The Illinois Portal

Illinois is a state of the United States and the 21st state admitted to the Union. Illinois is the most populous state in the Midwest and the fifth most populous in the nation. Its balance of the metropolis of Chicago and its suburbs in the northeast, as well as rural areas, small industrial cities, and the coal mines of the south give it a highly diverse economic base. Its central location, connecting the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River via the Illinois River, made it a transportation hub for 150 years.

About 2,000 Native American hunters and a small number of French villagers inhabited the area at the time of the American Revolution. American settlers began arriving from Kentucky in the 1810s; they achieved statehood in 1818. Yankees arrived a little later and dominated the north, founding the future city of Chicago in the 1830s. The coming of the railroads in the 1850s made highly profitable the rich prairie farmlands in central Illinois, attracting large numbers of immigrant farmers from Germany and Sweden. Northern Illinois provided major support for Illinoisans Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant during the American Civil War. By 1900, factories were being rapidly built in the northern cities, along with coal mines in central and southern areas. This industrialization attracted large numbers of immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe, and also led to the state's material contribution as a major arsenal in both world wars. In addition to immigrants from Europe, large numbers of blacks left the cotton fields of the South to come to Chicago, where they developed a renowned jazz culture.

Selected article

Wilco is an American rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar departure from the band. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John Stirratt remaining from the original incarnation. The other current members are guitarist Nels Cline, multi-instrumentalists Pat Sansone and Mikael Jorgensen, and drummer Glenn Kotche. Wilco has released six studio albums, a live double album, and three collaborations: two with Billy Bragg, and one with The Minus 5.

Wilco garnered media attention for its fourth album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002), and the controversy surrounding it. After the recording sessions were complete, Reprise Records rejected the album and dismissed Wilco from the label. As part of a buy-out deal, Reprise gave Wilco the rights to the album for free. After streaming Foxtrot on its website, Wilco sold the album to Nonesuch Records in 2002. Both record labels are subsidiaries of Warner Music Group, leading one critic to say that the album showed "how screwed up the music business [was] in the early twenty-first century." The album was the most successful of Wilco's career, selling over 590,000 copies. Wilco won two Grammy Awards for their fifth studio album, 2004's A Ghost Is Born, including Best Alternative Music Album. (Read more...)

Selected biography

Barack Obama is the junior United States Senator from Illinois and a Democrat. The U.S. Senate Historical Office lists him as the fifth African American Senator in U.S. history and the only African American currently serving in the U.S. Senate. Born to a Kenyan father and an American mother, Obama grew up in culturally diverse surroundings. He spent most of his childhood in the majority-minority U.S. state of Hawaii and lived for four years in Indonesia. A graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, Obama worked as a community organizer, university lecturer, and civil rights lawyer before entering politics. He served in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004, launching his campaign for U.S. Senate in 2003. Obama was victorious in the 2008 U.S. presidential election and is currently the president-elect. (Read more...)

Did you know...

• ...that the Robert Weber Round Barn is one of 31 round barns constructed in a four county area centered on Stephenson County, Illinois?

• ...that the former Schiller Piano Factory (pictured) in Oregon, Illinois has been a shopping center since 1975?
• ...that William W. Powers State Recreation Area's Wolf Lake co-hosted a BioBlitz by over 150 scientists who unofficially counted 1,815 species in a day?

• ...that there are fords at Illinois' White Pines Forest State Park (crossing pictured) allowing visitors to drive through the stream?
• ...that Frank Lloyd Wright's design for the Francis J. Woolley House was influenced by his first teacher, Joseph Silsbee, and the Arts and Crafts movement?
• ...that Roseland Christian School changed from a completely Dutch-American student body in 1884 to a completely African American one by the mid 1980s?
• ...that the Egyptian Theater in DeKalb, Illinois is purportedly haunted by ghosts?

Featured content

Things you can do

Collaborate: Peoria, Illinois • List of Chicago Landmarks update

Create: Clare, Illinois • Crow Island School • Farm Creek Section • Glendale, Illinois • Kennicott Grove • Marshall Field III • History of European exploration in Illinois • Kincaid Site • Victor Lawson • Pre-Colombian history of Illinois • Tomek House

Expand: Casimir Pulaski Day • Democratic Party of Illinois • Economy of Illinois • Flag of Illinois • "Illinois" • Illinois Constitution • Illinois Republican Party

Upload: Requested photographs

Selected picture

Recent news

Categories

WikiProjects

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

Topics

Related portals

Associated Wikimedia