About Illinois

Illinois is a state of extraordinary duality. Chicago , its dominant city, is a global metropolis of 2.7 million people, one of the great cultural and financial capitals of the world. But Illinois is also a flat prairie state where corn and soybean fields stretch to the horizon, small towns anchor agricultural communities, and Springfield, the state capital, has population of barely 110,000.

The tension between Chicago and "downstate" Illinois is among the most pronounced urban-rural divides in American politics. The city and its suburbs reliably vote Democratic; much of the rest of the state just as reliably votes Republican. Because the population is concentrated in the metro area, Illinois votes Democratic in statewide elections, but the political map below Chicago looks nothing like New York or California.

Historically, Illinois is the Land of Lincoln, the state where Abraham Lincoln built his career, launched his presidency, and was buried. It is also the state that gave America the skyscraper, improv comedy, the blues, and financial futures. And it holds the dubious distinction of having sent more governors to federal prison than any other state, a political corruption tradition that has defined and plagued its governance for generations.