Illinois extends from Chicago, on the shores of Lake Michigan, to the vast woodlands of the Shawnee National Forest. It is a major transportation center, and its resources include wheat, corn, soybeans, livestock, minerals, coal, oil, and an immense diversity of manufactured goods. The growth of this industrial-agricultural giant has been remarkable. In less than two centuries, it has evolved from a frontier to a vast empire of cities, farms, mines, and mills. The state is home to nearly 1 million factory workers; more than 90 percent of the land is cultivated, producing more than 40 different crops with an annual value of $4.2 billion. Livestock value averages more than $1 billion annually.

The state takes its name from the confederated tribes who called themselves the Iliniwek ("superior men") and inhabited the valley of the Illinois River. In 1673, the first known white men entered the land of the Iliniwek. Père Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet paddled down the Mississippi, returned up the Illinois, and carried their canoes across the portage where Chicago now stands. Five years later, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle established Fort Crévecoeur, near Peoria Lake. French interest then shifted to the area around Cahokia and Kaskaskia. Fort de Chartres was built in 1720, and trappers and traders soon followed. The district was designated Illinois, the first official use of the name.

French rule ended when the British seized Fort de Chartres in 1765, but the British stayed in Illinois only briefly. The region was important to the American cause and was won by George Rogers Clark in 1778-1779. For a while, Illinois was claimed as a county by Virginia, but it was ceded to the federal government; in 1787, it became part of the Northwest Territory. This territory was variously subdivided; Illinois, first part of Indiana Territory, became Illinois Territory in 1809, with Ninian Edwards as its first governor. Nine years later, it was admitted into the Union as the 21st state.

Through the early years of the 19th century, the Sauk (or Sac) and Fox tribes struggled to retain their lands. They were moved across the Mississippi by a treaty that touched off the Black Hawk War of 1832. The defeat of the Sauk and Fox, and a later treaty forcing the Potawatomie to cede their lands, virtually removed Native Americans from the state. Settlers then surged into the fertile country.

A young backwoods lawyer named Abraham Lincoln returned from the Black Hawk War and entered politics. As leader of the Sangamon County delegation in the state legislature, he successfully moved the capital from Vandalia to Springfield. Lincoln supported projects for waterway improvements, which resulted in canals and interstate railroads. The new transportation system helped build commercial centers and contributed to the state's eventual industrialization. The Civil War sparked broad industrialization and rapid growth that, together with vast agricultural riches, have carried the state through many economic crises.

Illinois stretches 385 miles from north to south. As a vacation area, it offers lakes and rivers with excellent fishing, beautiful parks and recreation areas, historical and archaeological sites, landmark buildings, prairie lands, and canyons. The attractions in Chicago and the surrounding area are endless, as are the hundreds of festivals and events sponsored by cities and towns year-round throughout the state.