Illinois

The Prairie State

Illinois sits at an important crossroads of America, connecting the Great Lakes, Mississippi River, rich prairie farmland, historic transportation routes, manufacturing centers, and one of the nation's largest cities. Indigenous peoples lived throughout the region for thousands of years before French exploration and settlement began. Illinois became the 21st state in 1818, and its fertile soil helped agriculture become a major part of its economy. The arrival of canals and railroads turned the state into a transportation powerhouse, while Chicago's location on Lake Michigan helped it grow into one of America's greatest centers of commerce, architecture, manufacturing, food, music, transportation, and culture. Cities such as Springfield, Peoria, Rockford, Champaign, and East St. Louis contributed through government, industry, education, agriculture, and transportation. Illinois is closely associated with corn and soybean production, but its economy has long included finance, manufacturing, technology, logistics, healthcare, and professional services. Chicago's skyline, Lake Michigan shoreline, Route 66 history, Mississippi River communities, and vast agricultural landscapes reveal the state's many personalities. Illinois represents the meeting point between rural America and the big city, where farms, factories, railroads, highways, waterways, neighborhoods, and generations of newcomers have all helped build the American Midwest.

I've been there.
I know that place.
Illinois is part of my story.

ILLINOIS
The Prairie StateExplore the places. Learn their stories. Remember the journey.

MILEAMERICA
Wear the Journey.