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Wikipedia portal for content related to Illinois
The Illinois Portal
The flag of Illinois, for your viewing pleasure.
Illinois (/ˌɪlɪˈnɔɪ/ ⓘ IL-ih-NOY). It's a state, if you insist on labels, wedged into the Midwestern region of the United States. It has the dubious honor of bordering Lake Michigan to its northeast, the relentless Mississippi River to its west, and the less famous but equally wet Wabash and Ohio rivers to its south. Among the fifty states vying for attention, Illinois boasts the fifth-largest gross domestic product (GDP), the sixth-largest population, and is the 25th-most expansive in land area, making it impressively average in size. Its capital is Springfield, a city centrally located for maximum inconvenience, while its largest urban sprawl, Chicago, looms in the northeast.
Long before it was a state, this land was home to various Indigenous cultures for millennia. The French were the first Europeans to wander in, establishing settlements near the Mississippi and Illinois rivers during the 17th century. This area, known as the Illinois Country, was just one piece of their vast colonial puzzle, New France. A century later, the revolutionary war’s Illinois campaign served as a bloody prelude to American dominance in the region. After the U.S. achieved independence in 1783, a treaty that conveniently made the Mississippi River the new national boundary, American settlers began to trickle in from Kentucky by way of the Ohio River. Illinois was subsequently absorbed into the nation's first organized territory, the Northwest Territory, and by 1818, it had graduated to statehood.
The construction of the Erie Canal unleashed a wave of commercial activity across the Great Lakes. Then, Illinoisan John Deere invented the self-scouring steel plow, an innovation that brutally tamed the state's rich prairie, transforming it into some of the most productive—and therefore valuable—farmland on the planet. This agricultural gold rush attracted immigrant farmers from Germany, Sweden, and other places they were keen to leave. By the mid-19th century, the Illinois and Michigan Canal and an ever-expanding web of railroads cemented the state's role as a national transportation hub. This was especially true for Chicago, which, by the late 1800s, was metastasizing at a rate that made it the world's fastest-growing city. By 1900, the siren call of industrial jobs in the northern cities and coal mining in the central and southern regions drew waves of immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe. Illinois became an industrial titan and, to this day, remains a significant manufacturing center. The Great Migration from the South brought a large Black community, especially to Chicago, which evolved into a cultural and economic powerhouse. Its sprawling metropolitan area, known informally and with grim acceptance as Chicagoland, now contains roughly 65% of the state's 12.8 million residents.
Illinois is home to two World Heritage Sites: the ancient, haunting Cahokia Mounds and a piece of the Frank Lloyd Wright architectural collection. A commendable number of protected areas exist, all attempting to preserve what's left of the state's natural and cultural resources. It also houses major centers of learning like the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois, and Northwestern University, where people go to become smarter and, ideally, less annoying.
Three U.S. presidents were residents of Illinois when elected: Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and Barack Obama. In a slightly different category, Ronald Reagan was born and raised here before finding his political fortunes in California. The state clings to Lincoln's legacy with its official slogan, "Land of Lincoln." It hosts the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield and is the designated future home of the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, ensuring its presidential history remains a viable tourist draw.
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Selected article
The 2015 Rochelle–Fairdale tornado was a particularly violent and long-lived tornado that decided to rearrange the communities near Rochelle and in Fairdale, Illinois on the evening of April 9, 2015. It was the star of a larger severe weather event tormenting the Central United States. The tornado made its grand entrance in Lee County at 6:39 p.m. CDT (22:39 UTC). It then carved a path of destruction through Ogle, DeKalb, and Boone counties before finally exhausting itself at 7:20 p.m. CDT. Along its 30.14 mi (48.51 km) journey, it obliterated numerous structures, showing a particular disregard for the small town of Fairdale, where it left two dead and eleven injured. Some well-built homes were not merely damaged but swept from their foundations entirely, a testament to peak winds approaching 200 mph (320 km/h)—the calling card of an upper-echelon EF4 tornado. In the aftermath, hundreds of people emerged to assist with the cleanup, a brief, poignant moment of community in the face of nature's casual indifference. The economic toll was tallied at $19 million (2015 USD), a paltry sum for such a dramatic display. (Read more...)
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Selected biography
Ann Bannon in 1983.
Ann Bannon is an American author who, between 1957 and 1962, penned a series of six lesbian pulp fiction novels collectively known as The Beebo Brinker Chronicles. In an era when such stories were rare and almost universally tragic, Bannon’s books were a phenomenon. They were not only popular upon release but have demonstrated a startling longevity for a genre designed to be disposable, having been reprinted in multiple editions and translated into several languages. This enduring legacy, along with her unforgettable characters, earned her the title "Queen of Lesbian Pulp Fiction." At a time when literary depictions of lesbians were either nonexistent or drenched in misery, Bannon’s work stood apart. She has been described as "the premier fictional representation of US lesbian life in the fifties and sixties," and it's said her books "rest on the bookshelf of nearly every even faintly literate Lesbian." A quiet rebellion in paperback form. (Read more...)
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Did you know...
...a few things you almost certainly did not know, nor had any reason to?
- ... that the Chicago River flows backwards? A feat of engineering accomplished because it was easier than getting people to stop dumping things in it.
- ... that students at Aptakisic Junior High School routinely complain about inadequate HVAC systems? A truly shocking revelation about public school infrastructure.
- ... that while Olga Hartman considered her basic research on marine worms to be without practical value, it was later applied to experimental studies of oysters? A lesson in the universe's sense of irony.
- ... that Jack Washburn was dubbed "Cinderella Boy" for landing a starring role in his first Broadway show? One assumes he didn't have to be home by midnight.
- ... that four course records were shattered during the 2023 Chicago Marathon (women's winner pictured)? Apparently, a lot of people were in a hurry to finish.
- ... that the restaurant CosMc's is named after a character from McDonaldland? Because recycling intellectual property from the 1980s is the pinnacle of modern creativity.
- ... that Salty Parker, who dedicated 60 years to organized baseball, called his lifelong passion for the game "a beautiful disease"? A surprisingly accurate description for most obsessions.
- ... that authorities concluded the killing of Wadea al-Fayoume in Illinois was a direct response to the 2023 Israel–Hamas war? A grim reminder that global conflicts have long, ugly arms.
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Selected images
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Image 1: A map of the Multilevel streets in Chicago. An urban planner's dream and a tourist's nightmare. Image credit: User:SPUI (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 2: The Campana Factory in Batavia. Erected in 1936 to produce hand lotion for a nation weathering the Great Depression, its Streamline Moderne and Bauhaus design by Frank D. Chase was packed with novelties like air conditioning. Photo credit: User:MrPanyGoff (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 3: A poster for the Century of Progress World's Fair, showcasing exhibition buildings and boats. A monument to a time when people still believed in "progress." Image credit: Weimer Pursell (artist); Neely Printing Co., Chicago (silkscreen print); Jujutacular (digital retouching) (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 4: The Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield. Built for a reverend in 1839, it was bought by Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln in 1844. They later added a second story, presumably for more space to worry. Photo credit: Daniel Schwen (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 5: Architectural flourishes on Altgeld Hall at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. Designed by professors Nathan Ricker and James McLaren White, it's one of Altgeld's castles. Image credit: Kevin Dooley (photographer), Smallbones (upload) (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 6: A mural by Chicago artist Louis Grell inside the Springfield Amtrak station. It features a Lincoln quote, a map of the post-1947 Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad, and the seals of the seven states the railroad served. Image credit: Louis Grell (painter), RI-Bill (photographer) (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 7: A photograph of Jane Addams—suffragette, social worker, philosopher, and Nobel Peace Prize winner—from 1924 or 1926. She looks tired. One can only imagine why. Image credit: Bain News Service (photograph), Adam Cuerden (restoration) (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 8: Downtown Chicago and Lake Michigan, as seen from the Willis Tower. A city of steel and glass staring into a vast, indifferent body of water. Photo credit: Adrian104 (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 9: A grain mill owned by Bunge Lauhoff in downtown Danville. This facility was built in 1947 and has been looming over the town ever since. Photo credit: Daniel Schwen (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 10: The Garden of the Gods in Shawnee National Forest. Here, the unglaciated gray sandstone offers a more rugged landscape than the state's typical crushing flatness. Photo credit: Daniel Schwen (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 11: An 1894 lithograph advertising the CH&D Railway, depicting the inside of a Pullman dining car. A Pullman porter serves two men, a scene of manufactured civility. Image credit: Strobridge & Co. (lithographers), Library of Congress (digital file), Mu (upload) (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 12: A 1941 photograph capturing the labyrinthine chaos of livestock pens and walkways at the Union Stock Yards, Chicago. The smell does not translate. Image credit: John Vachon, Farm Security Administration (photographer), Darwinek (digital retouching) (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 13: A panoramic vista of corn fields near Royal in Champaign County. It goes on like this for a while. Photo credit: Daniel Schwen (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 14: A street view of the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio in Oak Park. Wright built the house in 1889 and added the studio in 1898. It has been restored to its 1909 appearance, the last year he lived there before his life became significantly more complicated. Photo credit: User:Banewson (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 15: The Mendota Hills Wind Farm in Lee County. Constructed in 2003, it was the first utility-scale wind farm in the state, proving that even flat land can be useful. Photo credit: Dori (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 16: The McFarland Carillon, a 185-foot bell tower with 49 bells at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. Built in 2008-09, it ensures no one on campus can ever truly find peace and quiet. Image credit: Daniel Schwen (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 17: The coat of arms of Illinois as illustrated in the 1876 book State Arms of the Union by Louis Prang. It has an eagle and everything. Image credit: Henry Mitchell (illustrator), Louis Prang & Co. (lithographer and publisher), Godot13 (restoration) (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 18: "Hon. Abraham Lincoln, Republican candidate for the presidency, 1860." A lithograph based on a portrait painted by Thomas Hicks at Lincoln's office in Springfield, specifically for this purpose. Image credit: Thomas Hicks (painter), Leopold Grozelier (lithographer), W. William Schaus (publisher), J.H. Bufford's Lith. (printer), Adam Cuerden (restoration) (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 19: A flowstone formation inside Illinois Caverns in Monroe County. The cave, carved from limestone and dolomite, features all the classics: stalactites, stalagmites, rimstone dams, and soda straws. Photo credit: A. Frierdich (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 20: Marina City, a mixed-use complex in downtown Chicago. Designed by Bertrand Goldberg and finished in 1964, its two corncob-shaped towers are an icon of ambitious, slightly strange architecture. Photo credit: Diego Delso (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 21: An illustration of the Upper Bluff Lake Dancing Figures repoussé copper plate, an artifact of the Mississippian culture discovered in Union County, Illinois. Image credit: H. Rowe (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 22: The "Chunkey Player," a Missouri flint clay statuette of a participant in the ancient Native American game of chunkey. Believed to have been made near Cahokia, it was found, for some reason, in Muskogee County, Oklahoma. Photo credit: User:TimVickers (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 23: A tiger swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus) in Shawnee National Forest. A fleeting moment of delicate beauty in a world that is mostly not that. Photo credit: Daniel Schwen (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 24: "Martyrdom of Joseph and Hiram Smith in Carthage jail, June 27th, 1844." An unusual black-and-white lithograph with a second yellow-brown layer, adding a sepia tone to the tragedy. Image credit: G.W. Fasel (painter); Charles G. Crehen (lithographer); Nagel & Weingaertner, N.Y. (publishers); Library of Congress (digital file); Adam Cuerden (upload) (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 25: The LaSalle Rail Bridge and Abraham Lincoln Memorial Bridge spanning the Illinois River. The former was built by the Illinois Central Railroad in 1893; the latter arrived in 1987 with Interstate 39. Image credit: Joseph Norton and Ronald Frazier (photographers), Alanscottwalker (upload) (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 26: American Gothic, a 1930 masterpiece of Midwestern cheer by Grant Wood. It's been hanging in the Art Institute of Chicago since it was practically still wet, a perpetual reminder of joyless resilience. It's one of the most recognizable images in 20th-century American art, mostly because it's been parodied into oblivion, which is its own form of immortality. Image credit: Grant Wood (painter), Google Art Project (digital file), DcoetzeeBot (upload) (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 27: Symbols of various religions carved into the exterior of the Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette. The temple, designed by architect Louis Bourgeois, took from 1921 to 1953 to complete. Image credit: ctot_not_def (photographer), Tobias Vetter (upload) (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 28: A view of Lake Falls in Matthiessen State Park in La Salle County. The park's stream starts here before emptying into the Vermillion River. Photo credit: Cspayer (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 29: The Chicago and North Western Railway locomotive shops in Chicago, December 1942. A scene of industrial might, captured in black and white. Image credit: Jack Delano, Farm Security Administration (photographer); Library of Congress (digital file); Trialsanderrors and Yann (digital retouching) (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 30: A Howard-bound Red Line train, temporarily rerouted onto the elevated tracks at Randolph station. Public transit, an exercise in perpetual adaptation. Photo credit: Daniel Schwen (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 31: A Hohenbuehelia mastrucata mushroom in Busse Woods, Elk Grove Village. Looks vaguely threatening. Image credit: Rocky Houghtby (photographer), Leoboudv (upload) (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 32: The Chicago Theatre. Designed by Rapp and Rapp, it was the crown jewel for the Balaban and Katz theater group. Photo credit: Daniel Schwen (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 33: The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. The building was originally designed by Charles B. Atwood for D. H. Burnham & Company to hold exhibits for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Image credit: zooey (photographer), Jasenlee~commonswiki (upload) (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 34: Flora of the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in Will County. Tallgrass prairie once blanketed about two-thirds of the state. Midewin is the only federal preserve of its kind east of the Mississippi River. Photo credit: User:Alanscottwalker (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 35: A tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta) in Urbana. It's large. It's green. It's here. Image credit: Daniel Schwen (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 36: A pyrite disc, also known as a "miner's dollar," from a coal mine in Sparta. Fool's gold, but with a better story. Image credit: Cccefalon (photographer and digital retouching) (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 37: The Old State Capitol in Springfield. A Greek Revival building designed by John F. Rague and finished in 1840, it served the Illinois General Assembly until they needed a bigger building in 1876. Photo credit: Agriculture (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 38: Photograph of Shoeless Joe Jackson, holding his famous bat Black Betsy. This was in 1913 with the Cleveland Naps, before his infamous tenure with the Chicago White Sox. Image credit: Charles M. Conlon (photographer), Mears Auctions (digital file), Scewing (upload) (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 39: The dome of the Illinois State Capitol. The interior features a plaster frieze painted to look like bronze, depicting scenes from state history, and a stained glass replica of the State Seal in the oculus. Construction began in 1869 and dragged on for twenty years. Photo credit: Daniel Schwen (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 40: The Willis Tower (once the Sears Tower), which held the title of world's tallest building from 1973 to 2004. Its innovative bundled tube structure was the brainchild of Bruce Graham and Fazlur Khan. Photo credit: Soakologist (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 41: A 1926 Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Railway Post Office car, now preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union. Photo credit: Sean Lamb (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 42: The Twenty Acre Dairy Barn, the first of the experimental University of Illinois round barns. Designed in 1908 for the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. Photo credit: Daniel Schwen (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 43: A Canada goose (Branta canadensis) enjoying a swim in Palatine. They are everywhere. Photo credit: Joe Ravi (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 44: The shore of Lake Michigan at Illinois Beach State Park in Lake County. Image credit: Yinan Chen (photographer), Slick (upload) (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 45: The Lincoln Tomb in Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield. Abraham Lincoln is interred here with Mary Todd Lincoln and three of their sons. The tomb, designed by Larkin Goldsmith Mead, was completed in 1874. Photo credit: David Jones (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 46: An artist's rendering of Kincaid Mounds, a city of the Mississippian culture at its peak, located near the Ohio River on the border of modern-day Massac and Pope counties. Image credit: H. Rowe (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 47: Magnolia Manor in Cairo, built in 1869 by businessman Charles A. Galigher. Photo credit: MuZemike (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 48: The Cairo Mississippi River Bridge near the meeting point of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers at Cairo, the state's lowest point. The bridge was built in 1929. Image credit: Nick Jordan (photographer), Fredddie (upload) (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 49: The water tower and barracks at Fort Sheridan in 1898. The main buildings were constructed between 1889 and 1910 by the firm Holabird & Roche. Image credit: Detroit Photographic Co.; Bathgems (upload) (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 50: "Let Go–But Stand By": A photo of Frances Willard from her 1895 book on learning to ride the new safety bicycle, which became improbably linked with women's emancipation. Image credit: Frances E. Willard (book author), Woman's Temperance Publishing Association and Fleming H. Revell Co. (publishers), HathiTrust (digitization), Dennis Bratland (upload) (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 51: A great blue heron (Ardea herodias) flying with nesting material. There's a colony of about twenty nests nearby, forming a noisy, avian suburb. Image credit: PhotoBobil (photographer), Snowmanradio (upload), PetarM (digital retouching) (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 52: The Purple Heart memorial at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois. Image credit: PhilDaBirdMan (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 53: Chris Young winding up for a four-seam fastball in the bullpen before a 2007 game. The iconic Wrigley Field scoreboard looms in the background. Image credit: TonyTheTiger (photographer) and Jjron (editing) (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 54: "The Great Presidential Puzzle": A chromolithograph cartoon about the chaotic 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago. It depicts Roscoe Conkling, leader of the party's Stalwarts faction, playing a puzzle game with the heads of presidential hopefuls, a parody of the 15 puzzle. Image credit: Mayer, Merkel, & Ottmann (lithographers); James Albert Wales (artist); Jujutacular (digital retouching) (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 55: Photograph of Rockford pilot Elizabeth L. Gardner of the WASPs at Harlingen Army Air Field, Texas. Image credit: U.S. Dept. of the Air Force (photograph); National Archives Catalog (digital file); Junkyardsparkle, Hohum, Bammesk (digital retouching) (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Image 56: The Vandalia State House, the former state capitol from 1836, now maintained by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Photo credit: Art davis (from Portal:Illinois/Selected picture)
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Recent news
- 8 October 2025 – 2025 deployment of federal forces in the United States Hundreds of Texas Military Forces troops have arrived at a United States Army Reserve military base near Chicago, Illinois, in preparation for a deployment to the city. (Sky News)
- 5 October 2025 – 2025 deployment of federal forces in the United States U.S. president Donald Trump has authorized the deployment of 300 National Guard personnel to Chicago, Illinois. (BBC News)
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Featured content
A curated list of articles deemed superior. Make of that what you will.
Articles:
Pictures:
Lists:
Featured content samples:
- 1880 Republican National Convention
- 1964 Illinois House of Representatives election
- 1968 Illinois earthquake
- James T. Aubrey
- Ann Bannon
- Belvidere Apollo Theatre collapse
- Cora Agnes Benneson
- William D. Boyce
- BP Pedestrian Bridge
- Avery Brundage
- Chicago Pile-1
- SS Christopher Columbus
- City of Champaign v. Madigan
- Cloud Gate
- Crown Fountain
- Disco Demolition Night
- Walt Disney
- Jean Baptiste Point du Sable
- Elgin, Illinois, Centennial half dollar
- Exelon Pavilions
- Fountain of Time
- Melville Fuller
- Otto Graham
- Ulysses S. Grant
- Groundhog Day (film)
- Orval Grove
- Harris Theater (Chicago)
- John Hay
- Ernest Hemingway
- Rogers Hornsby
- Juwan Howard
- Illinois (Sufjan Stevens album)
- Illinois Centennial half dollar
- Illinois Public Access Opinion 16-006
- Interstate 355
- Jay Pritzker Pavilion
- David A. Johnston
- Michael Jordan
- Ted Kaczynski
- Abraham Lincoln
- Marcus Ward Lyon Jr.
- McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink
- Metallurgical Laboratory
- Midtown Madness
- Millennium Park
- Monadnock Building
- Money in the Bank (2011)
- Howie Morenz
- Mr. Dooley
- Oliver Typewriter Company
- Pontiac's War
- Prairie Avenue
- CM Punk
- Ronald Reagan
- Saint Valentine's Day Massacre
- Antonin Scalia
- Lee Smith (baseball)
- Georg Solti
- Bazy Tankersley
- Jim Thome
- James Thompson (surveyor)
- Jim Thorpe
- Paul Tibbets
- Trump International Hotel and Tower (Chicago)
- Thurman Tucker
- Uncle Tupelo
- USS Illinois (BB-65)
- WSNS-TV
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Topics
Behold, the sprawling anatomy of a state, dissected for your convenience.
Illinois portal
| Culture: |
| Chicago Blues Festival • Chicago Jazz Festival • Chicago Symphony Orchestra • Cornerstone Festival • Dillo Day • Illinois Shakespeare Festival • Illinois State Fair • Illinois' Poets Laureate • List of museums in Illinois • Lollapalooza • Lyric Opera of Chicago • Music • Pitchfork Music Festival • Ravinia Festival • Taste of Chicago |
| Education: |
| Higher education • Secondary education |
| Environment: |
| Ecoregions of Illinois • Geography of Illinois • Geology of Illinois • Protected areas of Illinois |
| Government: |
| Constitution • Economy • Politics • State Capitol |
| History: |
| Chicago • Illiniwek • Illinois Central • Illinois-Wabash Company • Illinois Territory • Abraham Lincoln • Black Hawk War • Cahokia • 1871 Great Chicago Fire • Makataimeshekiakiak • Miami • Mississippian culture • Northwest Territory • Potawatomi • Route 66 • Sauk |
| People: |
| Governors of Illinois • Mayors of Chicago • Longest Serving Mayor in Illinois • Order of Lincoln Laureates |
| Sports: |
| Chicago Bandits • Chicago Bears • Chicago Bulls • Chicago Cubs • Chicago Fire • Chicago Rush • Chicago Sky • Chicago White Sox • Chicago Wolves • The Fighting Illini • Illinois State Redbirds • Northwestern Wildcats • Peoria Rivermen • Rockford IceHogs • Rockford Thunder • Southern Illinois Miners • Southern Illinois University Salukis • Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac • Chicago Marathon |
| Outline of Illinois |
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WikiProjects
What are WikiProjects? They're organized efforts. Try to keep up.
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Things you can do
If you're feeling particularly ambitious, here are some tasks awaiting the attention of someone with more time and hope than is strictly advisable.
- Article requests: Apparently, these topics don't exist yet. Feel free to fill the void: Executive branch of the government of the State of Illinois, Fort Gage, History of European exploration in Illinois, Morris Selz, Pre-Columbian history of Illinois, Wayne Motley, Western Wheel Company, Citizens Utility Board. Don't all rush at once.
- Assess: There are articles in Category:Unassessed WikiProject Illinois articles and Category:Unknown-importance WikiProject Illinois articles that need judging. Bring your gavel.
- Collaborate: The current collaboration of the week for WikiProject Chicago is Ronald Crane. If that name means anything to you, get to it.
- Copyedit: Peruse Category:WikiProject Illinois articles needing attention and Category:Illinois articles needing expert attention to fix the prose of others. It's easier than fixing your own life.
- Deletion sorting: Visit WikiProject Deletion sorting/Illinois to weigh in on what deserves to be wiped from existence.
- Expand: These articles are considered inadequate. Make them less so: Government of Illinois, the biographies in List of Governors of Illinois, Casimir Pulaski Day, Constitution of Illinois, Democratic Party of Illinois, Economy of Illinois, Flag and seal of Illinois, "Illinois", Illinois Republican Party, Illinois Secretary of State, Illinois state parks, and the list and introduction on List of battles fought in Illinois.
- Featured article candidates: Someone thinks Illinois and Springfield, Illinois can be elevated to Featured Article status. An optimistic soul.
- Geographical coordinates: There are articles in Category:Illinois articles missing geocoordinate data. They are lost. Help them be found.
- Infobox: See Category:Illinois articles needing infoboxes. They're naked. Clothe them with data.
- Maintain: This portal, Portal:Illinois, requires upkeep. You're looking at it.
- Map: People have requested maps. See Category:Wikipedia requested maps in Illinois.
- Photo: There are requests for pictures in Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in Illinois.
- Stubs: These are barely articles. Flesh them out. See Category:Illinois stubs, Category:Illinois geography stubs, Category:Illinois politician stubs, Category:Illinois school stubs.
- Unreferenced: Hunt down sources for Unreferenced BLPs and articles in Category:Unreferenced WikiProject Illinois articles.
- Other: Find articles that belong in Category:Illinois or its subcategories and add them. Tag their talk pages with
{{WikiProject Illinois}}.
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