The State of Illinois (pronounced /ˌɪlɨˈnɔɪ/ Ill-i-NOY) is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union. Illinois is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern state and the fifth most populous in the nation. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and western Illinois, and natural resources like coal, timber, and petroleum in the south, Illinois has a broad economic base.

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