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The Illinois Portal  Illinois (/ˌɪlɪˈnɔɪ/ ⓘIL-ih-NOY) is astate in theMidwestern region of theUnited States. It bordersLake Michigan to its northeast, theMississippi River to its west, and theWabash andOhio rivers to its south. Of the fifty U.S. states, Illinois has thefifth-largest gross domestic product (GDP), thesixth-largest population, and the25th-most land area. Its capital city isSpringfield in the center of the state, and the state's largest city isChicago in the northeast. 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. 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. 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. TwoWorld Heritage Sites are in Illinois, the ancientCahokia Mounds, and part of theWright architecture site. A wide variety ofprotected areas seek to conserve Illinois' natural and cultural resources. Major centers of learning include theUniversity of Chicago,University of Illinois, andNorthwestern University. ThreeU.S. presidents have been elected while residents of Illinois:Abraham Lincoln,Ulysses S. Grant, andBarack Obama; additionally,Ronald Reagan was born and raised in the state, though he served forCalifornia. Illinois honors Lincoln with its official state sloganLand of Lincoln. The state is the site of theAbraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield and the future home of theBarack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago. Selected article The28th International Eucharistic Congress was held inChicago from June 20–24, 1926. The event, held by theCatholic Church, was aeucharistic congress, which is a large-scale gathering of Catholics that focuses on theEucharist and other items of Catholic faith. The event was organized byCardinalGeorge Mundelein, theArchbishop of Chicago, and was the first International Eucharistic Congress held in the United States and the second inNorth America. The event attracted a large number of people to the city, with most sources claiming at least several hundred thousand attendees. Large events were held throughout the area, at locations includingSoldier Field,Holy Name Cathedral, and theSaint Mary of the Lake Seminary. Some sources claim that approximately 1 million people attended the closing daymass held at theseminary in nearbyMundelein. The congress is considered a major event in thehistory of Chicago, with some historians comparing the size of the event to the city'sworld's fairs. It is also regarded as an important occurrence in thehistory of the Catholic Church in the United States, as it demonstrated the size and power of the church in the historicallyProtestant United States.(Read more...) Selected biography Barack Obama (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the44thPresident of the United States. He is thefirstAfrican American to hold the office. Born inHonolulu, Hawaii, Obama is a graduate ofColumbia University andHarvard Law School. He was acommunity organizer in Chicago before earning hislaw degree. He worked as acivil rights attorney and taughtconstitutional law atUniversity of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. Heserved three terms representing the 13th District in theIllinois Senate from 1997 to 2004,running unsuccessfully for theUnited States House of Representatives in 2000. He was elected to theUnited States Senate from Illinois in 2004. Obama resigned his Senate seat after winning thePresidential election of 2008. Nine months after his election, he was named the2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Major domestic initiatives in his first term included thePatient Protection and Affordable Care Act and theDodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. In foreign policy, Obamaended U.S. military involvement in theIraq War, increased U.S. troop levels inAfghanistan, signed theNew START arms control treaty with Russia, and ordered the military operation that resulted in thedeath of Osama bin Laden. In his second term Obama promoted domestic policies related to gun control and called for full equality forLGBT Americans. In foreign policy, Obama orderedU.S. military involvement in Iraq in response togains made by theIslamic State in Iraq and took steps tonormalizeU.S. relations with Cuba. (Read more...) Did you know...
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