Illinois (pronounced or "ill-i-NOY") is the 21st U.S. state and is located in the Midwest region of the United States of America. The state is known for its large and diverse population, its balance of rural areas, small industrial cities, vast suburbs and great metropolis, its highly diverse economic base, and its central location that has made it a transportation hub for 150 years. It is this mixture of factory and farm, of urban and rural that makes Illinois a microcosm of the nation.

About 2000 Native American hunters inhabited the area at the time of the American Revolution, and by a small number of French villagers. American settlers began arriving from Kentucky in the 1810s; they achieved statehood in 1818. Yankees arrived a little later and dominated the north, creating the metropolis of Chicago in the 1830s. The coming of the railroads in the 1850s made highly profitable the rich prairie farmlands in central Illinois, attracting large numbers of immigrant farmers from Germany and Sweden. Northern Illinois, strongly Republican, provided major support for Illinoisans Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant during the Civil War. By 1900, factories were being rapidly built in the northern cities, along with coal mines in central and southern areas, attracting large numbers of immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe. Illinois was a major arsenal in both world wars; large numbers of blacks left the cotton fields of the South to come to Chicago, where they developed a famous jazz culture.

The state is named for the Illinois River which was named by French explorers after the indigenous Illiniwek people, a consortium of Algonquian tribes that thrived in the area. The word Illiniwek means "tribe of superior men."State of Illinois. Illinois Symbols. Accessed on April 20, 2006

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Abbott and University of Illinois Establish Center for Nutrition, Learning and ... http://t.co/9HceWfut #illinois
nathanfosterton (Nathan Foster) Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:01:36 -0000
Abbott and University of Illinois Establish Center for Nutrition, Learning and ... http://t.co/9HceWfut #illinois
@Harry_Styles Do you have a concert in Illinois, USA soon? -Taylor and Shannon <3
OneDiirectiionn (Shannon Cremin) Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:01:18 -0000
@Harry_Styles Do you have a concert in Illinois, USA soon? -Taylor and Shannon <3
Mica care illinois http://t.co/SYALLYfF
slugilimno1977 (slugilimno1977) Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:01:14 -0000
Mica care illinois http://t.co/SYALLYfF
Illinois State presents honorary degrees to the founding fathers of Chicago's famed Steppenwolf Theatre, Jeff Perry & Terry Kinney.
IllinoisStateU (Illinois State) Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:01:11 -0000
Illinois State presents honorary degrees to the founding fathers of Chicago's famed Steppenwolf Theatre, Jeff Perry & Terry Kinney.
#tcot Still waiting for him to explain bogus Soc. Sec. number.. RT @justsayyes Obama says he has no Illinois records http://t.co/rpcT2tEl
jeaniebgd (Jeanie B. Good) Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:01:05 -0000
#tcot Still waiting for him to explain bogus Soc. Sec. number.. RT @justsayyes Obama says he has no Illinois records http://t.co/rpcT2tEl
What is there to do in wauconda Illinois ?!!! Lol
THIRST_HD (Michael Manasan) Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:00:45 -0000
What is there to do in wauconda Illinois ?!!! Lol

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