Higher Education  

In the state of Illinois there are over fifty colleges and universities, as well as over fifty community colleges. The state-supported University of Illinois, with campuses in Chicago and in Champaign-Urbana, is the largest university in the state. Other state-supported institutions include Northern Illinois University, at DeKalb; Southern Illinois University, at Carbondale and Edwardsville; Western Illinois University, at Macomb; Eastern Illinois University, at Charleston; Northeastern Illinois University, at Chicago; and Illinois State University, at Normal. Private institutions include the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Lake Forest College, Loyola University, DePaul University, Illinois Institute of Technology, and Mundelein College. Other leading educational institutions are National College of Education,  Columbia College, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Geography

With an area of 146,082 square kilometers, Illinois is twenty-fourth in size among the states. The state can be divided into three main regions: the Central Plains, the Shawnee Hills, and the Gulf Coastal Plain. Covering ninety percent of the state, the Central Plains encompasses the Great Lakes Plain in the northeast corner of the state, the Till Plains in the central part of the state, and the Driftless Area in the northwest corner of the state. The Shawnee Hills, in the southern part of the state, are a band of valleys, forested hills, woods, and river bluffs. The Gulf Coastal Plain is located at the southernmost tip of Illinois. Lake Michigan's shoreline forms the northeast border of the state. Major rivers running through the state include the Mississippi River, the Chicago River, the Des Plaines River, the Illinois River, and the Wabash River. The state's largest cities are Chicago, Rockford, Peoria, Springfield (capital), and Aurora. Approximately 11.5 million people reside in Illinois.

Climate

Climatic variation is the norm in Illinois, which has no mountains to block warm or cold winds that can sweep into the state from any direction. Southern Illinois generally has milder winters and warmer summers than northern Illinois. January temperatures average around 2° C in the south and around -4° C in the north. In July, the average temperature is 26° C in the south and 25° C in the north. Although the north receives heavier snowfall, the average annual precipitation is greater in the south.

Cultural Profile

Chicago is home to many fine museums and other educational attractions, including the Museum of Science and Industry, the Adler Planetarium, the Field Museum of Natural History, the John G. Shedd Aquarium, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Chicago Historical Society Museum, the Du Sable Museum of African American History, and the Oriental Institute Museum. Other museums in the state are the Terra Museum of American Art, in Evanston; the Illinois State Museum, in Springfield; and the Hauberg Indian Museum, in Rock Island.

Performing arts organizations based in Chicago include the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Lyric Opera, the Chicago City Ballet, the Hubbard Street Dance Company, the Chicago Repertory Dance Ensemble, the Joseph Holmes Dance Theater, the Goodman Theater, Steppenwolf, Wisdom Bridge, and Second City Theatre.

Recreation

Illinois has seventy-two state parks, four state forests, ninety-nine nature preserves, and thirty-nine conservation areas. Shawnee National Forest, covering 105,222 hectares in the southernmost part of the state, is one of the most beautiful areas in all of Illinois. Popular outdoor activities include fishing, boating, swimming, hunting, camping, and hiking. Illinois has two major zoos  Brookfield Zoo and Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo.

Interesting Facts

In 1887, the game of softball was invented in Chicago. The original Ferris Wheel was built for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago  it was so large that two thousand people could ride on it at the same time. The Sears Tower, the tallest buildings in the USA, was completed in Chicago in 1973. Some famous Illinoisans are Carl Sandburg (writer), Ernest Hemingway (writer), Jack Benny (radio and television comedian), Gwendolyn Brooks (poet), Walt Disney (innovative animator and creator of Disneyland), and Ronald Reagan (fortieth president of the United States).