state, United States
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Also known as: Prairie State
Illinois state seal
Seal of Illinois
The cardinal is the state bird of Illinois.
The cardinal is the state bird of Illinois.
The purple violet is the state flower of Illinois.
The purple violet is the state flower of Illinois.
Capital:
Springfield
Population:
(2020) 12,812,508; (2022 est.) 12,582,032
Governor:
J.B. Pritzker (Democrat)
Date Of Admission:
December 3, 1818
U.S. Senators:
Dick Durbin (Democrat) Tammy Duckworth (Democrat)

Illinois, constituent state of the United States of America. It stretches southward 385 miles (620 km) from the Wisconsin border in the north to Cairo in the south. In addition to Wisconsin, the state borders Lake Michigan to the northeast, Indiana to the east, Kentucky to the southeast, Missouri to the west, and Iowa to the northwest. Illinois was named for the Illinois Indians. The capital is Springfield, in the west-central part of the state. Admitted as the 21st member of the union on December 3, 1818, Illinois lies within both the so-called old industrial belt and the fertile agricultural ...(100 of 6015 words)