Facts At A Glance

General Information on the State of Illinois

Statehood: December 3, 1818, twenty-first state

Origin of Name: French form of the word Illinwek, the name of a group of Indians who lived in Illinois prior to the arrival of white settlers; "Illinwek" means "the men" or "the superior men".

State Capital: Springfield, founded 1821

State Nickname: "Land of Lincoln"; also called "Prairie State"

State Motto: "State Sovereignty, National Union"

State Flag: Illinois has had two official state flags. The first adopted in 1915 didn't have the state's name on it. But in 1969, Chief Petty Officer Bruce McDaniel, an American soldier serving in Vietnam, requested that the states name be added to the flag. He had noticed that no one could identify Illinois' flag among the many other state flags hanging on the wall of his mess hall. In 1970, his request was approved and a new official state flag, carrying the old image but with the name "Illinois" added, was adopted.

State Bird: Cardinal

State Animal: White-tailed deer

State Flower: Native violet

State Tree: White Oak

State Fish: Bluegill

State Insect: Monarch Butterfly

State Mineral: Fluorite

Weather Forecasts

State Population Information

Population Density: 202.6 people per sq. mile

Population Distribution: 83 percent of the the people live in cities or towns. More than 60 percant live in the Chicago metropolitan area.

City Populations

 Chicago.............3,005,072
 Rockford..............139,712
 Peoria................124,160
 Springfield............99,637
 Decatur................94,081
 Aurora.................81,293

Links To The Cities

• Biancago Chicago Guide
• Champaign County/Silicon Prairie
• Chicago Information
• Chicago
• Chicago PsyberView
• Chicago!
• Chicago / Evanston Area
• Earlville
• El Guide to Chicago
• Elk Grove Village
• Galena
• Henderson County
• Oak Park
• Peoria
• Westmont

Geography

States that border Illinois are Wisconsin on the north, Indiana on the east, Kentucky on the south, and Missouri and Iowa on the west.

Highest Point: Charles Mound, 1,235 ft.
Lowest Point: On the Mississippi River in Alexander Country, 279 ft.

Greatest Distances:

• North to south - 385 mi.
• East to west - 218 mi.

Area: 56,400 sq. mi.

Rank in Area Among the States: Twenty-fourth