Illinois was part of the United States' oldest territory, the Northwest Territory, and in 1818 it achieved statehood. independence in 1783, American settlers began arriving from Kentucky via the Ohio River, and the population grew from south to north.

The French were the first Europeans to arrive, settling near the Mississippi River in the 17th century in the region they called Illinois Country, as part of the sprawling colony of New France. What is now Illinois was inhabited for thousands of years by various indigenous cultures, including the advanced civilization centered in the Cahokia region. Illinois has long been considered a microcosm of the United States and a bellwether in American culture, exemplified by the phrase Will it play in Peoria?. Chicago has been the nation's railroad hub since the 1860s, and its O'Hare International Airport has been among the world's busiest airports for decades. Additionally, the Mississippi, Ohio, and Wabash rivers form parts of the state's boundaries. Owing to its central location and favorable geography, the state is a major transportation hub: the Port of Chicago has access to the Atlantic Ocean through the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Seaway and to the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi River via the Illinois Waterway. Illinois has a highly diverse economy, with the global city of Chicago in the northeast, major industrial and agricultural hubs in the north and center, and natural resources such as coal, timber, and petroleum in the south. states, Illinois has the fifth-largest gross domestic product (GDP), the sixth-largest population, and the 25th-largest land area. Other metropolitan areas include Peoria and Rockford, as well as Springfield, its capital, and Champaign-Urbana, home to the main campus of the state's flagship university. Its largest metropolitan areas are Chicago and the Metro East region of Greater St.

The Great Lakes are to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Ohio River to its south. Illinois ( / ˌ ɪ l ɪ ˈ n ɔɪ/ ⓘ IL-in- OY) is a state in the Midwestern United States.

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