State Sovereignty, National Union

Prairie State

Land Of Lincoln

Corn State ^IA

Garden State ^{KS NJ}

Distinction: Illinois has the tallest building in the U.S., Chicago's Willis Tower. (Formerly known as the Sears Tower, it was the tallest in the world for two decades.) It also had the world's first modern skyscraper.
Geographic Oddity: Illinois has so many people of Irish descent, the Chicago River turns green every St. Patrick's Day.

Famous Native: Walt Disney ~ animation pioneer
Famous Small Town: Nauvoo [pop.<1K] ~ bought by Joseph Smith for his followers

Notable Landmarks:
  Natural = the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers
  Man-Made = the aforementioned Willis Tower

Favorite City Name: Nauvoo

Something you might hear a Flatlander say: "You don't pronounce the S."

Little Known Factoid: Although Abraham Lincoln was born in . . .

If I could live anywhere in Illinois, it would be in Hometown, a tiny suburb of Chicago, because the name sounds like a place to belong.