A Few Illinois Firsts and Facts List.

SOME ILLINOIS FACTS

• Origin of the name Illinois: Algonquin for "tribe of superior men."
• Illinois is known as the Prairie State.

ILLINOIS MONIKERS

• The Sucker State ─ 1820s
• The Prairie State ─ 1840s
• Land of Lincoln ─ 1955

ILLINOIS STATE ______________. 

• Illinois State Amphibian – Eastern Tiger Salamander; approval in 2005.
• Illinois State Animal – White-Tailed Deer; schoolchildren voted in 1980.
• Illinois State Artifact – Pirogue; a canoe made of a hollowed-out tree trunk, 2016.
• Illinois State Bird – Northern Cardinal; chosen in 1929.
• Illinois State Dance – Square Dance; signed into law in 1990.
• Illinois State Exercise – Cycling; effective January 1, 2018
• Illinois State Fish – Bluegill; schoolchildren voted in 1986.
• Illinois State Flag – First adopted July 6, 1915; current flag adopted July 1, 1970.
• Illinois State Flower – Violet; effective January 1, 2018.
• Illinois State Fossil – Tully Monster; selected in 1989.
• Illinois State Fruit – Goldrush Apple; named the State Fruit in 2007.
• Illinois State Grain – Corn; officially named January 1, 2018.
• Illinois State Insect – Monarch Butterfly; chosen in 1975.
• Illinois State Microbe – Penicillium Rubens; Named on May 31, 2021.
• Illinois State Mineral – Fluorite; the State Mineral since 1965.
• Illinois State Motto – State Sovereignty Nation Union; In State Seal banner, 1867.
• Illinois State Nickname – The Prairie State; given by the first settlers.
• Illinois State Pet – Shelter Dogs and Cats; effective on August 25, 2017.
• Illinois State Pie – Pumpkin Pie; named in 2015.
• Illinois State Prairie Grass – Big Bluestem; named in 1989.
• Illinois State Reptile – Painted Turtle; vote by Illinois citizens, approved in 2005.
• Illinois State Rock – Dolostone (CaMg(CO3)2); named in 2022.
• Illinois State Slogan – Land of Lincoln; adopted in 1955.
• Illinois State Snack – Popcorn; official in 2003.
• Illinois State Snake – Eastern Milksnake; January 1, 2023
• Illinois State Soil – Drummer Silty Clay Loam; declared the State Soil in 2001.
• Illinois State Song – "Illinois;" named the state song in 1925.
• Illinois State Tartan – Illinois Saint Andrew Society Tartan; signed into law in 2012.
• Illinois State Theatre – The Great American People Show; designated in 1995.
• Illinois State Tree – White Oak; voted on in 1908; voted on type of Oak in 1995.
• Illinois State Vegetable – Sweet Corn; Elementary students voted in 2015.
• Illinois State Wildflower – Milkweed; designated the official Wildflower in 2017.

ILLINOIS GEOGRAPHICAL DATA:

• Public use areas: 275,000 acres, including state parks, memorials, forests and conservation areas.
• Geographic center: In Logan County, 28 miles northeast of Springfield.
• Highest point: Charles Mound, 1,235 feet
• Lowest point: Mississippi River, 279 feet
• Land Area: 57,918 square miles.
• Illinois ranks third in the nation in the number of interstate highway miles.
• Illinois has more units of government than any other state (i.e., city, county, township, etc.), more than six thousand.

ILLINOIS FIRSTS:

• The first birth on record in Chicago was of Eulalia Pointe de Sable, daughter of Jean-Baptiste Pointe de Sable and his Potawatomi Indian wife, in 1796.
• Chicago's Mercy Hospital; The Lake House Hotel became the first hospital (12 beds) in Illinois from 1850 to 1953.
• Illinois was explored by Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet in 1673.
• Peoria is the oldest community in Illinois. It was founded in 1813.
• Illinois became the 21st state on December 3, 1818.
• Illinois was the first state to ratify the 13th Amendment to the Constitution abolishing slavery in 1865. (Illinois' Black Codes)
• The world's first skyscraper, the Home Insurance Building, was built on the corner of Adams and LaSalle Streets in Chicago.
• Illinois has 1,118 miles of navigable waterways that provide the state with a direct link between the Atlantic Ocean (through the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway) and the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.