Illinois is the 21st state admitted to the United States of the America, is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern state and the fifth most populous state in the nation. State of the north central United States. It was admitted as the 21st state in 1818. Area was explored by the French in the late 1600s, ceded by the France to the British in the 1763 and ceded by them to the newly formed United States in 1783.



Springfield is the capital and Chicago the largest city. Population of Illinois 12,900,000. Mississippi River forms the state's western boundary, the Ohio River and Wabash River form its southeastern border and the Illinois River traverses the state, Lake Michigan lies to the northeast. Located on its northeastern border is Chicago, the nation's third largest city. A long growing season make Illinois an important agricultural state. It consistently ranks among the top states in the production of the corn and soybeans. Hogs and cattle are also principal sources of farm income.

Other main major crops include hay, wheat and sorghum. Beneath the fertile topsoil lies mineral wealth, including the fluorspar, bituminous coal and oil. Illinois ranks highly other states in the production of coal and its reserves are greater than the any other state east of the Rocky Mts. Agricultural and mineral resources with its excellent lines of communication and transportation, made the Illinois industrial.
Illinois manufactures include the electrical and nonelectrical machinery, food products, fabricated and the primary metal products and chemicals, printed and the other published materials. In Illinois the Catholics and Protestants are the largest religious groups. Roman Catholics are heavily concentrated in and around Chicago, account for 30% of the population. Chicago and its suburbs are also home to a large and growing population of Hindus, Jews, Muslims and Sikhs.

Illinois's agricultural are corn, soybeans, hogs, cattle, dairy products and wheat. Illinois is the leading state for the production of soybeans, with a harvest of 500 million bushels in 2004. Illinois is ranked second in total corn production. Illinois universities are actively researching agricultural products as a crops. The Illinois is a leading refiner of the petroleum in the American Midwest, with a combined crude oil distillation capacity of nearly 900,000 barrels per day.

Illinois is ranked 13th in the oil production among states, with a daily output of approximately 29,000 barrels. In Illinois the Chicago Pile 1, the world's first artificial self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction in the world's first nuclear reactor, built on the University of Chicago campus. Six major nuclear power plants Braidwood, Byron, Clinton, Dresden, LaSalle, and Quad Cities.