Illinois (IL)

Illinois State Flag

"Land of Lincoln"

"Chi-Town", "City by the Lake", "City in a Garden", "City of Big Shoulders", "Great Commercial Tree", "Heart of America", "Mud City", "Prairie State", "Second City", The City Beautiful", "The City that Works", "The Great American City" and "Windy City".

Why visit Illinois?

Travelers seeking a world class city to enjoy architecture, culture, dining, historical sites, history, museums, nightlife, shopping and theatre. 

Chicago City, IL. Photo Credit: David Mark/Pixabay 

At a Glance

• Capital: Springfield
• State Bird: Northern Cardinal
• State Dessert: Pumpkin Pie
• State Flower: Violet
• State Gemstone: None
• State Mammal: White Tailed Deer
• State Rock: None

"Route 66" Pontiac, IL. Photo Credit: Andreas H/Pixabay 

Fun Facts

• Agricultural heavy equipment mogul, John Deer Headquarters & Manufacturing is in Moline, IL.
  
• The first McDonald's was built in Des Plaines, IL.
  
• Features 2 National Forests, 5 State Forests and 43 State Parks.
• The snack Twinkie, a golden sponge cake with a creamy filling was invented by James Alexander Dewar (Canadian-born baker) in Schiller Park, IL.
  
• Late President Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) while in grade school (9) resided in Dixon (1920-1923) with his family.
• In 1830, Late President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) at 21 moved to Macon County, IL with his family, a year later on his own. Elected to the Illinois Legislature in 1834 and reelected from 1836-1844. President from 1861-1965.
• Clark Kent (Superman), Reporter at The Daily Planet in Metropolis, IL.
  
• Until the build of the One Trade Center (New York City) the Sears Roebuck & Company was considered the tallest building across our nation. Sold for $1.3 billion (2015) and renamed Willis Tower (global insurance broker).
  
• Around 75% of the state is farmland. A leading producer of corn, grain and soybeans.

Thank You!

• Spotlight Celebrities: Betty White (Actress), Dwayne Wade (Athlete), Harrison Ford (Actor), Hillary Clinton (Former First Lady), Michelle Obama (Former First Lady), Robin Williams (Actor) and Walt Disney (Founder), just to name a few.
• Movies to Inspire You: A League of Their Own (1992),  Contagion (2011), Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), Lucas (1998) and Man of Steel (2013), just to name a few.
• Novels Set in Illinois: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (written by Mark Twain) and The House on Mango Street (written by Sandra Cisneros), just to name a few.

Dwight, IL. Photo Credit: Jorge Segovia/Unsplash 

Good to Know

• Chicago is a hub for Amtrak Trains connecting passengers to the Northeast, South and West Coast.
• Route 66 starts in Chicago (ends in Santa Monica, CA).
• Foliage Season starts around the last two weeks in September and last until the last two weeks of October.

Subject to heat waves, winds, snow storms and tornadoes.

• Best Time to Visit: May - October
• Coldest Month: January
• Hottest Months: July
• Peak Season: June - August

The Bean (Cloud Gate), Chicago, IL. Photo Credit: Rick Lobes/Pixabay

Search Results

Web resultsThe Bean (Cloud Gate) in Chicago

Photo Credit: Rick Lobes/Pixabay 

Your Must-See & Do

• Historical Sites: 1820 Colonel Benjamin Stephenson House, Adlai E Stevenson Historic Home, Albany Mounds State Historic Site, American Airlines Flight 191 Crash Site, Apple River Fort State Historic Site, Beattie Park Mound Group Historic Site, Bernard Stuve House, Bieker-Wilson Village Archaeological Site, Buel House State Historic Site, Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, Carthage Jail, Cattle Bank, Charles A Lindbergh Historical Marker,  Clayville Town Historic Site, Corbin Farm Site, Douglas Tomb State Historic Site, Fort de Chartres State Historic Site, Fort Kaskaskia State Historic Site, Frederick C. Robie House, Grand Village of the Kickapoo Historic Site, Griggsville Landing Lime Kiln Historic Site,Halfway Tavern State Historic Site, Ida B Wells-Barnett House, Illinois Iron Furnace National Historic Site, Jarrot Mansion, John Deere Historic Site, Joliet Iron Works Historic Site, Joseph & Emma Smith Mansion House, Joseph Smith Historic Site, Kaskaskia Bell State Historic Site, Kincaid Mounds State Historic Site, Kolmer Site, Lewis & Clark State Historic Site, Lincoln’s First Illinois Home State Historic Site, Lincoln Home National Historic Site, Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site, Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site, Marquette Building, Martin-Boismenue House State Historic Site, Modoc Rock Shelter National Historic Site, Nike Missile Site C-44, Nike Missile Control Site C-72, Morrow Plots, Old Fort Dearborn, Olof Johnson House, Pierre Menard Home State Historic Site, Scott Joplin House State Historic Site, Sinnissippi Mounds Historic Site, Stephen Wright House, Ulysses S Grant Home and Virgil Hickox House.
• Museums: Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum & Library, Adler Planetarium, American Writers Museum, Bethel School, Block Museum of Art, Champaign County History Museum, Chicago Children's Museum, Chicago History Museum, Curiosity Museum, David Davis Mansion, Dickson Mounds State Museum, Dillon Home Museum, DuPage Children's Museum, DuSable Museum of African American History, Elgin History Museum, Field Museum, Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio, Great Western Railroad Museum, Henry Thomas Museum, Hieronymus Mueller Museum, 
  Historic Auto Attractions, Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, Illinois Rural Heritage Museum, Illinois State Military Museum, 
  Illinois State Museum, International Museum of Surgical Science, Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, John C Flanagan House Museum, Krannert Art Museum, La Salle County Historical Museum, Lincoln Heritage Museum, Livingston County War Museum, Loyola University Museum of Art (LUMA), McHenry County Historical Society, McLean County Museum of History, Monticello Railway Museum, Museum Of Contemporary Art Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Museum Of The Gilding Arts, Museum of Science & Industry, National Museum of Mexican Art, National Veterans Art Museum, Norsk Museum, Northern Illinois Fire Museum, O'Fallon Historical Museum, Oriental Institute Museum, Orpheum Children's Science Museum, Pearson Museum, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Peoria Riverfront Museum, Pettengill-Morron House Museum, Poos Museum, Ronald Reagan Museum, Route 66 Association of Illinois, SciTech Hands On Museum, Smart Museum of Art, Spurlock Museum, Sunderlage House, Super Museum, Swedish American Museum, Telephone Museum of Gridley, The Art Institute of Chicago, The Pullman Park National Monument, The Richard H Driehaus Museum, The Staley Museum,  Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum & Gardens, Vachel Lindsay Home, Vermilion County Museum, Western Illinois Museum, Wheels O' Time Museum and William Tanner House Museum. 
• Popular Attractions: Adler Planetarium Skyline Walk, Aikman Wildlife Adventure, Air Combat Museum, Allen Miller House, Alta Vista Terrace Historic District, American Toby Jug Museum, Anderson Japanese Gardens, Atomic Cannon, Bahá'í House of Worship, Big Pencil, Broadway National Historic District, Brookfield Zoo, Cairo's Historic Park DIstrict, Cantigny Park, Caterpillar Visitors Center, Chicago Botanic Garden, Chicago Riverwalk, Cloud Gate, Colonel Davenport Historical House, Crown Fountain, Dana Thomas House, Evergreen Memorial Cemetery, Fountain of Time, Garden of the Gods, Garfield Park Gold Dome Field House, Gemini Giant, Glen Oak Park, Glessner House, Goofy Ridge, Grady's Family Fun Park, Great Salt Springs, Great Wolf Lodge Water Park, Grosse Point Lighthouse, Gurnee Mills, Haymarket Martyrs' Monument, Horseshoe Mound Preserve, Illinois Iron Furnace, Illinois Fallen Firefighters Memorial, 
  illinois Governor's Mansion, Jeremiah Strawn House, Kane County Flea Market, Kaskaskia Dragon, Knight's Action Park, Lake Michigan, Lincoln Park, Leaning Tower of Niles, Lincoln Memorial Garden & Nature Center, Lower Dells Waterfall, Matthiessen State Park, Michael Klunk Farmstead, Millennium Park, National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, Nauvoo Groves, Nauvoo Historic District, Navy Pier, Orson Rogers House, Owen Lovejoy House, Oz Park, Peoria Holocaust Memorial, Peoria Zoo, Pleasant Home, Pontiac Canyon, Postville Courthouse, Pullman National Monument, Purple Martin Highrise of the Purple Martin Capital of the Nation, Miller Park Zoo, Raging Waves Waterpark, Railsplitter Covered Wagon, Red Covered Bridge, Richard Pryor Statue by Preston Jackson, Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home, Sand Ridge State Forest, Sandwich Antiques Market, Scovill Zoo, Shawnee National Forest, Shawneetown Bank, Shedd Aquarium, Six Flags Great America, Skydeck Chicago, S.S. Eastland Memorial, Solomon Allen Barn, Splash Country, Standard Oil Gas Station, Starved Rock State Park, 
  St Clair County Historical Society, Superman Statue, The Art Institute of Chicago, The Gardens at SIUE, The Mill, The Morton Arboretum, The Water Works Indoor Water Park, Tribune Tower, Tunnel Hill State Trail, Two Story Outhouse, Union Stockyards Gate, Washington Park Botanical Garden, 
  Waukegan Harbor Light, Webb Brothers Blacksmith Shop, Weber House & Garden, Westclox Museum, Wild Bill Hickok Memorial, Wilford Woodruff Home, World's Largest Knitting Needles & Crochet Hook, World's Largest Catsup Bottle, World's Largest Mailbox, World's Largest Wind Chime, 
  Wrigley Field, World's Largest Pitchfork, World's Largest Rocking Chair, LEGOLAND Discovery Center Chicago, Nicholas Conservatory & Gardens, and Old Joliet Prison. 
• Popular Cities/Towns to Visit: Aurora, Champaign, Chicago, Elgin, Galena, Geneva, Joliet, Lisle, Naperville, Oglesby, Peoria, Rockford, Sandwich and Waukegan. 
• Special Events: (March)  Joseph Jefferson Award, Illinois State Bar Association High School Mock Trial Invitational, The Fest for Beatles Fans, (April) Chicago Rose of Tralee, (May) Anime Central (ACen), HerrinFesta Italiana, International Mister Leather (IML), Lake of Egypt Paddle Fest, Lilac Time, Summer Camp Music Festival ,  (June) Edwardsville Route 66 Festival, Grant Park Music Festival , Great Galena Balloon Race Weekend, Lisle Eyes to the Skies, Long Grove Strawberry Festival, Macon County Fair, Metropolis SuperCon, Miss Illinois' Outstanding Teen, People's Summit, Ravinia Festival, Superman Celebration,  (July) Anime Midwest, Bughouse Square Debates, Cornerstone Festival , North Michigan Avenue Art Festival, Pitchfork Music Festival, Ruido Fest, Taste of Chicago,  (August) Chicago Air & Water Show, Cobden Peach Festival, Decatur Celebration Great River Tug Fest, Illinois State Fair,  Lollapalooza, Northwest Illinois Film Festival ,  US National Straw Sculpting Competition, (September) Chicago Jazz Festival, Festival of the Vine, Jazz Weekend, Mississippi Earthtones Festival, Murphysboro Apple Festival, Old Fashioned Pumpkin Festival, On the Waterfront, Popeye Parade & Picnic, Shoe Fest, Shrimp Festival, Springfield Mile, Three Dog Night, Viva! Chicago Latin Music Festival, World Music Festival Chicago, (October) Chicago International Film Festival, Galena Oktoberfest, Halloween Parade & Festival, Open House Chicago (OHC), Redneck Fishing Tournament, Sycamore Pumpkin Festival, Vulture Fest, (November) Chicago Thanksgiving Parade, Festival of Lights, HolyBoulders Bouldering Competition and Turkey Testicle Festival.
• UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Cahokia

Lincoln Home, Springfield, IL. Photo Credit: Yinan Chen/Pixabay 

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