Illinois is a state in the Midwestern United States. Chicago is its largest city, and the state’s capital is Springfield; other major metropolitan areas incorporate Metro East (of Greater St. Louis), Peoria, and Rockford. Of the fifty U.S. states, Illinois has the fifth-largest total national output (GDP), the 6th largest population, and the 25th largest land area.
With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial urban communities and tremendous farmland in the north and focus, and natural assets like coal, lumber, and petrol in the south, Illinois has a profoundly different economy. Inferable from its central location and geography, the state is a major transportation center: the Port of Chicago appreciates access to the Atlantic Ocean through the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Seaway, and to the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi River via the Illinois Waterway.
Here we have gathered some informative Illinois trivia questions for you to enjoy and get some information.
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Illinois Trivia questions
1 The Port of Chicago in Illinois connects the state to global ports via Great Lakes, the Saint Lawrence Seaway, to the Atlantic Ocean and through what famous river?
Show AnswerMississippi River, via the Illinois River2 O’Hare International Airport has been consistently ranked as what?
Show AnswerOne of the world’s busiest airports3 In 1847, thanks to lobbying by Dorothea L. Dix, Illinois was one of the first states to create a system of state-supported treatment facilities for treating what?
Show AnswerMental illness and disabilities4 Illinois is the most populous state in what region?
Show AnswerTornado Alley5 In 1967, Fermilab, near Batavia, opened a particle accelerator and it was the world’s largest particle accelerator for how long?
Show AnswerOver 40 years6 Today Illinois’s biggest population center is around what city in the northern part of the state?
Show AnswerChicago7 Striking oil in Marion County and Crawford County lead to a boom and by 1939 Illinois ranked where in U.S. oil production?
Show AnswerFourth8 In what year did Illinois become a US State?
Show AnswerIn 18189 How many Stanley Cups have the Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL won?
Show AnswerFive10 In the 1830s, on the banks of the Chicago River, Chicago was founded on which of the great lakes?
Show AnswerLake Michigan11 In 1942 the University of Chicago conducted the first sustained nuclear what?
Show AnswerChain reaction12 How many men served in the Union Army During the American Civil War from Illinois?
Show AnswerMore than 250,00013 John Deere’s invention of the self-scouring steel plow turned Illinois’ prairie into valuable farmland attracting immigrant farmers from what two countries?
Show AnswerGermany and Sweden14 What are the names of the three presidents that have been elected to office while residing in Illinois?
Show AnswerAbraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and Barack Obama15 Which U.S. President was the only one born and raised in Illinois?
Show AnswerRonald Reagan16 What phrase has been displayed on Illinois’s automobile license plates since 1954?
Show AnswerLand of Lincoln17 Metropolis is a city in Illinois?
Show AnswerTrueIllinois trivia facts
18 If you are in Delavan, which direction do you need to go to get to Peoria?
Show AnswerNorth19 Which is the furthest north?
Show AnswerCrane Lake20 Where are the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum located in Illinois?
Show AnswerSpringfield21 Excavations in Illinois demonstrate that there were about 7,000 years of what?
Show AnswerContinuous habitation22 Monks Mound, in the center of an excavation site, is the largest pre-Columbian structure north of where?
Show AnswerValley of Mexico23 By 1857, what was the largest city in Illinois?
Show AnswerChicago24 Monks Mound is 100 feet high, 951 feet long, 836 feet wide and covers how many acres?
Show Answer13.825 In 1673 what pair of famous French explorers explored the Illinois River?
Show AnswerJacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet26 Most of the Illinois western border with Missouri and Iowa consists of what river?
Show AnswerThe Mississippi River27 The first experimental nuclear power plant in the United States was fired up in 1957 where?
Show AnswerArgonne National Laboratory28 In 1680, other French explorers built a fort at the site of present day what?
Show AnswerPeoria29 What is the all-time high temperature for Illinois, recorded on July 14, 1954, at East St. Louis,?
Show Answer117 °30 The British Crown made Illinois part of the land reserved for Indians and as a result very few British or American settlers did what?
Show AnswerMove there31 The Chicago Bulls is one of the most recognized basketball teams in the world, due in a large part to whom?
Show AnswerMichael Jordan32 By 1960, Dresden 1, located near Morris Illinois, was the first privately financed” what” in United States?
Show AnswerNuclear plant33 How many cities in Illinois does the U.S. Census Bureau currently lists with populations of over 100,000?
Show AnswerSeven34 Vandalia became the capital of Illinois in what year?
Show AnswerIn 1819Illinois state trivia
35 In 1837, state legislators representing Sangamon County, under and led by state representative Abraham Lincoln, had the capital moved to where?
Show AnswerSpringfield36 In 1832, the Black Hawk War was fought in Illinois and what is now Wisconsin between the United States and what Indian Tribes?
Show AnswerThe Sauk, Fox and Kickapoo tribes37 The winter of 1830–1831 is called the “Winter of the Deep Snow” because an unexpectedly deep snowfall covered Illinois, making travel impossible many travelers what?
Show AnswerDied38 By 1839, the Mormons had established a city called Nauvoo on what river?
Show AnswerThe Mississippi39 Where Joseph Smith,the Mormon leader was murdered?
Show AnswerIn the Carthage Jail, about 30 miles away from Nauvoo Illinois40 What took place from Sunday, October 8, 1871, until Tuesday, October 10, 1871 in Chicago?
Show AnswerThe Great Chicago Fire41 How much of Chicago burned in downtown Chicago during the Great Chicago Fire?
Show Answer4 square miles42 The town of Cairo, at the southern tip of the state served as a supply base and training center for what army?
Show AnswerThe Union army43 For several months General Grant had his headquarters in what Illinois city?
Show AnswerCairo44 At the turn of the 20th century, whites were what percentage of the state’s population?
Show Answer98%45 During what year did Illinois host the “Century of Progress World’s Fair” in Chicago?
Show AnswerIn 193346 With the opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway in 1959, Chicago became a what?
Show AnswerAn ocean port47 In 1960, what did entrepreneur Ray Kroc open in Des Plaines?
Show AnswerThe first McDonald’s franchise48 Illinois generates more electricity than any other state from what?
Show AnswerNuclear power49 Where was the first Farm Aid concert held to help out the American farmers, in 1985?
Show AnswerChampaign Illinois50 What was the all time low temperature ever recorded for the state of Illinois?
Show Answer−36 °F on January 5, 1999, at Congerville51 What is the average number of tornadoes that occur yearly in Illinois?
Show Answer3552 What are the two Major League Baseball teams based in the state of Illinois?
Show AnswerThe Chicago Cubs and The Chicago White Sox53 How many NFL Championships have the Chicago Bears football team won?
Show AnswerNineIllinois geography trivia
54 What county is the state capital of Illinois in?
Show AnswerSangamon55 What is the second largest city in Illinois?
Show AnswerAurora56 Which of the following cities is NOT on Interstate 74?
Show AnswerDecatur57 What Illinois city is the furthest south?
Show AnswerCAIRO58 Where is Snakeden Hollow State Fish and Wildlife Area?
Show AnswerKnox County59 Northern Illinois University is in what city?
Show AnswerDeKalb60 What river goes through Peoria?
Show AnswerIllinois River61 The highest point in Illinois is Charles Mound. What is its elevation?
Show Answer1235 feet62 According to Rand McNally, how many miles is it between Chicago and St. Louis, MO?
Show Answer300 miles63 How many square miles are there in Illinois?
Show Answer57,914 sq. miles64 San Jose, Atlanta and Charlotte are cities in Illinois?
Show AnswerTrue65 If you are in Quincy, which state can you see across the river?
Show AnswerMissouri
