Published: December 03, 2008 10:30 am            

Our View: Happy Birthday, Illinois

Illinois as a state turns 190 today. It was on this date in 1818 that Illinois became the 21st state to enter the union.

Some interesting notations on our home state, courtesy of the state government Web site:

The name “Illinois” comes from a Native American word meaning “tribe of superior men.”

At the time of its statehood, Illinois had a population of just 34,620 people. The state is now the sixth most populous state in the country with nearly 11.5 million people calling Illinois home.

The “Prairie State” and “Land of Lincoln” is home to the nation’s third-largest city in Chicago and ranks third in the country in the number of interstate highway miles.

Not only does Illinois claim Abraham Lincoln among its most famous sons, but President Ulysses S. Grant’s home is preserved in Galena.

Happy 190th, Illinois.

        

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