One of the great industrial and agricultural states and home to one of the world's largest urban centers, Illinois is located in the Midwestern section of the United States on Lake Michigan. To the east is Indiana, to the north Wisconsin, to the southeast the Ohio River, and to the west the Mississippi River. Its name is derived from the Illinois, or Illini, Indians who occupied the area prior to the arrival of the white settlers. The word Illinois was a French attempt at Iliniwek, an Indian word for men. It has long been called The Prairie State because at one time it was covered by grasslands. Its official nickname is The Land of Lincoln in recognition of Abraham Lincoln's residence for 24 years in the state's capital city of Springfield. It is the nation's six most populous state with a population now estimated at more than 12,400,000.

The Illinois topography is a product of the last ice age. The state is divided into three main land regions. The Central Plateau covers about 90 percent of the state and includes the industrial and shipping area around Chicago, a wide level prairie in central Illinois which forms part of the Corn Belt, and the fertile east central section called "The Garden Spot of the Nation." The Ozark Plateau stretches across southern Illinois and is a region of valleys, forests, and river buffs. The Gulf Coastal Plain covers the southern tip of the state and is the upper end of the Great Plain that extends inland from the Gulf of Mexico. The state has 63 miles of shoreline on Lake Michigan with many sandy beaches. Its 500 rivers and streams include the Mississippi, Chicago, Illinois, Spoon, and Wabash rivers. The state's highest point is the 1,235-foot Charles Mound, and its largest lake is the 24,580-acre Carlyle Lake. Primary cities are Chicago, Joliet, Peoria, Rockford, Springfield, Waukegan, Aurora, Naperville, Elgin, Cicero, Decatur, and Evanston. Notably, the University of Chicago was the birthplace of atomic energy in 1942; natives John Deere and Charles H. McCormick made large-scale farming possible; George M. Pullman built the first successful railroad sleeping car in 1859; Abraham Lincoln took his first stand against slavery in debates with Stephen A. Douglas in Springfield in 1858; it was the first state to establish an 8-hour work day and 48-hour week for child laborers under age 14, and the first to establish a 10-hour work day for women. The state is also known for Chicago's distinctive architecture designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, Daniel H. Burnham and John W. Root, Louis Sullivan, and William LeBaron Jenny who built the first skyscraper. And Illinois boasts many of the nation's top institutions of higher learning; namely, University of Illinois, Northwestern, DePaul, University of Chicago, Bradley University, and Loyola University of Chicago.

Economically, Illinois ranks high in farm income as a leading producer of corn, soybeans, beef, and grain,. Its diversified manufactures are chemicals and pharmaceuticals, electrical equipment, automotive and aircraft parts, machinery, metal products, food products, printed materials, and rubber and plastic products. Other key economic factors are biotechnology, telecommunications, finance, service industries, and foreign trade. Chicago is the nation's transportation center. The area is served by Chicago-O'Hare International Airport, all the major railroads, an extensive network of modern interstate highways, the Chicago port and great waterways, including the Great Lakes link to the Saint Lawrence Seaway, the Lake-to-Gulf Waterway, and Illinois River.

Key points of interest are Chicago's Art Institute, Museum of Science and Industry, Natural History Museum, Adler Planetarium, and Museum of African-American History. Cultural attractions include the Chicago Symphony and Civic Opera House, and open-air concerts in the summer. Other popular attractions are the Black Hawk Statue, Brookfield Zoo, U.S. Grant Home, Carl Sandburg Home, Lincoln Home State Memorial, Frank Lloyd Wright's Home & Studio, Cahokia Mounds State Park, Cave-in-Rock State Park, the scenic Ozark region, Cook County's forest preserve, the lakefront, and the annual Chicago Blues Festival, annual Viva Chicago Latin Music Festival, and the annual Gathering of Eagles Airshow. Professional sports include the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox major league baseball teams, NFL Bears football, NBA Bulls basketball, and NHL Black Hawks hockey. Recreational opportunities range from world class golf, fishing, hunting, and boating to ice skating, skiing, and other winter sports.

Illinois was once the home of Mound Builders, and today more than 10,000 Indian mounds are scattered across the state. In 1673 the French were the first whites to enter the area en route to explore the Mississippi River. French priests established the first permanent town at Cahokia, which became a major trading center. Illinois became part of French Louisiana in 1717, and the area was acquired by the British in 1763, following the French and Indian Wars. Later it was claimed by the Virginia colony which gave the Illinois country to the federal government of the United States in 1784. Illinois became the 21st state to enter the Union in 1818, and a capital was established in the town of Vadalio. In 1839 the capital was moved to Springfield.

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