Illinois


 * Illinois**

Senators: CBOSWELL F8 (R), DLIEBERTH D4 (R)

Representatives: FSIVILLO F1 (R), GYOGAN F1 (D), JPELUSO F4 (R), ALINDENFELSER F1 (R), AKERCHNER D1 (R), ZQUINN D7 (I),

SPETRASH D8 (I)

Illinois Population- 12,901,563 (July 2008) (A. Lindenfelser) Illinois is the 21st state admitted to the U.S. on December 3, 1818. (A.Lindenfelser) In the 2008 Election, 62% of the voters voted Democratic (Obama), and 37% of the voters voted Republican (McCain) (A. Lindenfelser) In the General Assembly, Illinois has 118 epresentatives, 48 of them being Republicans, and 70 of the being Democrats. (A. Lindenfelser) IN the General Assembly, Illinois has 59 Senators, 22 of them being Republicans, and 37 of them being Democrats. (A. Lindenfelser)

The official state seal Illinois is called the Great Seal (G. Yogan) Both of illinois senators ( Roland Burris and Richard Durbin), are democratic. (G. Yogan) Illinois has 19 Representatives, which is the 5th largest of any other state. (G. Yogan) Illinois has 21 electoral votes, Which is more than any other in the midwest. (G. Yogan) In the past 5 ellections, Illinois has consistently voted in favor of democrats. in the elections before this, it had voted mainly Republican s ince the Civil War. (G. Yogan)

The capital of the state of Illinois is Springfield. Illinois had two capital citiesbefore Springfield, Kaskaskia, and Vandalia.(C. Boswell) The world's first Skyscraper was built in Chicago, Illinois, in 1885. (C. Boswell) Illinois has more units of government than any other state. For example, city, county, township, etc. There are over 6,000! One reason for this may be the township governments, which are usually 6 miles square. (C. Boswell) Illinois is known for its diversity of weather. There are major winter storms, deadly tornadoes, and spectacular heat and cold waves. (C. Boswell) Chicago's first African American mayor, Harold Washington, who took office in 1983. (C. Boswell)

Chicago, Illinois is home to the Chicago Bears Football Team, Chicago Blackhawks hockey team, Chicago Bulls basketball team, Chicago Cubs and Chicago Whitesox baseball teams, and the Chicago Fire soccer team. (D. Lieberth) Metropolis, the home of Superman, really exists in Southern Illinois. (D. Lieberth) The NFL's Chicago Bears were first known as the "Staley Bears". They were organized in 1920, in Decatur. (D. Lieberth) Springfield is the state capital and the home of the National Historic Site of the home of President and Mrs. Abraham Lincoln. (D. Lieberth)

Ottawa, Freeport, Jonesboro, Charleston, Galesburg, Quincy, and Alton hosted the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates stirred interest all over the country in the slavery issue. (F. Sivillo) The world's first skyscraper was built in Chicago in 1893. It was called the Home Insurance Building. (F. Sivillo) Illinois was the first American state to ratify the 13th Amendment to the constitution abolishing slavery in 1865. (F. Sivillo) In 1905, president of the Chicago Cubs field charges against a fan in the bleachers for catching a fly ball and keeping it. (F. Sivillo) As of July 2008, with 12,901,563 people, Illinois is the fifth most populous state, only after California, New York, Texas, and Florida. (F. Sivillo)

Illinois population language is English (80.8%) Spanish (10.9%) Polish (1.6%) (Z. Quinn) In Illinois, their professional football is the Chicago Bears(Z.Quinn). Illinois largest city is Chicago (Z.Quinn) The area in Illionois is ranked 25th in the nation with 57,918 sq. miles (Z. Quinn) The elevation in Illinois is: Highest point Charles Mound at 1,235 ft Lowest point Mississippi River at 279 ft.(Z.Quinn) The Governor is Pat Quinn (Z. Quinn) The time zone in Illinois is central (Z. Quinn)

- Illinois residents are called "Illinoisans" (S. Petrash) - The Mississippi River, Ohio River, Illinois River, and Wabash River all run through Illinois (S. Petrash) Illinois comes from the word Illini (ih-LIE-nee), a group of natives from the Cahokia, Kaskaskia, Michigamea, Moingwena, Peoria and Tamaroa Indian tribes. They also called themselves "Illinwek" (ih-lih-new-eck), which means "the best people". (S. Petrash) - Winning a contest in 1913, Lucy Derwent made the design for the Illinois state flag. The Flag was the redesigned in 1970 by Sanford Hutchinson. The design for the flag was based upon the Illinois state seal, which was designed by Sharon Tyndale, who was Illinois' secretary of state in 1868. (S. Petrash) - The state bird of Illinois is the cardinal, the state mammal is the white-tailed deer, the state insect is the monarch butterfly, and the state fish is the bluegill. (S. Petrash) - The highest point in Illinois is Charles Mound which is 1,235 feet (376 m) above sea level (S. Petrash)

Illinois state song is called "Illinois" and was written by C.H. Chamberlain and music from Archibald Johnston. (J. Peluso) Out of the entire nation Illinois produces the most soybeans. (J. Peluso) Born in Aurora, Illinois, on January 2, 1942 Dennis Hastert served 3 terms in the Illinois General Assembly. He served 7 terms in congress,as a Republican, and became the speaker of the House of Representatives in January of 1999. (J. Peluso) 74% of Illinois population is Caucasian, 15% African American, 3% Asian American, less than 1% Native American, and 12% Hispanics. These statistics make Illinois the most ethnically diverse state in its region. (J. Peluso) Illinois has had 4 state constitutions, and the curently are following the latest one from 1970. (J. Peluso)

The first settlers in Illinois were mostly french and they took up agriculture, mining, and fur trading.(A. Kerchner) The first aquarium was built and opened in Chicago in 1893.(A. Kerchner) Peoria is the oldest community in Illinois. It is named after the peoria tribe and is the largest city on the Illinois River.(A. Kerchner) Des Plaines Illinois is home to the McDonald's museum. The first McDonalds opened in 1940.(A. Kerchner) The Illinois state dance is square dancing which was chosen in 1990.(A. Kerchner)