Illinois is located in the Midwest of the United States. While Springfield is the capital, Chicago is the largest city in Illinois and the third largest city in the nation. It is a major industrial center and transportation hub. Operated since 1892, Chicago's rapid transit system, also called the Chicago "L", is the second-oldest in the United States, the oldest being that of New York City. Due to the construction of the Home Insurance Building in 1885 with the first steel frame, Chicago is also considered the birthplace of skyscrapers, and the 1,451-foot (442.3 m) Willis Tower, recognizable by its two large antennas, was the world's tallest building from 1974 to 1998.

In the pre-Columbian era, Cahokia was the largest urban center of the Mississippian culture. The advanced civilization that developed there built the Cahokia Mounds, which are designated both a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a National Historic Landmark. After the decline of civilization in the 15th century, 12 native tribes founded the Illinois Confederacy, from which the French missionaries derived the state's current name.

As a result of the Seven Years' War, the French ceded Illinois to the British in 1763. After the American Revolutionary War, it was integrated into the Northwest Territory, established in 1787. Illinois was admitted to the Union as the 21^st state in 1818. Because President Abraham Lincoln lived in Illinois and served as its representative in the U.S. Congress, the state is also called the “Land of Lincoln.” The state motto is “State Sovereignty, National Union”.

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