The flags of the U.S. states exhibit a wide variety of regional influences and local histories, as well as widely different styles and design principles.

History

Modern U.S. state flags date from the 1890s, when states wanted to have distinctive symbols at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. Most U.S. state flags were designed and adopted between 1893 and World War I.

According to a 2001 survey by the North American Vexillological Association, New Mexico has the best-designed flag of any U.S. state, U.S. territory, or Canadian province, while Georgia's state flag was rated the worst design. (Georgia adopted a new flag in 2003; Nebraska's state flag, whose design was rated second worst, remains in use to date.) About half the flags have a common "seal on a bed sheet" design, wherein the state seal is simply put on a solid, usually blue, background. Such flags consistently get the lowest ranks from the Vexillological Association.

Current state flags

Illinois (ⁱ/ˌɪlᵻˈnɔɪ/ IL-i-NOY) is a state in the midwestern region of the United States. It is the 5th most populous state and 25th largest state in terms of land area, and is often noted as a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal, timber, and petroleum in the south, Illinois has a diverse economic base and is a major transportation hub. The Port of Chicago connects the state to other global ports from the Great Lakes, via the Saint Lawrence Seaway, to the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River, via the Illinois River. For decades, O'Hare International Airport has been ranked as one of the world's busiest airports. Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and politics.

Although today the state's largest population center is around Chicago in the northern part of the state, the state's European population grew first in the west, with French Canadians who settled along the Mississippi River, and gave the area the name, Illinois. After the American Revolutionary War established the United States, American settlers began arriving from Kentucky in the 1810s via the Ohio River, and the population grew from south to north. In 1818, Illinois achieved statehood. After construction of the Erie Canal increased traffic and trade through the Great Lakes, Chicago was founded in the 1830s on the banks of the Chicago River, at one of the few natural harbors on southern Lake Michigan.John Deere's invention of the self-scouring steel plow turned Illinois' rich prairie into some of the world's most productive and valuable farmlands, attracting immigrant farmers from Germany and Sweden. Railroads carried immigrants to new homes, as well as being used to ship their commodity crops out to markets.

Illinois State University (ISU), founded in 1857, is the oldest public university in Illinois, United States; it is located in the town of Normal. ISU grants a variety of bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees and emphasizes teaching. The university fosters faculty research and has active researchers, many of whom encourage the participation of students. ISU is also recognized as one of the top ten largest producers of teachers in the US according to the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education. The ISU athletic teams are members of the Missouri Valley Conference and the Missouri Valley Football Conference and are known as the "Redbirds," in reference to the state bird, the cardinal.

Location

Illinois State University's campus is in the twin-city community of Bloomington-Normal near the geographic center of the state, 137 miles southwest of Chicago and 164 miles northeast of St. Louis. Interstates 74, 55, and 39; U.S. Route 150; and Illinois Route 9 intersect around Bloomington-Normal, creating a transportation hub. An Amtrak passenger station is just two blocks from the University.

Illinois Route 173 is an east–west state road that runs from Illinois Route 251 in the Rockford suburb of Machesney Park east to Illinois Route 137 (Sheridan Road/Buckley) in Zion near the Illinois-Wisconsin border; this is a distance of 66.20 miles (106.54 km). Illinois Route 173 is also one of the northernmost east-west state highways in Illinois. On Interstate 94 (Tri-State Tollway) traveling south from Wisconsin, it is the second road seen which has an interchange at that location. Similarly, when traveling south/east from Wisconsin on Interstate 39/90 (Jane Addams Memorial Tollway), Illinois Route 173 is only the third exit into Illinois. In 2008, the entirety of Illinois 173 has been designated the 173rd Airborne Brigade Highway

Route description

Illinois 173 travels across relatively hilly northern Illinois from the Rockford area to Zion. This area is more densely populated than other portions of rural Illinois. It is two lanes for over 90% of its length.

In July 2007, a new interchange was constructed at Illinois 173 and Interstates 39/90 (Jane Addams Memorial Tollway).

Illinois is a state in the United States.

Illinois may also refer to:

Places

Schools

Ships

"Illinois" is the official state song of the U.S. state of Illinois. Written by Charles H. Chamberlain (1841–1894, also spelled Chamberlin) and composed by Archibald Johnston (died 1887), "Illinois" became the state song by an act of the 54th Illinois General Assembly (1925).

Lyrics

References

External links

Illinois Route 127 is a north–south highway in central and southern Illinois. Its southern terminus is at Illinois Route 3 near Olive Branch and its northern terminus at Interstate 55, along with the southern terminus of Illinois Route 48 in Raymond. This is a distance of 167.53 miles (269.61 km).

Route description

Illinois 127 parallels U.S. Route 51 for its entire length. U.S. 51 is generally a few miles to the east of Illinois 127, though they never cross. After leaving Alexander County, the route passes through each of the next seven county seats.

Illinois 127 overlaps Illinois Route 146 near Jonesboro, Illinois Route 149 in Murphysboro, Illinois Route 13 from Pickneyville to Murphysboro, U.S. Route 50 in Carlyle, Illinois Route 140 near Greenville, Illinois Route 16 in Hillsboro and wrong-way with Illinois 48 at its northern terminus. (Illinois 48 is a northbound route at the same time Illinois 127 is marked southbound).

History

SBI Route 127 originally ran from Raymond to Carlyle. In 1937 it was extended to Nashville, replacing Illinois Route 153. By 1939 it had been extended to Pinckneyville. In 1944, it was extended west to U.S. Route 66, and south to its current terminus.