Illinois is a mid-western state in the N central United States.  Illinois is bordered by Lake Michigan and Indiana (E); Kentucky, across the Ohio R. (SE); Missouri and Iowa, across the Mississippi River (W); and Wisconsin (N).

Illinois constitutes the 21st state of the United States, located in the former Northwest Territory. Its name was given by the state's French explorers after the indigenous Illiniwek people, a consortium of Algonquin tribes that thrived in the area. The word Illiniwekmeans simply "the people."

The capital of Illinois is Springfield while its largest city is Chicago . Rockford and Peoria are also large cities.

The U.S. postal abbreviation for the state is IL.

Illinois Population

Population of Illinois is 12,830,632 according to 2010 census.

Illinois Time

Illinois is in the Central Time Zone in the United States of America (USA).  US Central Standard Time ( CST ) is 6 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT-6).