Illinois - Welcome to U.S. County Courthouses!

Entered Union December 3, 1818 (21^st state)

Illinois (12,813,469), Springfield (114,414), Chicago (2,746,352)

The granite capitol was originally completed in 1888 using the designs of Cochrane and Garnsey. It is located on Capitol Avenue at 2^nd Street. Interstate Highway 55 Business is seven blocks east of the capitol. The Capitol is designed in French Renaissance and Italianate style. The major supporting structures are the Supreme Court building and Court of Appeals Courthouse in Springfield, and five district Court of Appeals courthouses in Chicago, Elgin, Ottawa, Springfield, and Mount Vernon. The state was officially created as the 21^st state on December 3, 1818 from Native American lands and Illinois Territory. Kaskaskia and Vandalia had been the capital until 1837 when Springfield assumed the role. The state’s name comes from a Native American word meaning “he speaks the regular way.” The name of Springfield comes from Springfield, Massachusetts. Chicago comes from the French version of a Native American word meaning “wild onion.” Charles Mound in Jo Daviess County is the highest point and the lowest point is in Alexander County where the Mississippi and Ohio rivers combine.

Illinois government, in the Executive, consists of a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Comptroller, Treasurer, and Attorney General. There are 59 Senators and 118 Representatives in the Legislative. Seven Supreme Court Justices and Fifty-two Court of Appeals Justices serve Illinois in the Judicial. Illinois is located in the north central part of the United States. The geographic center is in Sangamon County 1.5 miles southeast of Rochester. The state is surrounded clockwise by Wisconsin, Lake Michigan (Michigan), Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, and Iowa.

The area is 57914 square miles. It is 25^th largest state in the country. It is the 6^th most populated state in the country. It has a density of 221.2 persons per square mile making it 12^th in the country. Its major rivers are the Mississippi, the Ohio, the Wabash, the Illinois, the Rock, and the Vermilion. Springfield is located in the center of the state and Chicago is in the northeast quarter.