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Illinois Real Estate
written by
Judy Orr
Illinois has a total population of 12,419,293 and its land area is 56,400 square miles, making it the 24th largest state. Illinois is referred to as The Prairie State and the state motto is "The Land of Lincoln." It is commonly known as a Midwest State but the U.S. Census Bureau refers to its location as being in the East North Central States. Illinois is also one of the Great Lakes States since it shares the shores of Lake Michigan. Illinois borders Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri and Wisconsin .
There are four definite seasons in the state (although on certain days you can get all four seasons in a 24 hour period)! Summer extremes can hit the low 100's and winters can be extreme with freezing weather and heavy snow storms. Illinois also has tornados and has had many earthquakes. In fact, one was felt in the Chicago area in 2004, originating in Oswego. Seriously damaging earthquakes occur about 70-90 years in Illinois and minor damages happen about every 20 years. However, Illinois does have about one earthquake a year.
Illinois became the 21st state in 1818, but its first town, Cahokia , was founded in 1699. The capital, Springfield, was formed in 1839, but was not the original capital city. There were two prior to Springfield, first was Kaskashia located on the southwest border and second was Vandalia, located a bit north and central of Kaskashia.
Springfield is located about 200 miles from Illinois' largest city, Chicago, which holds much of Illinois' modern and better known history. Chicago has a total population of 2,896,016 and is the third largest city in the United States.
In 1871 The Great Chicago Fire started, blamed on a cow from the O'Leary farm. The true origins of the fire were never actually discovered although Chicago was carelessly built and managed at the time with piles of wood strewn about the city. Although the city was rebuilt to be bigger and better it was quite a politically charged time and Chicago suffered another fire during this time which wiped out fifty acres and over 800 buildings!
A lighter note in Chicago, IL history is the 1938 World's Fair, actually titled the Columbian Exposition. People today don't realize that this event influenced the emergence of modern America. The fair introduced Cream of Wheat, Shredded Wheat, Pabst Beer, Aunt Jemima Syrup, Juicy Fruit Gum, picture postcards, carbonated soda and hamburgers. It influenced other forms of culture and entertainment including carnivals, theme and amusement parks (Coney Island and Disneyland, to name a couple), having children recite The Pledge of Allegiance at school and even inspired L. Frank Baum to write The Wizard of Oz! Columbus Day was a national holiday created because of the exposition.
Chicago also has its own gangster history with one of our famous residents, Al Capone and The St. Valentine Day's Massacre of 1929. Other notable modern Chicago, Illinois history is that in 1992 Carol Moseley Braun became the first black woman in the Senate and in 1998 The Chicago Bulls won their sixth NBA championship.
One of Illinois' most popular figures is, of course, our 16 th President, Abraham Lincoln. He was the first president to be assassinated and The Civil War began just one month after he was inaugurated. He was born in Kentucky and grew up in Indiana. He is buried in Springfield and The Lincoln Memorial is located in Washington , D.C. His family home is located in Springfield and is open to the public. He resided in it for 17 years (prior to relocating to Washington , D.C.) and paid $300 for the lot and $1,200 for the home.
This list of famous people of Illinois would surprise many and include Cindy Crawford, John and Joan Cusack, Walt Disney, Harrison Ford, Ernest Hemingway, Rock Hudson, Quincy Jones, Bill Murray, Bob Newhart, Richard Pryor, Ronald Reagan, Gary Sinise and Raquel Welch, just to name a few. Famous alums of Chicago 's Second City include Joan Rivers (1961), Fred Willard (1965), Peter Boyle (1967), John Belushi (1971), John Candy and Bill Murray (1973), Dan Aykroyd, Eugene Levy and Gilda Radner (1974), George Wendt (1975), Shelley Long (1976), Jim Belushi (1978), Mike Myers (1988), Chris Farley (1989), and Tina Fey (1996).
There have been references to the Midwest states as being behind-the-times compared to the East and West coast areas, but after reading some of the facts and history of Illinois I'm sure you will disagree with this myth.
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