Illinois Cultural Information
WELCOME TO
Illinois
Illinois is best known for Chicago, a world-class city regarded by many as the cultural heart of the USA.
Illinois offers true Americana through and through, there’s no better way to relive the USA’s golden age than along its most legendary highway, Route 66. Illinois’ iconic stretch features classic diners, drive-in theaters and quirky roadside attractions.
Illinois’s Motto
The state motto of Illinois is “State Sovereignty, National Union.” Although the phrase seems simple and straightforward, at the time of its adoption it had a very potent symbolic meaning for Illinois and for the US
- Spoken Languages: English: 80% • Spanish: 12% • Other: 6%
- Chicago is the largest city in the state and the third-most populous city in the United States, with its 2020 population of 2,746,388. Only New York and Los Angeles are more populated than Chicago.
- Illinois has natural landscapes which include Lake Michigan to the North and The Mississippi River to the West. It is one of the eight states in the Great Lakes region of North America.
- Chicago is famous for its outdoor public art, with a number of Chicago’s public art works being created by modern figurative artists. The city is known to have many famous artworks and is renowned for live musical performances and museums.
- Other attractions in Chicago are the Lincoln Park Zoo, Willis Tower, the starting point of Route 66, and more than 200 theatres, 250 live music venues, and 200 professional dance companies.
- A unique downtown Chicago feature is its multi-leveled streets, the most well-known of which is Wacker Drive. This double-decker street comprises an upper-level riverfront boulevard and a lower-level roadway for commercial and through traffic.
Things
TO DO
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WHAT IS ILLINOIS FAMOUS FOR?
Illinois is known for its delicious and iconic deep-dish pizza, a type of pizza that features a thick crust and layers of flavorful toppings. The origins of deep-dish pizza can be traced back to the 1940s when Ike Sewell opened the first pizzeria in Chicago that specialized in this style of pizza.
MOST POPULAR SPORTS IN ILLINOIS.
Baseball is big in Illinois and a visit to Wrigley Field is a must-do, especially with the Chicago Cub’s recent victory. If you’re a football fan, the Chicago Bears play at Soldier Field. NBA basketball team the Chicago Bulls call the United Center home, and ice hockey is huge.
