Illinois

"Illinois

Capital	Springfield
Nickname	The Prairie State
Official Language	English
Governor	Rod Blagojevich, D
Senator	Barack Obama, D {{{s1phone}}} [{{{s1email}}}]
Senator	Richard Durbin, D {{{s2phone}}} [{{{s2email }}}]
Ratification of Constitution/or statehood	December 3, 1818 (21st)
	Motto: "State" Sovereignty; National Union"

Illinois was the twenty-first state to enter into the union. Its capital is Springfield, and the largest city is Chicago. Illinois is bordered by Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Iowa, and Wisconsin.

Politics

Illinois can be viewed as having a more liberal concentration in the northeastern portion of the state. This is often attributed to the large metropolitan area surrounding Chicago. In contrast, the southern and western portions of the state are typically more conservative. The state capitol is Springfield, and there is political tension about state lawmakers who spend too much of their time in either Chicago, Champaign-Urbana, or Springfield.

The population distribution has led Illinois to lean politically to the left in most recent non-local elections. Many consider Illinois to be a liberal stronghold, especially in regard to presidential elections.

Currently, Illinois has a Democratic governor, Rod Blagojevich, but has elected Republican governors in the recent past, such as George Ryan, who controversially emptied the state's death row after an investigation by Northwestern University law students proved that one death row inmate was innocent. Critics charged that he only did so to gain sympathy because he was about to be tried for corruption and selling commercial driver's licenses when he was the Illinois Secretary of State.

Elected Officials

• Sen. Richard Durbin
• Sen. Barack Obama