketball teams in the world, largely as a result of the efforts ofMichael Jordan, who led the team to six NBA championships in eight seasons in the 1990s. TheChicago Blackhawks of theNHL began playing in1926 and became a member of theOriginal Six once the NHL dropped to that number of teams during World War II. The Blackhawks have won sixStanley Cups, most recently in2015.Chicago Fire FC is a member ofMLS and has been one of the league's most successful and best-supported clubs since its founding in 1997, winning one league and fourLamar Hunt U.S. Open Cups in that timespan. The team played inBridgeview, adjacent to Chicago from 2006 to 2019. The team now plays at Soldier Field in Chicago.
Thegovernment of Illinois, under theConstitution of Illinois, has three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. The executive branch is split into several statewide elected offices, with the governor as chief executive. Legislative functions are granted to the Illinois General Assembly. The judiciary is composed of the Supreme Court and lower courts.
The executive branch is composed of six elected officers and their offices as well as numerous other departments.[258] The six elected officers are:[258]Governor,Lieutenant Governor,Attorney General,Secretary of State,Comptroller, andTreasurer. The government of Illinois has numerous departments, agencies, boards and commissions, but the so-called code departments provide most of the state's services.[258][259]
Theadministrative divisions of Illinois are counties, townships, precincts, cities, towns, villages, and special-purpose districts.[262] The basic subdivision of Illinois are the 102 counties.[263] Eighty-five of the 102 counties are in turn divided into townships and precincts.[263][264] Municipal governments are the cities, villages, and incorporated towns.[263] Some localities possesshome rule, which allows them to govern themselves to a certain extent.[265]
In modern national and state politics, Illinois is aDemocratic stronghold.[266] Historically, Illinois was a politicalswing state, with near-parity existing between theRepublican and theDemocratic parties. However, in recent elections, the Democratic Party has gained ground, and Illinois has come to be seen as a solid"blue" state in both presidential and congressional campaigns.[267][268] Illinois's Democratic tendencies are mostly attributable toCook County andChicago, by far the state's largest county and city, respectively, which have long been strongly Democratic. Thecollar counties, affluent suburban counties that surround Cook County, historically voted Republican and helped keep the state competitive; however, they have swung toward the left in recent elections as the national Republican Party has become increasingly conservative, which has cemented Democratic dominance in state politics.[269]Outside of the Chicago metropolitan area, the state's rural areas are heavily Republican. The dominance of the Chicago area in state elections is so overwhelming that it has influenced asecessionist movement in the downstate region.[270]
Illinois was long seen as a national bellwether,[271] supporting the winner in every election in the 20th century, except for1916 and1976. Since the1992 election, however, Illinois has trended more toward the Democratic Party and is part of the "blue wall" of states that have consistently voted Democratic in the last six presidential elections. In2000,George W. Bush became the first Republican to win the presidency without carrying either Illinois orVermont, withDonald Trump repeating the feat in 2016. Illinois has not elected a Republican to theSenate sinceMark Kirk won in2010; the last Republicans to hold statewide office were GovernorBruce Rauner and Lieutenant GovernorEvelyn Sanguinetti, who both left office in 2019.
Politics in the state have been infamous for highly visible corruption cases, as well as for crusading reformers, such as governorsAdlai Stevenson andJames R. Thompson. In 2006, former governorGeorge Ryan was convicted of racketeering and bribery, leading to a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence. On December 7, 2011, former governorRod Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison for allegations that he conspired to sell the vacated Senate seat left by PresidentBarack Obama to the highest bidder. Blagojevich had earlier been impeached and convicted by the legislature, resulting in his removal from office. In the late 20th century, CongressmanDan Rostenkowski was imprisoned for mail fraud; former governor and federal judgeOtto Kerner Jr. was imprisoned for bribery; Secretary of StatePaul Powell was investigated and found to have gained great wealth through bribes, and State Auditor of Public Accounts (Comptroller)Orville Hodge was imprisoned for embezzlement. In 1912, William Lorimer, the GOP boss of Chicago, was expelled from the U.S. Senate for bribery, and in 1921, GovernorLen Small was found to have defrauded the state of a million dollars.[27][66][272]
Illinois has shown a strong presence in presidential elections. Three presidents have claimed Illinois as their political base when running for president:Abraham Lincoln,Ulysses S. Grant, and most recentlyBarack Obama. Lincoln was born inKentucky, but he moved to Illinois at age 21. He served in theGeneral Assembly and represented the7th congressional district in theU.S. House of Representatives before his election to the presidency in 1860.Ulysses S. Grant was born inOhio and had a military career that precluded settling down, but on the eve of theCivil War and approaching middle age, he moved to Illinois and thus utilized the state as his home and political base when running for president.Barack Obama was born inHawaii and made Illinois his home after graduating fromlaw school, and later represented Illinois in theU.S. Senate. He then became president in 2008, running as a candidate from his Illinois base.
Hillary Clinton was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago and became the first woman to represent a major political party in the general election of the U.S. presidency. Clinton ran from a platform based inNew York State.
Several families from Illinois have played particularly prominent roles in politics, in both theRepublican Party earlier in the state's history but more recently theDemocratic Party, gaining both statewide and national fame.
Ingersoll
TheIngersoll family of Illinois comprised a pair of brothers who held several prominent elected positions representing Illinois.
Ebon C. Ingersoll (1831–1879), Illinois State Representative 1856, U.S. Representative from Illinois 1864–71. Brother of Robert G. Ingersoll.[274]
Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–1899), Illinois State Representative 1860, Attorney General of Illinois 1867–69, delegate to the Republican National Convention 1876. Brother of Ebon C. Ingersoll.[274]
John C. Ingersoll (1860–1903), U.S. Consul inCartagena, Colombia 1902. Son of Ebon C. Ingersoll.[274]
Stevenson
TheStevenson family, initially rooted in central Illinois and later based in the Chicago metropolitan area, has provided four generations of Illinois officeholders.
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) is autonomous of the governor and the state legislature, and administerspublic education in the state. Local municipalities and their respectiveschool districts operate individual public schools, but the ISBE audits performance of public schools with theIllinois School Report Card. The ISBE also makes recommendations to state leaders concerning education spending and policies.
Education is compulsory for ages 7–17 in Illinois. Schools are commonly, but not exclusively, divided into three tiers of primary and secondary education: elementary school,middle school orjunior high school, and high school. District territories are often complex in structure. Many areas in the state are actually located intwo school districts—one for high school and the other for elementary and middle schools. And such districts do not necessarily share boundaries. A given high school may have several elementary districts that feed into it, yet some of those feeder districts may themselves feed into multiple high school districts.
Schools in Illinois are funded primarily by property taxes, based on state assessment of property values, rather than direct state contributions. Scholar Tracy Steffes has described Illinois public education as historically "inequitable", a system where one of "the wealthiest of states" is "the stingiest in its support for education". There have been several attempts to reform school funding in Illinois. The most notable attempt came in 1973 with the adoption of the Illinois Resource Equalizer Formula, a measure through which it was hoped funding could be collected and distributed to Illinois schools more equitably. However, opposition from affluent Illinois communities who objected to having to pay for the less well-off school districts (many of them Black majority communities, produced by redlining, white flight, and other "soft" segregation methods) resulted in the formula's abolition in the late 1980s.[276]
Because of its central location and its proximity to theRust Belt andGrain Belt, Illinois is a national crossroads for air, auto, rail, and truck traffic.
From 1962 until 1998, Chicago'sO'Hare International Airport (ORD) was the busiest airport in the world, measured both in terms of total flights and passengers. While it was surpassed byAtlanta'sHartsfield in 1998 (as Chicago splits its air traffic between O'Hare and Midway airports, while Atlanta uses only one airport), with 59.3 million domestic passengers annually, along with 11.4 million international passengers in 2008,[277] O'Hare consistently remains one of the two or three busiest airports globally, and in some years still ranks number one in total flights. It is a majorhub for bothUnited Airlines andAmerican Airlines, and a major airport expansion project is currently underway.Midway Airport (MDW), which had been the busiest airport in the world at one point until it was supplanted by O'Hare as the busiest airport in 1962, is now the secondary airport in the Chicago metropolitan area and still ranks as one of the nation's busiest airports. Midway is a major hub forSouthwest Airlines and services many other carriers as well. Midway served 17.3 million domestic and international passengers in 2008.[278]
Illinois has the distinction of having the most primary (two-digit) interstates pass through it among all the 50 states with 13. Illinois also ranks third among the fifty states with the most interstate mileage, coming in after California and Texas, which are much bigger states in area.[280]
Illinois has an extensive passenger and freight rail transportation network. Chicago is a nationalAmtrak hub and in-state passengers are served by Amtrak'sIllinois Service, featuring the Chicago to CarbondaleIllini andSaluki, the Chicago to QuincyCarl Sandburg andIllinois Zephyr, and the Chicago to St. LouisLincoln Service. Currently there is trackwork on the Chicago–St. Louis line to bring the maximum speed up to 110 mph (180 km/h), which would reduce the trip time by an hour and a half. Nearly every North American railway meets at Chicago (including all sixClass I railroads), making it the largest and most active rail hub in the country. Extensive heavy rail service is provided in the city proper and some immediate suburbs by theChicago Transit Authority's'L' system. One of the largest suburban commuter rail system in the United States, operated byMetra, uses existing rail lines to provide direct commuter rail access for hundreds of suburbs to the city and beyond.
^Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin are not distinguished between total and partial ancestry.
^Estimate based on the white population "of Spanish mother tongue" in the 1940 Census. Prior to the introduction of 'some other race' as a census category, the vast majority of Hispanics were counted as white, but this estimate may still exclude some non-white Hispanics and those of Hispanic heritage who didn't speak Spanish.
^Arabs and other Middle Eastern Americans are classified as racially 'white' by the Census Bureau
^"(5 ILCS 460/20) (from Ch. 1, par. 2901‑20) State Designations Act".Illinois Compiled Statutes. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois General Assembly. September 4, 1991.Archived from the original on March 5, 2009. RetrievedApril 10, 2009.Sec. 20. Official language. The official language of the State of Illinois is English.
^Ohlemacher, Stephen (May 17, 2007)."Analysis ranks Illinois most average state". Carbondale, Illinois: The Southern Illinoisan. Associated Press.Archived from the original on January 14, 2009. RetrievedApril 10, 2009.
^Pauketat, Timothy R. (2009).Cahokia: Ancient America's Great City on the Mississippi. Penguin library of American Indian history.Viking Press. pp. 23–34.ISBN978-0-670-02090-4.OCLC276819729.Cahokia was so large—covering three to five square miles—that archaeologists have yet to probe many portions of it. Its centerpiece was an open fifty-acre Grand Plaza, surrounded by packed-clay pyramids. The size of thirty-five football fields, the Grand Plaza was at the time the biggest public space ever conceived and executed north of Mexico ... a flat public square 1,600-plus feet in length and 900-plus feet in width.
^Finkelman, Paul (2001).Slavery and the Founders: Race and Liberty in the Age of Jefferson (2nd ed.). Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe. p. 78.ISBN9780765604385.
^Jones, James Pickett (1995) [1967].Black Jack: John A. Logan and Southern Illinois in the Civil War Era. SIU Press.ISBN0-8093-2002-9.OCLC31435846.
^Norbury, Frank (Spring 1999). "Dorothea Dix and the Founding of Illinois's First Mental Hospital".Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society.92 (1):13–29.JSTOR40193299.
^Willman, Harold Bowen; Atherton, Elwood; Buschbach, T. C.; Collinson, Charles William; Frye, John Chapman; Hopkins, M. E.; Lineback, Jerry Alvin; Simon, Jack A. (1975)."Handbook of Illinois stratigraphy".Bulletin - Illinois State Geological Survey.95. Urbana, IL.Archived from the original on August 20, 2019. RetrievedNovember 26, 2020.
^Vinicky, Amanda (December 23, 2020)."Illinois Exodus: Census Data Finds People Continue to Leave State".WTTW.Archived from the original on February 8, 2021. RetrievedFebruary 3, 2021.[Demographer] Paral says Chicago and the collar counties aren't to blame. He says from Lake to Will to DeKalb counties are growing – not by a lot – but growing at least. Outside of the Chicago metropolitan area is largely declines.
^Martin, Joyce A.; Hamilton, Brady E.; Osterman, Michelle J.K.; Curtin, Sally C.; Mathews, T.J. (January 15, 2015)."Births: Final Data for 2013"(PDF).National Vital Statistics Reports.64 (1). CDC:1–65.PMID25603115.Archived(PDF) from the original on September 11, 2017. RetrievedSeptember 4, 2017.
^Martin, Joyce A.; Hamilton, Brady E.; Osterman, Michelle J.K.; Curtin, Sally C.; Mathews, T.J. (December 23, 2015)."Births: Final Data for 2014"(PDF).National Vital Statistics Reports.64 (12). CDC:1–64.PMID26727629.Archived(PDF) from the original on February 14, 2017. RetrievedSeptember 4, 2017.
^Martin, Joyce A.; Hamilton, Brady E.; Osterman, Michelle J.K.; Driscoll, Anne K.; Mathews, T.J. (January 5, 2017)."Births: Final Data for 2015"(PDF).National Vital Statistics Reports.66 (1). CDC: 1.PMID28135188.Archived(PDF) from the original on August 31, 2017. RetrievedSeptember 4, 2017.
^Martin, Joyce A.; Hamilton, Brady E.; Osterman, Michelle J.K.; Driscoll, Anne K.; Drake, Patrick (January 31, 2018)."Births: Final Data for 2016"(PDF).National Vital Statistics Reports.67 (1). CDC:1–55.PMID29775434.Archived(PDF) from the original on June 3, 2018. RetrievedMay 4, 2018.
^Martin, Joyce A.; Hamilton, Brady E.; Osterman, Michelle J.K.; Driscoll, Anne K.; Drake, Patrick (November 7, 2018)."Births: Final Data for 2017"(PDF).National Vital Statistics Reports.67 (8). CDC:1–50.PMID30707672.Archived(PDF) from the original on February 1, 2019. RetrievedFebruary 18, 2019.
^Martin, Joyce A.; Hamilton, Brady E.; Osterman, Michelle J.K.; Driscoll, Anne K. (November 27, 2019)."Births: Final Data for 2018"(PDF).National Vital Statistics Reports.68 (13). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:1–47.PMID32501202.Archived(PDF) from the original on November 28, 2019. RetrievedDecember 2, 2019.
^Martin, Joyce A.; Hamilton, Brady E.; Osterman, Michelle J.K.; Driscoll, Anne K. (March 23, 2021)."Births: Final Data for 2019"(PDF).National Vital Statistics Reports.70 (2). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:1–51.PMID33814033.Archived(PDF) from the original on March 24, 2021. RetrievedMarch 29, 2021.
^Martin, Joyce A.; Hamilton, Brady E.; Osterman, Michelle J.K.; Driscoll, Anne K.; Valenzuela, Claudia P. (February 7, 2022)."Births: Final Data for 2020"(PDF).National Vital Statistics Reports.70 (17). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Archived(PDF) from the original on February 10, 2022. RetrievedFebruary 20, 2022.
^Martin, Joyce A.; Hamilton, Brady E.; Osterman, Michelle J.K.; Driscoll, Anne K.; Valenzuela, Claudia P. (January 31, 2023)."Births: Final Data for 2021"(PDF).National Vital Statistics Reports.72 (1). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:1–53.PMID36723449.Archived(PDF) from the original on February 1, 2023. RetrievedFebruary 2, 2022.
^"Data"(PDF).www.cdc.gov.Archived(PDF) from the original on April 4, 2024. RetrievedApril 5, 2024.
^Ave, Linden; IL 60091, Sheridan Rd Wilmette."Baha'i House Of Worship".Enjoy Illinois.Archived from the original on August 15, 2021. RetrievedAugust 15, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^Kathleen Walls."Agri Trails". Americanroads.net. Archived fromthe original on March 4, 2016. RetrievedFebruary 27, 2016.
^"DCEO: Home"(PDF). Ildceo.net. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on May 12, 2013. RetrievedFebruary 27, 2016.
^"Manufacturing in Illinois"(PDF). Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. 2009. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on September 29, 2011. RetrievedJanuary 19, 2010.
^"Illinois Nuclear Industry". U.S. Energy Information Administration. November 6, 2009. Archived fromthe original on November 9, 2004. RetrievedJanuary 29, 2010.
^Everson, David H. (February 1990)."Illinois as a bellwether: So what?".Illinois Issues. Illinois Periodicals Online at Northern Illinois University.Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. RetrievedJuly 21, 2013.
^Merriner, James L. (2004).Grafters and Goo Goos: corruption and reform in Chicago, 1833–2003. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.ISBN978-0-8093-2571-9.OCLC52720998.
^Steffes, Tracy L. (February 2020). "Assessment Matters: The Rise and Fall of the Illinois Resource Equalizer Formula".History of Education Quarterly.60 (1):24–57.doi:10.1017/heq.2020.7.S2CID216496825.
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