Illinois Fact Sheet

              ILLINOIS FACT SHEETIllinois State Officials
Governor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Rod Blagojevich (D)
Lieutenant Governor . . . . . . . . . . . . .Patrick Quinn (D)
Attorney General . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Lisa Madigan (D)
Secretary of State . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jesse White (D)
Comptroller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Daniel W. Hynes (D)
Treasurer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Alexi Giannoulias (D)
U.S. Senators
Richard J. Durbin (D)
Barack Obama (D)
Illinois Legislative Leaders
Senate President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Emil Jones, Jr. (D)
Senate Minority Leader . . . . . . . . . . .Frank Watson (R)
Speaker of the House . . . . . . . . . . . .Michael J. Madigan (D)
House Minority Leader . . . . . . . . . . .Tom Cross (R)
History
• French explorer Louis Jolliet and Jesuit Father Jacques Marquette discovered the area known as Illinois in 1673.
• The Illinois area was organized as a territory on Feb. 3, 1809.
• Illinois became the 21st state to enter the Federal Union on Dec. 3, 1818.
• Shadrack Bond was the first Governor of Illinois in 1818.
Capital Cities
• Kaskaskia — 1818 to 1820
• Vandalia — 1820 to 1839
• Springfield — December 1839 to present.
State Capitol Building
• Illinois has had six State Capitol Buildings — one in Kaskaskia, three in Vandalia and two in Springfield.
• The fifth Capitol — the Old State Capitol in downtown Springfield — is where Abraham Lincoln served as a state legislator and is
open to the public as a historic site.
• The sixth and present State Capitol is located at Second & Capitol Streets in Springfield and dates back to 1868. It took 20 years
to complete the building at a cost of $4.5 million.
Legislature
Illinois is divided into 59 legislative and 118 representative districts. One state senator is elected from each legislative district, and one
state representative is elected from each representative district, resulting in 177 members of the Illinois General Assembly.
State Symbols
The Great Seal of Illinois and the Illinois State Flag are two of the state’s official symbols. Other symbols are:
Amphibian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Eastern Tiger Salamander
Animal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .White-tailed Deer
Bird . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Cardinal
Dance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Square Dance
Fish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bluegill
Fossil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Tully Monster
Insect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Monarch Butterfly
Mineral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Fluorite
Nickname . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .“Prairie State”
Prairie grass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Big Bluestem
Reptile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Painted Turtle
Slogan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .“Land of Lincoln”
Snack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Popcorn
Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Drummer-silty Clay Loam
Song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .“Illinois”
Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .White Oak
Population (Based on the 2000 U.S. census, 2005 estimates)
• Illinois is the fifth-most populous state in the country with a population of 12,440,351.
• Illinois has 102 counties. The largest is Cook, which includes Chicago and its suburbs, with a population of 5,303,683.
Pope County, located in the Shawnee National Forest in southeastern Illinois, is the smallest with 4,211 people.