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Illinois: Illinois State
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Central Illinois is noted for shrines and memorials associated with the life of Abraham Lincoln. In Springfield are the Lincoln Home, the Lincoln Tomb, and the restored Old State Capitol. Other points of interest are the home of Mormon leader Joseph Smith in Nauvoo and, in Chicago: the Art Institute, Field Museum, Museum of Science and Industry, Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium, Merchandise Mart, and Chicago Portage National Historic Site.
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By 2000 Illinois's population had grown to 12,419,293, an expansion of 8.64 percent over 1990, but an increase that lagged the national growth rate of 13.1 percent. The state's Hispanic population grew by nearly 70 percent in the 1990s and comprised 12.3 percent of the population in 2000; African Americans comprised 15.1 percent of the total. All the population growth occurred in the northern part of the state. In 2000, 17.5 percent of the state's children lived in poverty despite Illinois's renewed prosperity. Political power in Illinois, still balanced between Republicans and Democrats, was located in three district geographic segments: Chicago, "downstate," and the "collar counties," comprised of sprawling suburbs and expanding cities surrounding the great metropolis. From 1977 and into the opening years of the twenty-first century, the Republicans held the governor's office, including during the four terms (1977–1991) of James "Big Jim" Thompson, a popular moderate Republican who managed to forge compromises with a legislature usually controlled by Democrats.
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To understand why the institution remained in existence for such a long period of time, the patterns of migration which brought the vast majority of European settlers to Illinois must be understood. The great majority of the residents of the state who arrived before statehood in 1818 came from slave-holding states located below the Ohio River. These settlers were accustomed to and comfortable with the terms of the institution of human slavery. Therefore, there was no attempt or even a thought to abolish slavery before the territory became a state. Those who held slaves and brought them to Illinois favored and encouraged the system while the majority of those people without slaves tolerated the system. In fact, during territorial days, the issue did not become a vital question of subject of controversy for the citizens living within the future borders of Illinois.
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During the American Civil War, over 250,000 Illinois men served in the Union Army, more than any other northern state except New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Beginning with President Lincoln's first call for troops and continuing throughout the war, Illinois mustered 150 infantry regiments, which were numbered from the 7th to the 156th regiments. Seventeen cavalry regiments were ... gathered, as well as two light artillery regiments.[29]
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Adlai E. Stevenson, governor of Illinois from 1949 to 1953, achieved national prominence in winning the Democratic presidential nomination in 1952 and 1956. Also during the 1950s the “gateway amendment†to the Illinois constitution simplified the state's constitutional amendment process. In 1970, Illinois adopted a new state constitution that, among other reforms, banned discrimination in employment and housing.
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Illinois is a leading refiner of petroleum in the American Midwest, with a combined crude oil distillation capacity of nearly 0.9 million barrels per day. However, Illinois has very limited crude oil proved reserves that account for less than 1% of U.S. crude oil proved reserves. Residential heating is 81% natural gas compared to less than 1% heating oil. Illinois is ranked 14th in oil production among states, with a daily output of approximately 28,000 barrels in 2005.[46]
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Illinois State