115-756: Illinois Route 50 ( IL 50 ) is a 66.49-mile-long (107.01 km) north–south state highway in northeastern Illinois . It runs from the junction with U.S. Route 45 (US 45) and U.S. Route 52 (US 52) in West Kankakee north to US 41 in Skokie . In Chicago and the suburbs, it is known as Cicero Avenue. Before this, Cicero Avenue was previously known as 48th Avenue, owing to its City of Chicago address of 4800 West. IL 50 begins in Kankakee at an intersection with Southeast Avenue ( US 45 / US 52 ) and heads north as Schuyler Avenue. The four-lane road crosses
230-611: A Jacksonville, Illinois businessman, who invited her to Illinois, where he had been working to build an asylum for the insane. With the lobbying expertise of Dix, plans for the Jacksonville State Hospital (now known as the Jacksonville Developmental Center ) were signed into law on March 1, 1847. During the American Civil War , Illinois ranked fourth in soldiers who served (more than 250,000) in
345-591: A particle accelerator , which was the world's largest for over 40 years. With eleven plants currently operating, Illinois leads all states in the amount of electricity generated from nuclear power. In 1961, Illinois became the first state in the nation to adopt the recommendation of the American Law Institute and pass a comprehensive criminal code revision that repealed the law against sodomy . The code also abrogated common law crimes and established an age of consent of 18. The state's fourth constitution
460-578: A sanctuary state . In the 2018 election , Rauner was replaced by J. B. Pritzker , returning the state government to a Democratic trifecta . In January 2020 the state legalized marijuana . On March 9, 2020, Pritzker issued a disaster proclamation due to the COVID-19 pandemic . He ended the state of emergency in May 2023. During the early part of the Paleozoic Era , the area that would one day become Illinois
575-407: A succession crisis , Brigham Young led most Latter Day Saints out of Illinois in a mass exodus to present-day Utah ; after close to six years of rapid development, Nauvoo quickly declined afterward. After it was established in 1833, Chicago gained prominence as a Great Lakes port, and then as an Illinois and Michigan Canal port after 1848, and as a rail hub soon afterward. By 1857, Chicago
690-414: A $ 2.5 billion deal to privatize the airport via a 99-year lease fell through when the consortium could not put together financing. The city would have kept $ 125 million in the down payment. The consortium operating under the name of Midway Investment and Development Company LLC consisted of Vancouver Airport Services , Citi Infrastructure Investors, and Boston's John Hancock Life Insurance . It
805-479: A 40-year lease. Construction began on expansions of the security checkpoint and main parking garage. The bridge spanning Cicero Ave is being widened from 50 feet to over 400 feet, allowing up to 17 security lanes and a streamlined queue. As the current terminal opened just a few months prior to the September 11th attacks, the security area was quickly rendered too small for the new screening measures and subsequently
920-525: A 50-acre (20 ha) plaza larger than 35 football fields, and a woodhenge of sacred cedar, all in a planned design expressing the culture's cosmology. Monks Mound , the center of the site, is the largest Pre-Columbian structure north of the Valley of Mexico . It is 100 ft (30 m) high, 951 ft (290 m) long, 836 ft (255 m) wide, and covers 13.8 acres (5.6 ha). It contains about 814,000 cu yd (622,000 m ) of earth. It
1035-585: A boom in 1937, and by 1939, Illinois ranked fourth in U.S. oil production. Illinois manufactured 6.1 percent of total United States military armaments produced during World War II , ranking seventh among the 48 states. Chicago became an ocean port with the opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway in 1959. The seaway and the Illinois Waterway connected Chicago to both the Mississippi River and
1150-468: A chain of events culminating in Blagojevich's impeachment , trial, and subsequent criminal conviction and imprisonment, making Blagojevich the second consecutive Illinois governor to be convicted on federal corruption charges. Blagojevich's replacement Pat Quinn was defeated by Republican Bruce Rauner in the 2014 election . Disagreements between the governor and legislature over budgetary policy led to
1265-556: A climate that varies widely throughout the year. Because of its nearly 400-mile distance between its northernmost and southernmost extremes, as well as its mid-continental situation, most of Illinois has a humid continental climate ( Köppen climate classification Dfa ), with hot, humid summers and cold winters. The southern part of the state, from about Carbondale southward, has a humid subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa ), with more moderate winters. Average yearly precipitation for Illinois varies from just over 48 in (1,219 mm) at
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#17330922556801380-475: A commuter shuttle connecting the airport to Manteno and Bourbonnais in Kankakee County . On December 8, 1972, United Air Lines Flight 553 , a Boeing 737-200 , crashed into a residential area outside Midway during landing. The crash of the 737-200 killed 43 of the 61 on board, and two on the ground. One of the victims on the plane was Dorothy Hunt, the wife of Watergate conspirator E. Howard Hunt . She
1495-766: A few flights per week. Unfortunately, Midway being surrounded by buildings on all sides meant that the airport was running out of room; its runways were too short to safely handle larger four-engine jetliners (the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 ) that appeared in 1959. Instead, every Chicago jet flight was directed to use O'Hare, which had opened to airlines in 1955. Lighter aircraft like turboprop Lockheed L-188 Electras and Vickers Viscounts could have continued to fly out of Midway, but O'Hare's new terminal opened in 1962, allowing airlines to consolidate their flights. From July 1962 until United returned in July 1964, Midway's only scheduled airline
1610-631: A food court in Concourse A utilizing previously unused space built during the 2010 rebuild of the Gate A4A/B connecting walkway. The program is the largest capital improvements project at the airport since the 2001 terminal redevelopment and has been completed All terminals and hangars were on the square periphery. By the late 1970s, the shorter north–south and east–west runway pairs had been closed, though some were converted to taxiways. The other four runways remain in use, all strengthened and enhanced, but about
1725-780: A fort at the site of present-day Peoria , and in 1682, a fort atop Starved Rock in today's Starved Rock State Park. French Empire Canadiens came south to settle particularly along the Mississippi River, and Illinois was part of first New France , and then of La Louisiane until 1763, when it passed to the British with their defeat of France in the Seven Years' War . The small French settlements continued, although many French migrated west to Ste. Genevieve and St. Louis, Missouri , to evade British rule. A few British soldiers were posted in Illinois, but few British or American settlers moved there, as
1840-670: A law to prohibit all African Americans, including freedmen , from settling in the state. The winter of 1830–1831 is called the "Winter of the Deep Snow"; a sudden, deep snowfall blanketed the state, making travel impossible for the rest of the winter, and many travelers perished. Several severe winters followed, including the "Winter of the Sudden Freeze". On December 20, 1836, a fast-moving cold front passed through, freezing puddles in minutes and killing many travelers who could not reach shelter. The adverse weather resulted in crop failures in
1955-705: A north–south line at 87° 31′ 30″ west longitude in Lake Michigan at the north, to the Wabash River in the south above Post Vincennes . The Wabash River continues as the eastern/southeastern border with Indiana until the Wabash enters the Ohio River . This marks the beginning of Illinois's southern border with Kentucky , which runs along the northern shoreline of the Ohio River. Most of the western border with Missouri and Iowa
2070-411: A second carrier, Volaris , began flights between Guadalajara and Midway. Starting in early 2009, a construction project added a new walkway and food court to Concourse A. The project also connected gates A4A and A4B to the main A concourse. Expansions were completed in the spring of 2010. Chicago has considered privatizing the airport, but the deals fell through in 2009 and 2013. On April 20, 2009,
2185-500: A short distance later, meeting I-290 (Dwight D. Eisenhower Expressway) just north of the boundary. Heading north through the western portion of the city, the highway intersects IL 64 and IL 19 before crossing under I-90 (Kennedy Expressway) without access. Continuing north, IL 50 meets I-94 (Edens Expressway) at an interchange in which IL 50 has no access to I-94, and only traffic travelling eastbound on I-94 can access IL 50 southbound. The route then crosses
2300-575: A state in 1818, the Ordinance no longer applied, and about 900 slaves were held in the state. As the southern part of the state, later known as "Egypt" or "Little Egypt", was largely settled by migrants from the South, the section was hostile to free blacks. Edward Coles , the second Governor of Illinois who was born in Virginia, participated in a campaign to block extending existing slavery in Illinois after winning
2415-684: A string of high-profile exonerations, Ryan commuted all death sentences in the state. The 2002 election brought Democrat Rod Blagojevich to the governor's mansion. It also brought future president Barack Obama into a committee leadership position in the Illinois Senate, where he drafted the Health Care Justice Act , a forerunner of the Affordable Care Act . Obama's election to the presidency in Blagojevich's second term set off
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#17330922556802530-638: A weather station not subjected to the same quality control as official records. Illinois averages approximately 51 days of thunderstorm activity a year, which ranks somewhat above average in the number of thunderstorm days for the United States. Illinois is vulnerable to tornadoes, with an average of 35 occurring annually, which puts much of the state at around five tornadoes per 10,000 sq mi (30,000 km ) annually. While tornadoes are no more powerful in Illinois than other states, some of Tornado Alley 's deadliest tornadoes on record have occurred in
2645-656: A week.) More construction was funded in part by $ 1 million from the Works Progress Administration ; the airport expanded to fill the square mile in 1938–41 after a court ordered the Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad to reroute tracks that had crossed the square along the northern edge of the older field. The March 1939 OAG shows 47 weekday departures: 13 on United, 13 American, 9 TWA, 4 Northwest, and two each on Eastern, Braniff, Pennsylvania Central , and C&S . New York's airport (Newark, then LaGuardia by
2760-530: A wide variety of ethnic groups. The city of Rockford , Illinois's third-largest city and center of the state's fourth largest metropolitan area, sits along Interstates 39 and 90 some 75 mi (121 km) northwest of Chicago. The Quad Cities region, located along the Mississippi River in northern Illinois, had a population of 381,342 in 2011. The midsection of Illinois is the second major division, called Central Illinois . Historically prairie , it
2875-561: Is ireniwaki . The name Illiniwek has also been said to mean 'tribe of superior men', which is a false etymology . The name Illinois derives from the Miami-Illinois verb irenwe·wa 'he speaks the regular way'. This was taken into the Ojibwe language , perhaps in the Ottawa dialect , and modified into ilinwe· (pluralized as ilinwe·k ). The French borrowed these forms, spelling
2990-523: Is Springfield in the center of the state, and the state's largest city is Chicago in the northeast. Present-day Illinois was inhabited by Indigenous cultures for thousands of years. The French were the first Europeans to arrive, settling near the Mississippi and Illinois River in the 17th century Illinois Country , as part of their sprawling colony of New France . A century later, the revolutionary Illinois campaign prefigured American involvement in
3105-422: Is a major commercial airport on the southwest side of Chicago, Illinois , located approximately 12 miles (19 km) from the city's Loop business district. Established in 1927, Midway served as Chicago's primary airport until the opening of O'Hare International Airport in 1944. Today, Midway is one of the busiest airports in the nation and the second-busiest airport both in the Chicago metropolitan area and
3220-482: Is defined as 10 miles north of the southernmost extremity of Lake Michigan. However, the Illinois delegate, Nathaniel Pope , wanted more, and lobbied to have the boundary moved further north. The final bill passed by Congress included an amendment to shift the border to 42° 30' north, which is approximately 51 mi (82 km) north of the Indiana northern border. This shift added 8,500 sq mi (22,000 km ) to
3335-689: Is now mainly agricultural and known as the Heart of Illinois. It is characterized by small towns and medium–small cities. The western section (west of the Illinois River) was originally part of the Military Tract of 1812 and forms the conspicuous western bulge of the state. Agriculture, particularly corn and soybeans , as well as educational institutions and manufacturing centers, figure prominently in Central Illinois. Cities include Peoria ; Springfield ,
3450-557: Is separated from the rest of the state by the Mississippi River. This region has a somewhat warmer winter climate, different variety of crops (including some cotton farming in the past), more rugged topography (due to the area remaining unglaciated during the Illinoian Stage , unlike most of the rest of the state), as well as small-scale oil deposits and coal mining. The Illinois suburbs of St. Louis , such as East St. Louis , are located in this region, and collectively, they are known as
3565-418: Is the Mississippi River ; Kaskaskia is an exclave of Illinois, lying west of the Mississippi and reachable only from Missouri. The state's northern border with Wisconsin is fixed at 42° 30′ north latitude. The northeastern border of Illinois lies in Lake Michigan , within which Illinois shares a water boundary with the state of Michigan , as well as Wisconsin and Indiana. Though Illinois lies entirely in
Illinois Route 50 - Misplaced Pages Continue
3680-520: The /we/ ending as -ois , a transliteration of that sound in the French of that time. The current spelling form, Illinois , began to appear in the early 1670s, when French colonists had settled in the western area. The Illinois's name for themselves, as attested in all three of the French missionary-period dictionaries of Illinois, was Inoka , of unknown meaning and unrelated to the other terms. American Indians of successive cultures lived along
3795-424: The 1822 Illinois gubernatorial election . In 1824, state residents voted against making slavery legal by a vote of 6640 against to 4972 for. Still, most residents opposed allowing free blacks as permanent residents. Some settlers brought in slaves seasonally or as house servants. The Illinois Constitution of 1848 was written with a provision for exclusionary laws to be passed. In 1853, John A. Logan helped pass
3910-589: The Atlantic Ocean . In 1960, Ray Kroc opened the first McDonald's franchise in Des Plaines , which was demolished in 1984. In 1985 a replica was built on the same site to recreate how the original one looked. Though this replica was demolished in 2017, due to repeated flooding of the building. Illinois had a prominent role in the emergence of the nuclear age . In 1942, as part of the Manhattan Project ,
4025-773: The Eocene Epoch . During the Pleistocene Epoch , vast ice sheets covered much of Illinois, with only the Driftless Area remaining exposed. These glaciers carved the basin of Lake Michigan and left behind traces of ancient glacial lakes and moraines . Illinois is located in the Midwest region of the United States and is one of the eight states in the Great Lakes region of North America (which also includes Ontario , Canada). Illinois's eastern border with Indiana consists of
4140-531: The Illinois Native Americans , a name that was spelled in many different ways in the early records. American scholars previously thought the name Illinois meant 'man' or 'men' in the Miami-Illinois language , with the original iliniwek transformed via French into Illinois. This etymology is not supported by the Illinois language, as the word for "man" is ireniwa , and plural of "man"
4255-480: The Illinois Budget Impasse , a 793-day period stretching from 2015 to 2018 in which the state had no budget and struggled to pay its bills. On August 28, 2017, Rauner signed a bill into law that prohibited state and local police from arresting anyone solely due to their immigration status or due to federal detainers. Some fellow Republicans criticized Rauner for his action, claiming the bill made Illinois
4370-661: The Interior Plains , it does have some minor variation in its elevation. In extreme northwestern Illinois, the Driftless Area , a region of unglaciated and therefore higher and more rugged topography, occupies a small part of the state. Southern Illinois includes the hilly areas around the Shawnee National Forest . Charles Mound , located in the Driftless region, has the state's highest natural elevation above sea level at 1,235 ft (376 m). Other highlands include
4485-481: The Kankakee River and then turns east onto East River Street before turning north onto a one-way pair of Harrison Avenue northbound and Indiana Avenue southbound. While on this one-way pair, IL 50 crosses two railroads, then turns east onto Fair Street and crosses a third. After crossing the railroads, the roadway curves in a northerly direction and becomes Hobbie Avenue before it enters Bradley . In Bradley,
4600-648: The Latter Day Saints had founded a utopian city called Nauvoo , formerly called Commerce. Located in Hancock County along the Mississippi River , Nauvoo flourished and, by 1844, briefly surpassed Chicago for the position of the state's largest city. But in that same year, the Latter Day Saint movement founder, Joseph Smith , was killed in the Carthage Jail , about 30 miles away from Nauvoo. Following
4715-678: The Metro-East . The other somewhat significant concentration of population in Southern Illinois is the Carbondale-Marion-Herrin, Illinois Combined Statistical Area centered on Carbondale and Marion , a two-county area that is home to 123,272 residents. A portion of southeastern Illinois is part of the extended Evansville, Indiana , Metro Area, locally referred to as the Tri-State with Indiana and Kentucky. Seven Illinois counties are in
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4830-482: The Midwest region . Chicago, the third-most populous city in the United States , is the center of the Chicago metropolitan area or Chicagoland, as this area is nicknamed. Although the Chicago metropolitan area comprises only 9% of the land area of the state, it contains 65% of the state's residents, with 21.4% of Illinois' population living in the city of Chicago itself as of 2020. The losses of population anticipated from
4945-625: The Shawnee Hills in the south, and there is varying topography along its rivers; the Illinois River bisects the state northeast to southwest. The floodplain on the Mississippi River from Alton to the Kaskaskia River is known as the American Bottom . Illinois has three major geographical divisions. Northern Illinois is dominated by Chicago metropolitan area , or Chicagoland, which is
5060-748: The Stevenson Expressway , and Midway saw the return of major airlines that year, with 1,663,074 passengers on smaller-capacity, shorter range twin-jet and trijet airliners such as the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 , BAC One-Eleven , Boeing 727 , and Boeing 737 that could use Midway's runways, which the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 could not. In May 1968 there were 22 scheduled departures: six United 727s to MSP, DCA and LGA, 12 Northwest 727s to MSP and CLE, one Delta DC-9 to STL and three Ozark FH227s. The December 1970 OAG shows 86 weekday arrivals (77 jet) on 13 fixed-wing airlines from 31 airports, but
5175-470: The Union Army , a figure surpassed by only New York, Pennsylvania , and Ohio . Beginning with President Abraham Lincoln 's first call for troops and continuing throughout the war, Illinois mustered 150 infantry regiments, which were numbered from the 7th to the 156th regiments. Seventeen cavalry regiments were also gathered, as well as two light artillery regiments. The town of Cairo , at the southern tip of
5290-472: The United States . It borders the state of Wisconsin to its north, Iowa to its northwest, Missouri to its southwest, Kentucky to its south, Indiana to its east, and has a water border with Michigan to the northeast in Lake Michigan . Of the fifty U.S. states, Illinois has the fifth-largest gross domestic product (GDP) , the sixth-largest population , and the 25th-most land area . Its capital city
5405-475: The University of Chicago conducted the first sustained nuclear chain reaction . In 1957, Argonne National Laboratory , near Chicago , activated the first experimental nuclear power generating system in the United States. By 1960, the first privately financed nuclear plant in the United States, Dresden 1 , was dedicated near Morris . In 1967, Fermilab , a national nuclear research facility near Batavia , opened
5520-541: The 2020 census results do not arise from the Chicago metro area; rather the declines are from the Downstate counties. As of the 2020 census, the state's geographic mean center of population is located at 41° 18′ 43″N 88° 22 23″W in Grundy County , about six miles northwest of Coal City . Chicago Midway International Airport Chicago Midway International Airport ( IATA : MDW , ICAO : KMDW , FAA LID : MDW )
5635-547: The August 1974 shows 14 arrivals (all jet) on four airlines, and in 1976–79 Midway had only the two or three Delta DC-9s from St Louis. Midway Airlines arrived on October 31, 1979, with DC-9 nonstops to Kansas City, Detroit and Cleveland Lakefront; they expanded greatly in the 1980s. Their September 1989 timetable shows 117 weekday departures to 29 cities, plus 108 departures on their commuter affiliates to 22 more cities. Midway ceased flying in 1991 due to financial challenges. In 1982,
5750-706: The Crown made it part of the territory reserved for Indians west of the Appalachians, and then part of the British Province of Quebec . In 1778, George Rogers Clark claimed Illinois County for Virginia . In a compromise, Virginia (and other states that made various claims) ceded the area to the new United States in the 1780s and it became part of the Northwest Territory , administered by the federal government and later organized as states. The Illinois-Wabash Company
5865-701: The Fox ( Meskwaki ), Iowa , Kickapoo , Mascouten , Piankeshaw , Shawnee , Wea , and Winnebago ( Ho-Chunk ) came into the area from the east and north around the Great Lakes. French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet explored the Illinois River in 1673. Marquette soon after founded a mission at the Grand Village of the Illinois in Illinois Country . In 1680, French explorers under René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle and Henri de Tonti constructed
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#17330922556805980-522: The Grey Goose Airlines, the latter under lease to Stout Air Lines . The fire followed an explosion of undetermined cause in the Universal hangar. In 1931, a new passenger terminal opened at 62nd St; the following year the airport claimed to be the " World's Busiest " with over 100,846 passengers on 60,947 flights. (The July 1932 Official Aviation Guide (OAG) shows 206 scheduled airline departures
6095-533: The January 1951 C&GS approach chart shows four parallel pairs of runways, all 4240 ft or less except for 5730-ft runway 13R (current runway 13C) and 5230-ft runway 4R. The April 1957 OAG shows 414 weekday fixed-wing departures from Midway: 83 American , 83 United , 56 TWA , 40 Capital , 35 North Central , 28 Delta , 27 Eastern , 22 Northwest , 19 Ozark , 11 Braniff , 5 Trans-Canada , and 5 Lake Central . Air France , Lufthansa , and REAL (of Brazil) had
6210-413: The Loop. Midway Airport is the end of the line, which crosses the southwest part of the city before circling around the Loop. Unlike the CTA Blue Line, which runs 24 hours a day, every day, the Orange Line runs from about 4:00 am to 1:00 am, just shy of 24 hours, at an average of 8-minute intervals. During overnight periods, the N62 Archer bus is available as an alternative. Once the train departs,
6325-444: The US FAA Chart Supplement , are restricted from use by large commercial aircraft except in emergency. Runway 13L/31R was permanently closed after 82 years on August 9, 2023, and was converted to Taxiway H. Midway has 43 aircraft gates on three concourses. The Chicago Transit Authority operates the Orange Line "L" and multiple bus routes to the airport. Pace also operates numerous bus routes. River Valley Metro operates
6440-511: The airport, noting that the process was no longer competitive after one of the two finalists had backed out. The one remaining was Great Lakes Airport Alliance – a partnership of Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets and Ferrovial . Macquarie was one of the investors in the Chicago Skyway. The group that had backed out was a group that included the Australia-based Industry Funds Management and Manchester Airports Group . The Great Lakes proposal had been valued at $ 2 billion and would have involved
6555-573: The airport. ATA Airlines (ATA) took over Chicago Express Airlines , also known as ATA Connection , whose primary hub was at Midway. Chicago Express served as a regional airline connecting to airports around the Great Lakes regions. Following the September 11 attacks , which resulted in a drop in passenger service, along with other problems for the airline industry, both Vanguard and National ceased operations at Midway and became defunct in 2002, with MetroJet being dissolved and refolded into US Airways' main line in late 2001. In 2002, Midway welcomed
6670-491: The area. In addition to these three, largely latitudinally defined divisions, all of the region outside the Chicago metropolitan area is often called " downstate " Illinois. This term is flexible, but is generally meant to mean everything outside the influence of the Chicago area. Thus, some cities in Northern Illinois, such as DeKalb , which is west of Chicago, and Rockford —which is actually north of Chicago—are sometimes incorrectly considered to be 'downstate'. Illinois has
6785-445: The barrier fence of the airport, and came to rest at the intersection of 55th Street and Central Avenue bordering the airport at its northwest corner. A 6-year-old boy was killed as a passenger in a vehicle that was struck by the plane after it skidded into the street. Source: Civil Aeronautics Board archives, NTSB records. Note: Prior to 1941, the runways did not have numerical designations. The runway now designated 13C/31C
6900-474: The central Illinois River valley, one third of all adults died as a result of violent injuries." The next major power in the region was the Illinois Confederation or Illini, a political alliance. Around the time of European contact in 1673, the Illinois confederation had an estimated population of over 10,000 people. As the Illini declined during the Beaver Wars era, members of the Algonquian -speaking Potawatomi , Miami , Sauk , and other tribes including
7015-444: The central and southern areas attracted immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe . Illinois became one of America's most industrialized states and remains a major manufacturing center. The Great Migration from the South established a large Black community, particularly in Chicago , which became a leading cultural, economic, and population center; its metropolitan area , informally referred to as Chicagoland , holds about 65% of
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#17330922556807130-434: The city leased the airport and named it Chicago Municipal Airport on December 12, 1927. By 1928, the airport had twelve hangars and four runways, which were lit for night operations. A major fire early on June 25, 1930, destroyed two hangars and 27 aircraft, "12 of them tri-motor passenger planes." The loss was estimated at more than two million dollars. The hangars destroyed belonged to the Universal Air Lines, Inc. and
7245-409: The city of Chicago and its suburbs, and the adjoining exurban area into which the metropolis is expanding. As defined by the federal government, the Chicago metro area includes several counties in Illinois, Indiana , and Wisconsin , and has a population of over 9.8 million. Chicago itself is a cosmopolitan city, densely populated, industrialized, the transportation hub of the nation, and settled by
7360-439: The city of Chicago purchased Midway Airport from the Chicago Board of Education for $ 16 million. Three years later, Southwest Airlines began operations at Midway. Midway was a focus city for Vanguard Airlines from 1997 to 2000. The Chicago Transit Authority displaced the Carlton Midway Inn to open a new CTA terminal at the airport on October 31, 1993, for the new Chicago 'L' Orange Line that connected Midway to
7475-446: The development of the American labor movement . From Sunday, October 8, 1871, until Tuesday, October 10, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire burned in downtown Chicago, destroying four sq mi (10 km ). At the turn of the 20th century, Illinois had a population of nearly 5 million. Many people from other parts of the country were attracted to the state by employment caused by the expanding industrial base. Whites were 98% of
7590-492: The displaced landing thresholds, the runways have shorter distances available for landings than for takeoffs. 13C/31C, the longest runway, only has an available landing distance of 6,059 feet (1,847 m) in the southeast direction, and 5,826 feet (1,776 m) to the northwest. The largest aircraft normally seen at Midway is the Boeing 757 . Normally, commercial planes only take off from and land on runways 4R/22L and 13C/31C. The other runways are used by smaller aircraft and, per
7705-438: The end of 1939) was then the busiest airline airport in the United States, but Midway passed LaGuardia in 1948 and kept the title until 1960. The record-breaking 1945 Japan–Washington flight of B-29s refueled at the airport on their way to Washington, DC. In July 1949, the airport was renamed after the Battle of Midway . That year, Midway saw 3.2 million passengers; passengers peaked at 10 million in 1959. The diagram on
7820-548: The end of Indian resistance to white settlement in the Chicago region. The Indians had been forced to leave their homes and move to Iowa in 1831; when they attempted to return, they were attacked and eventually defeated by U.S. militia . The survivors were forced back to Iowa. By 1832, when the last Indian lands in Illinois were ceded to the United States, the indigenous population of the state had been reduced by infectious diseases, warfare, and forced westward removal to only one village with fewer than 300 inhabitants. By 1839,
7935-550: The main hub for Indianapolis -based ATA, but the airline announced in March 2008 that it would end all flights from Midway on June 7, 2008. Even before that could happen, though, ATA filed for bankruptcy on April 2, 2008, and ceased all flights the following day. In November 2008, Porter Airlines , which flies between Midway and Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport , was the only international route served from Chicago–Midway after ATA Airlines , which had flights to Mexico , ceased operations in April that year. On December 13, 2010,
8050-415: The nation's railroad hub since the 1860s, and its O'Hare International Airport has been among the world's busiest airports for decades. Illinois has long been considered a microcosm of the United States and a bellwether in American culture, exemplified by the phrase Will it play in Peoria? . "Illinois" is the modern spelling for the early French Catholic missionaries and explorers' name for
8165-500: The new 900,000-square-foot (84,000 m ) Midway Airport terminal building opened, with larger ticket counters, spacious baggage claim areas, traveler information, and a short walking distance to gates. A 50,000-square-foot (4,600 m ) food court opened with Chicago-style food and retail options. The expansion project culminated with a short lived period of great airline diversity at Midway as Vanguard Airlines , National Airlines and AirTran Airways all expanded their services to
8280-499: The north and center, and natural resources such as coal, timber, and petroleum in the south. Owing to its central location and favorable geography, the state is a major transportation hub : the Port of Chicago has 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 . Chicago has been
8395-517: The north branch of the Chicago River and intersects US 14 at Peterson Avenue. North of this intersection, the highway leaves Chicago and passes through Lincolnwood . It then continues north to its northern terminus at Lincoln Avenue ( US 41 ) in Skokie . Illinois Illinois ( / ˌ ɪ l ɪ ˈ n ɔɪ / IL -in- OY ) is a state in the Midwestern region of
8510-611: The northern part of the state. The southern part of the state shipped food north, and this may have contributed to its name, " Little Egypt ", after the Biblical story of Joseph in Egypt supplying grain to his brothers. In 1832, the Black Hawk War was fought in Illinois and present-day Wisconsin between the United States and the Sauk , Fox (Meskwaki) , and Kickapoo Indian tribes. It represents
8625-531: The northwest at an intersection with Cal Sag Road, while IL 50 continues heading north and crosses the Little Calumet River into Alsip . Here, the highway shares an interchange with I-294 (Tri-State Tollway), then continues due north into Oak Lawn . In Oak Lawn, IL 50 meets US 12 and US 20 at 95th Street, then continues north and leaves the city. Around 79th street, It begins to parallel Illinois Route 171 and Illinois Route 43 to
8740-508: The northwest, leaves Country Club Hills and enters Oak Forest . The route continues northward in Oak Forest, intersecting 159th Street ( US 6 ). North of the US ;6 intersection, the highway crosses into Midlothian , where it intersects IL 83 south at 149th Street. IL 50 and IL 83 head north and enter Crestwood . In the northern part of this city, IL 83 splits off to
8855-399: The population of Illinois was 12,812,508 in the 2020 United States census , moving from the fifth-largest state to the sixth-largest state (losing out to Pennsylvania). Illinois' population slightly declined in 2020 from the 2010 United States census by just over 18,000 residents and the overall population was quite higher than recent census estimates. Illinois is the most populous state in
8970-411: The railroad and I-57, IL 50 passes through Peotone and heads toward Monee . In Monee, the route dips to the north and crosses the railroad, then crosses into University Park . Here the route is known as Governors Highway. It curves north before leaving the city and Will County, crossing into urban Cook County . Upon crossing into Cook County, IL 50 enters Richton Park . From here northward
9085-463: The region. Following U.S. independence in 1783 , which made the Mississippi River the national boundary, American settlers began arriving from Kentucky via the Ohio River. Illinois was soon part of the United States' oldest territory, the Northwest Territory , and in 1818 it achieved statehood . The Erie Canal brought increased commercial activity in the Great Lakes, and the invention of the self-scouring steel plow by Illinoisan John Deere turned
9200-534: The return of international service after a 40-year absence with the opening of the new Federal Inspection Service facility in Concourse A. In June 2004, Mayor Daley and airline officials celebrated the completion of the Terminal Development Program. The project, designed by HNTB resulted in the addition of 14 gates (from 29 to 43). A new 6,300-space economy parking garage, including a new bridge and roadway for buses shuttling passengers to and from
9315-565: The road is known as Cicero Avenue. It passes straight through Richton Park and into Matteson . In Matteson, IL 50 meets Lincoln Highway ( US 30 ). The route then continues due north through the remainder of Matteson, through the Southern Green Belt Forest Preserve, and into Country Club Hills . Continuing north through Country Club Hills, IL 50 crosses under I-80 , then under I-57, without access to either highway. Just north of I-57, IL 50 curves slightly to
9430-417: The road is known as Kinzie Avenue, and it continues due north, meeting a diamond interchange with Interstate 57 (I-57), then leaving the city. North of the city, IL 50 begins to parallel a railroad. It bends to the northeast, crosses the southern branch of Rock Creek, and passes through Manteno . Northeast of Manteno, the highway leaves Kankakee County and crosses into Will County . Still paralleling
9545-489: The same lengths as always. A short runway (13R/31L) for light aircraft was added in 1989. Chicago Midway International Airport covers just over one square mile (650 acres or 260 hectares) and has four active runways: Midway is surrounded by buildings and other development, so the landing thresholds of the runways are displaced to provide obstacle clearance. The FAA and the airlines ensure safety by adhering to calculated load limits and various weather minimums. Because of
9660-586: The second-most populous urban area in Illinois with over 700,000 residents. Other major urban areas include the Peoria metropolitan area , Rockford metropolitan area , Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area (home to the University of Illinois ), Springfield metropolitan area , the Illinois portion of the Quad Cities area, and the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area . The United States Census Bureau found that
9775-423: The southern tip of Lake Michigan. Such a boundary would have left Illinois with no shoreline on Lake Michigan at all. However, as Indiana had successfully been granted a 10 mi (16 km) northern extension of its boundary to provide it with a usable lakefront, the original bill for Illinois statehood, submitted to Congress on January 23, 1818, stipulated a northern border at the same latitude as Indiana's, which
9890-402: The southern tip to around 35 in (889 mm) in the northern portion of the state. Normal annual snowfall exceeds 38 in (965 mm) in the Chicago area, while the southern portion of the state normally receives less than 14 in (356 mm). The all-time high temperature was 117 °F (47 °C), recorded on July 14, 1954, at East St. Louis , and the all-time low temperature
10005-579: The state at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, served as a strategically important supply base and training center for the Union army. For several months, both General Grant and Admiral Foote had headquarters in Cairo. During the Civil War, and more so afterwards, Chicago's population skyrocketed, which increased its prominence. The Pullman Strike and Haymarket Riot , in particular, greatly influenced
10120-407: The state capital; Quincy ; Decatur ; Bloomington-Normal ; and Champaign - Urbana . The third division is Southern Illinois , comprising the area south of U.S. Route 50 , including Little Egypt , near the juncture of the Mississippi River and Ohio River . Southern Illinois is the site of the ancient city of Cahokia , as well as the site of the first state capital at Kaskaskia , which today
10235-516: The state of Illinois, serving 22,050,489 passengers in 2023. Midway is a base for Southwest Airlines , which carries over 95% of the passengers at the airport. The airport's current name is in honor of the Battle of Midway . The now-defunct Midway Airlines , once headquartered at Midway, took its name from the airport. The airfield is located in a square mile bounded by 55th and 63rd Streets, and Central and Cicero Avenues . The current terminal complex
10350-578: The state's 12.8 million residents. Two World Heritage Sites are in Illinois, the ancient Cahokia Mounds , and part of the Wright architecture site. Major centers of learning include the University of Chicago , University of Illinois , and Northwestern University . A wide variety of protected areas seek to conserve Illinois' natural and cultural resources. Three U.S. presidents have been elected while residents of Illinois: Abraham Lincoln , Ulysses S. Grant , and Barack Obama ; additionally, Ronald Reagan
10465-568: The state's population. Bolstered by continued immigration from southern and eastern Europe , and by the African-American Great Migration from the South, Illinois grew and emerged as one of the most important states in the union. By the end of the century, the population had reached 12.4 million. The Century of Progress World's fair was held at Chicago in 1933. Oil strikes in Marion County and Crawford County led to
10580-475: The state's rich prairie into some of the world's most productive and valuable farmland, attracting immigrant farmers from Germany and Sweden . In the mid-19th century, the Illinois and Michigan Canal and a sprawling railroad network facilitated trade, commerce, and settlement, making the state a transportation hub for the nation. By 1900, the growth of industrial jobs in the northern cities and coal mining in
10695-475: The state, including the lead mining region near Galena . More importantly, it added nearly 50 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline and the Chicago River. Pope and others envisioned a canal that would connect the Chicago and Illinois rivers and thus connect the Great Lakes to the Mississippi. In 1818, Illinois became the 21st U.S. state. The capital remained at Kaskaskia, headquartered in a small building rented by
10810-452: The state. The Midway Airport parking garage opened in 1999, bringing covered parking to the airport for the first time. The garage is connected to the Midway terminal building for convenient access to ticket counters and baggage claim areas. Continuing with the expansion project, a pedestrian bridge over Cicero Avenue was built in 2000, connecting the new terminal to the new concourses. In 2001
10925-422: The state. In 1819, Vandalia became the capital, and over the next 18 years, three separate buildings were built to serve successively as the capitol building. In 1837, the state legislators representing Sangamon County , under the leadership of state representative Abraham Lincoln , succeeded in having the capital moved to Springfield , where a fifth capitol building was constructed. A sixth capitol building
11040-448: The state. The Tri-State Tornado of 1925 killed 695 people in three states; 613 of the victims died in Illinois. Chicago is the largest city in the state and the third-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 2,746,388 in 2020. Furthermore, over 7 million residents of the Chicago metropolitan area reside in Illinois. The U.S. Census Bureau currently lists seven other cities with populations of over 100,000 within
11155-473: The state. This includes the Chicago satellite towns of Aurora , Joliet , Naperville , and Elgin , as well as the cities of Rockford , the most populous city in the state outside of the Chicago area; Springfield , the state's capital; and Peoria . The most populated city in the state south of Springfield is Belleville , with 42,000 residents. It is located in the Metro East region of Greater St. Louis ,
11270-506: The terminal, opened in December 2005. Simultaneous to Midway's expansion, ATA Airlines began rapid expansion at Midway in the early 2000s (decade), and was the airport's dominant carrier prior to 2004, using 14 of the 17 gates in Concourse A. However, after the airline declared bankruptcy in October 2004, scheduled service from Midway significantly decreased. For over 16 years, Midway had been
11385-532: The trip from Midway to the Loop takes about 25 minutes. In 1996, after failing to get his Lake Calumet Airport and having received harsh criticism for the idea of turning the airport into an industrial park, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley announced the Midway Airport Terminal Development Program, which was launched the following year. At the time, it was the largest public works project in
11500-493: The waterways of the Illinois area for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans. The Koster Site has been excavated and demonstrates 7,000 years of continuous habitation. Cahokia , the largest regional chiefdom and Urban Center of the Pre-Columbian Mississippian culture , was located near present-day Collinsville, Illinois . They built an urban complex of more than 100 platform and burial mounds ,
11615-519: The west. It parallels Illinois 171 until its terminus at Illinois Route 72 and Illinois Route 43 for the duration of the route. Continuing north, the highway enters Chicago entirely and serves Chicago Midway International Airport , then meets I-55 (Stevenson Expressway) at a diamond interchange. North of the interchange with I-55, IL 50 crosses the Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal , leaving Chicago and entering Cicero . The route re-enters Chicago
11730-473: Was Chicago Helicopter. In August 1966, a total of four fixed-wing arrivals were scheduled, all United 727s (United was alone at Midway until early 1968). By 1967, reconstruction began at the airport, adding three new concourses with 28 gates and three ticket counters, and in 1968, the city invested $ 10 million in renovation funds. (For a few months during the 1967 renovation, Midway had no scheduled airline flights.) The funds partly supported construction of
11845-455: Was Illinois's largest city. With the tremendous growth of mines and factories in the state in the 19th century, Illinois was the ground for the formation of labor unions in the United States . In 1847, after lobbying by Dorothea L. Dix , Illinois became one of the first states to establish a system of state-supported treatment of mental illness and disabilities, replacing local almshouses . Dix came into this effort after having met J. O. King,
11960-519: Was adopted in 1970, replacing the 1870 document. The first Farm Aid concert was held in Champaign to benefit American farmers, in 1985. The worst upper Mississippi River flood of the century, the Great Flood of 1993 , inundated many towns and thousands of acres of farmland. Illinois entered the 21st century under Republican Governor George Ryan . Near the end of his term in January 2003, following
12075-518: Was an early claimant to much of Illinois. The Illinois Territory was created on February 3, 1809, with its capital at Kaskaskia , an early French settlement. During the discussions leading up to Illinois's admission to the Union , the proposed northern boundary of the state was moved twice. The original provisions of the Northwest Ordinance had specified a boundary that would have been tangent to
12190-521: Was awarded the contract in October 2008 by the City Council , which voted 49–0 to approve it. The consortium would have operated the airport and collected airport parking, concession, and passenger facility charges. However, Chicago would have continued to provide fire and police services. In 2010 a new slogan emerged, calling the airport "The busiest square mile in the world". In September 2013, Mayor Rahm Emanuel terminated new negotiations to privatize
12305-625: Was born and raised in the state. Illinois honors Lincoln with its official state slogan Land of Lincoln . The state is the site of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield and the future home of the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago. Illinois has a highly diverse economy , with the global city of Chicago in the northeast, major industrial and agricultural hubs in
12420-525: Was carrying $ 10,000 in cash. James McCord alleged that she supplied the Watergate defendants with money for legal expenses. Exactly 33 years later, on December 8, 2005, Southwest Airlines Flight 1248 , a Boeing 737-700 inbound from Baltimore–Washington International Airport in Baltimore, Maryland , slid off the runway while attempting to land at the airport in a heavy snow storm. The airplane broke through
12535-437: Was completed in 2001. The terminal bridges Cicero Avenue and contains 43 gates with facilities for international passengers. The CTA rapid transit Orange Line provides transit to Downtown Chicago, where it connects with other subway/elevated rapid transit lines. Originally named Chicago Air Park , Midway Airport was built on a 320-acre (130 ha) plot in 1923 with one cinder runway mainly for airmail flights. In 1926,
12650-504: Was erected in 1867, which continues to serve as the Illinois capitol today. Though it was ostensibly a " free state ", there was nonetheless slavery in Illinois . The ethnic French had owned black slaves since the 1720s, and American settlers had already brought slaves into the area from Kentucky . Slavery was nominally banned by the Northwest Ordinance, but that was not enforced for those already holding slaves. When Illinois became
12765-479: Was forced to expand inward, taking away from space in the concourses. Space that is reclaimed by moving security outward into the bridge will be redeveloped with an expansion of the central food court. The main parking garage is being extended eastward over the CTA L tracks to add 1,500 spaces and streamline the entrance way. In addition to the redeveloped central food court, new concession options will open in phases including
12880-635: Was submerged beneath a shallow sea and located near the Equator. Diverse marine life lived at this time, including trilobites , brachiopods , and crinoids . Changing environmental conditions led to the formation of large coal swamps in the Carboniferous . Illinois was above sea level for at least part of the Mesozoic , but by its end was again submerged by the Western Interior Seaway . This receded by
12995-614: Was topped by a structure thought to have measured about 105 ft (32 m) in length and 48 ft (15 m) in width, covered an area 5,000 sq ft (460 m ), and been as much as 50 ft (15 m) high, making its peak 150 ft (46 m) above the level of the plaza. The finely crafted ornaments and tools recovered by archaeologists at Cahokia include elaborate ceramics, finely sculptured stonework, carefully embossed and engraved copper and mica sheets, and one funeral blanket for an important chief fashioned from 20,000 shell beads. These artifacts indicate that Cahokia
13110-492: Was truly an urban center, with clustered housing, markets, and specialists in toolmaking, hide dressing, potting, jewelry making, shell engraving, weaving and salt making. The civilization vanished in the 15th century for unknown reasons, but historians and archeologists have speculated that the people depleted the area of resources. Many indigenous tribes engaged in constant warfare. According to Suzanne Austin Alchon, "At one site in
13225-541: Was −38 °F (−39 °C), recorded on January 31, 2019, during the January 2019 North American cold wave at a weather station near Mount Carroll , and confirmed on March 5, 2019. This followed the previous record of −36 °F (−38 °C) recorded on January 5, 1999, near Congerville . Prior to the Mount Carroll record, a temperature of −37 °F (−38 °C) was recorded on January 15, 2009, at Rochelle , but at
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