Up with U.S. Geography: Illinois

State Name:
Illinois

Capital:
Springfield

Date of Entry:
December 3, 1818

Maps:

Map of USA. Illinois outlined in dark ink & with
its name written on it.

A close-up of Illinois & its neighbors.

Neighbors:
Wisconsin, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Iowa

Water Borders:
Mississippi River, Lake Michigan, Wabash River, Ohio River

Total Area:
57,914 square miles

Five Largest Cities:
Chicago, Aurora, Rockford, Joliet, Naperville

Famous Geographical Point:
Shawnee National Forest

State Nickname:
The Prairie State. At one point in time, Illinois had one of the most abundant prairie lands in the U.S. No longer, due to humans, although restoration work is underway in many areas. I learned all about this at Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum.

Famous Person:
Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., early pioneer of Broadway (creator of the wildly popular Ziegfeld Follies)

Book Set In/About:
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

This non-fiction book knits together the story of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with that of H.H. Holmes, the serial killer who used the fair to lure unsuspecting victims into his house of horrors. Despite my interest in world's fairs & serial killers, and my love for Larson as a writer, this isn't my favorite book of his, but everyone else I know thinks it's great.

Movie Set In/About:
"Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (1986), directed by John Hughes

In this comedy, a teenager goes to great lengths to skip school with his friends & have fun without getting caught. Really, though, it's a loving ode to the city of Chicago.

Headline of the Day:
"Illinois House Set to Vote on Governor's Budget Vetoes" in U.S. News & World Report.