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Illinois [ilənɔ in ʹ], abbreviated IL, State of the
Midwest, USA; 146,000 km2, 12.7 million inhabitants (2018).The
capital is Springfield, but the dominant city is Chicago, located on Lake
Michigan in the northeastern corner of the state. The Chicago region, which
houses about 75 percent of the Illinois population, appears in many respects to
be its own area, with limited social, political, and economic communion with the
rest of the state.
Illinois. State Map.
Nature
Illinois is one of the most beautiful states in the United States. The area
between the Mississippi River in the west and Lake Michigan in the northeast is
part of the prairie and has an average height of about 200 m above sea
level. Glacial landforms, such as drum lines, occur here. The state's most
important rivers are the Mississippi, which borders the Iowa, as well as the
Illinois River. In western and southern Illinois, the natural vegetation
consists of deciduous forests with oak and coniferous forests with, among other
things, white. However, deforestation has reduced the forest area's share from
about 42 to 5 percent.
The average temperature in Northern Illinois is −6 °C in winter and 21 °C in
summer, while it is 3 °C and 25 °C in the southern parts. The annual rainfall is
about 1,000 mm in the north and about 1,400 mm in the south.
Population
The ethnic origin of the population varies greatly, due to the fact that
different ethnic groups have dominated immigration to Illinois for different
periods of time; for example, many Scandinavians immigrated during the decades
before the First World War. About 14 percent of the population is black, most of
them resident in Chicago. Illinois's largest and most dominant metropolitan area
is Chicago-Naperville-Elgin (9.5 million inhabitants in 2016).
Business
Illinois is one of America's leading states in agricultural and industrial
production, trade and transportation. Over 80 percent of the area is
cultivated. Alongside Iowa, Illinois is the nation's largest producer of
soybeans and corn. In addition - as part of the plant sequence - large
quantities of wheat and fodder seed, vegetables are grown. Vegetables are often
used for animal production, such as feed for pigs, cattle (both meat and dairy
cows) and poultry. In many of the cities, the industry is based on agriculture
(meat and other food industries and manufacturing of agricultural machinery).
The industry, which is Illinois's most important industry, is otherwise very
diverse. Its center of gravity lies in the Chicago region, which is also
completely dominant as a commercial and financial center. Mineral resources are
limited. However, Illinois is the nation's largest producer of fluorspar. Oil
recovery plays a certain role. Coal resources are very large, but the quality is
less good (thin layers and high sulfur content). Nuclear power plants are
responsible for significant energy production. Chicago is the most important hub
for rail and air in the Midwest (and to some extent the United States) (O'Hare
and Midway airports) and also has extensive port operations.
Tourism and gastronomy
In fact, Illinois is not a major tourist state but still accounts for about 5
percent of the tourism industry's total sales in the United States. This is
because the city of Chicago is a very attractive tourist destination. The city
has a large number of museums, cultural events of various kinds, extensive
business activities and an interesting cityscape, which in combination with the
role of one of the country's largest traffic hubs attract crowds of visitors.
Illinois. The east of Route 66 is based in Chicago.
From the Sears Tower, one of the world's tallest buildings, the view from the
103rd floor (just over 400 m above ground) is fantastic, both over the central
city with its skyscrapers and over the surrounding region and Lake Michigan.
Illinois. Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) as a
central view in the picture was completed in 1973. The building is made of steel
and has a dark facade, clad with aluminum and glass.
In the rest of Illinois, places associated with President Abraham Lincoln
represent popular tourist destinations. the capital of Springfield, where his
home and office as well as his grave attract many American visitors.
The Bishop Hill prairie has the status of National Historic Landmark and is
of great interest from the Swedish point of view. It was founded in 1846 by
Swedish immigrants under the leadership of Erik Jansson from the Bishopric in
Uppland. Their utopian community building lasted just over a decade, but the
well-preserved church and some other buildings now constitute interesting
monuments from the first, difficult new construction era.
Culinary is the state a product of its history; groups of immigrants from
eastern, central and northern Europe as well as the "old" states on the east
coast of the United States lived under simple conditions on their farms. The raw
materials were few at first and thrift was a motto. Even today, the idea
prevails that the simple is the best - albeit in large quantities. However, the
range is surprisingly wide: filled pike reminiscent of Poland, walking tables
similar to our sandwich tables, warm potato salad as in Germany - in combination
with thick steaks, young fried chickens, corn puddings and cakes and of course
pies.
History
In the area there were early Native American cultures, often high
standing. In the 1670s, French explorers and fur hunters came to the area, which
in 1763 became British and in 1783 moved to the United States. Illinois became
territory in 1809 and the state in 1818, when it also got its present
boundaries. Because of its location between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi
River, Illinois developed rapidly with agriculture as its main industry. Large
groups from Northern Europe immigrated to Illinois after 1860, and the industry
developed with Chicago as the center.
Politically, Illinois has always been divided; Democrats have usually
dominated in Chicago and Southern Illinois, the Republicans in the rest of the
state.
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