Portal:Illinois


The Illinois Portal

The flag of Illinois

Illinois (/ˌɪlɪˈnɔɪ/ IL-ih-NOY) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash and Ohio rivers to its south. Of the fifty U.S. states, Illinois has the fifth-largest gross domestic product (GDP), the sixth-largest population, and the 25th-most land area. Its capital city is Springfield in the center of the state, and the state's largest city is Chicago in the northeast.

Present-day Illinois was inhabited by Indigenous cultures for thousands of years. The French were the first Europeans to arrive, settling near the Mississippi and Illinois rivers in the 17th century Illinois Country, as part of their sprawling colony of New France. A century later, the revolutionary war Illinois campaign prefigured American involvement in the region. Following U.S. independence in 1783, which made the Mississippi River the national boundary, American settlers began arriving from Kentucky via the Ohio River. Illinois was soon part of the United States' oldest territory, the Northwest Territory, and in 1818 it achieved statehood. The Erie Canal brought increased commercial activity in the Great Lakes, and the invention of the self-scouring steel plow by Illinoisan John Deere turned the state's rich prairie into some of the world's most productive and valuable farmland, attracting immigrant farmers from Germany, Sweden and elsewhere. In the mid-19th century, the Illinois and Michigan Canal and a sprawling railroad network facilitated trade, commerce, and settlement, making the state a transportation hub for the nation. By 1900, the growth of industrial jobs in the northern cities and coal mining in the central and southern areas attracted immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe. Illinois became one of America's most industrialized states and remains a major manufacturing center. The Great Migration from the South established a large Black community, particularly in Chicago, which became a leading cultural, economic, and population center; its metropolitan area, informally referred to as Chicagoland, holds about 65% of the state's 12.8 million residents.

Two World Heritage Sites are in Illinois, the ancient Cahokia Mounds, and part of the Wright architecture site. A wide variety of protected areas seek to conserve Illinois' natural and cultural resources. Major centers of learning include the University of Chicago, University of Illinois, and Northwestern University. Three U.S. presidents have been elected while residents of Illinois: Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and Barack Obama; additionally, Ronald Reagan was born and raised in the state. Illinois honors Lincoln with its official state slogan Land of Lincoln. The state is the site of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield and the future home of the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.

Selected article

The Ben Rose House in Highland Park served as the location for Cameron's house.
The Ben Rose House in Highland Park served as the location for Cameron's house.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a 1986 American teen comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by John Hughes, and co-produced by Tom Jacobson. The film stars Matthew Broderick as Ferris Bueller, a high-school slacker who spends a day off from school, with Mia Sara and Alan Ruck. Ferris regularly "breaks the fourth wall" to explain techniques and inner thoughts.

Hughes wrote the screenplay in less than a week. Filming began in September 1985 and finished in November. Featuring many landmarks, including the then Sears Tower and the Art Institute of Chicago, the film was Hughes' love letter to Chicago: "I really wanted to capture as much of Chicago as I could. Not just in the architecture and landscape, but the spirit."

Released by Paramount Pictures on June 11, 1986, the film became one of the top-grossing films of the year, receiving $70.1 million over a $5.8 million budget, and was enthusiastically acclaimed by critics and audiences alike. In 2014, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." In 2016, Paramount, Turner Classic Movies, and Fathom Events re-released the film for its 30th anniversary. (Read more...)

Selected biography

Wild Bill Hickok
Wild Bill Hickok

James Butler Hickok—known as "Wild Bill" Hickok—was a folk character of the American Old West. Although some of his exploits as reported at the time were fictionalized, his skills as a gunfighter and gambler, along with his reputation as a lawman, provided the basis for his enduring fame. Born and raised on a farm near Troy Grove, Illinois, Hickok went west at age 18 as a fugitive from justice, first working as a stagecoach driver, then as a lawman in the frontier territories of Kansas and Nebraska. He fought and spied for the Union Army during the American Civil War and gained publicity after the war as a scout, marksman, actor, and professional gambler. Hickok was involved in several notable shootouts. He was shot from behind and killed while playing poker in a saloon in Deadwood, Dakota Territory (now South Dakota) by an unsuccessful gambler, Jack McCall. The card hand he held at the time of his death (aces and eights) has come to be known as the "Dead Man's Hand".

(Read more...)

Did you know...

  • ... that although Olga Hartman believed that her basic research on marine worms had no practical value, it was applied to experimental studies of oysters?
  • ... that Jack Washburn was called "Cinderella Boy" for winning a starring role in his first Broadway show?


Selected images

Recent news

Articles:

  • Featured Articles
  • A-Class Articles
  • Good Articles

Pictures:

  • Featured Pictures

Lists:

  • Featured Lists

Topics

Culture: Chicago Blues FestivalChicago Jazz FestivalChicago Symphony OrchestraCornerstone FestivalDillo DayIllinois Shakespeare FestivalIllinois State FairIllinois' Poets LaureateList of museums in IllinoisLollapaloozaLyric Opera of ChicagoMusicPitchfork Music FestivalRavinia FestivalTaste of Chicago

Education: Higher educationSecondary education

Environment: Ecoregions of IllinoisGeography of IllinoisGeology of IllinoisProtected areas of Illinois

Government: ConstitutionEconomyPoliticsState Capitol

History: ChicagoIlliniwekIllinois CentralIllinois-Wabash CompanyIllinois TerritoryAbraham LincolnBlack Hawk WarCahokia1871 Great Chicago FireMakataimeshekiakiakMiamiMississippian cultureNorthwest TerritoryPotawatomiRoute 66Sauk

People: Governors of IllinoisMayors of ChicagoLongest Serving Mayor in IllinoisOrder of Lincoln Laureates

Sports: Chicago BanditsChicago BearsChicago BullsChicago CubsChicago FireChicago RushChicago SkyChicago White SoxChicago WolvesThe Fighting IlliniIllinois State RedbirdsNorthwestern WildcatsPeoria RivermenRockford IceHogsRockford ThunderSouthern Illinois MinersSouthern Illinois University SalukisChicago Yacht Club Race to MackinacChicago Marathon

Outline of Illinois

Subcategories

Category puzzle
Category puzzle
Select [►] to view subcategories
Illinois
Illinois-related lists
Communications in Illinois
Culture of Illinois
Demographics of Illinois
Economy of Illinois
Education in Illinois
Environment of Illinois
Geography of Illinois
Government of Illinois
Health in Illinois
History of Illinois
Illinois law
Military in Illinois
Native American tribes in Illinois
Organizations based in Illinois
People from Illinois
Politics of Illinois
Science and technology in Illinois
Illinois society
Sports in Illinois
Transportation in Illinois
Works about Illinois
Images of Illinois
Illinois stubs

WikiProjects

  • US-related WikiProjects
    • Illinois
    • Spoken Illinois
  • U.S. Roads
    • Illinois State Routes
WikiProjects
WikiProjects
  • Cities
    • Chicago
  • Sports
    • Chicago Bears
    • Chicago Bulls
    • Chicago Cubs

What are WikiProjects?

Things you can do


Here are some tasks awaiting attention:
  • Article requests :

    Executive branch of the government of the State of Illinois, Fort Gage, History of European exploration in Illinois, Morris Selz, Pre-Columbian history of Illinois, Wayne Motley, Western Wheel Company, Citizens Utility Board

  • Assess :

    Category:Unassessed WikiProject Illinois articles and Category:Unknown-importance WikiProject Illinois articles

  • Collaborate :
    WikiProject Chicago/COTW: Chicago Water Tower
  • Copyedit :

    Category:WikiProject Illinois articles needing attention and Category:Illinois articles needing expert attention

  • Deletion sorting :

    WikiProject Deletion sorting/Illinois

  • Expand :
  • Featured article candidates :

    Improve to Featured Article status - Illinois, Springfield, Illinois

  • Geographical coordinates :

    Category:Illinois articles missing geocoordinate data

  • Infobox :

    Category:Illinois articles needing infoboxes

  • Maintain :

  • Map :

    Category:Wikipedia requested maps in Illinois

  • Photo :

    Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in Illinois

  • Stubs :

    Category:Illinois stubs, Category:Illinois geography stubs, Category:Illinois politician stubs, Category:Illinois school stubs

  • Unreferenced :

    Unreferenced BLPs and Category:Unreferenced WikiProject Illinois articles

  • Other :

    Find articles that belong in Category:Illinois or its subcategories, and add them to the category; tag those articles with {{WikiProject Illinois}} on their talk pages, as well as any new, untagged articles that might appear in one of those categories.

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Discover Wikipedia using portals