One of the largest suburban commuter rail system in the United States, operated by Metra, uses existing rail lines to provide direct commuter rail access for hundreds of suburbs to the city and beyond.
In addition to the state’s rail lines, the Mississippi River and Illinois River provide major transportation routes for the state’s agricultural interests. Lake Michigan gives Illinois access to the Atlantic Ocean by way of the Saint Lawrence Seaway.
Illinois has a well-developed interstate highway system. Illinois has the distinction of having the most primary interstates pass through it among all the 50 states
Major U.S. Interstate highways crossing the state include: Interstate 24 (I-24), I-39, I-41, I-55, I-57, I-64, I-70, I-72, I-74, I-80, I-88, I-90, and I-94.
The Flag and the Great Seal:
The Great Seal of the State of Illinois is the official emblem of the state, and signifies the official nature of a document produced by the state of Illinois. The flag of the state of Illinois consists of the seal of Illinois on a white background, with the word “Illinois” underneath the seal. The present seal was adopted in 1869, the flag bearing the central elements of the seal was adopted in 1915, and the word Illinois was added to the flag in 1970.
The current flag depicts the Great Seal of Illinois, which was originally designed in 1819 and emulated the Great Seal of the United States. In the eagle’s beak there is a banner with the state motto, “State Sovereignty, National Union.” The dates on the seal, 1818 and 1868, represent the year Illinois became a state and the year in which the Great Seal was redesigned
The first Great Seal of the State of Illinois was adopted in 1819 by the first Illinois General Assembly.
Tyndale’s seal, adopted in 1868, features a bald eagle pitched on a rock carrying a shield in its talons and a banner with the state motto in its beak. Thirteen stars and thirteen stripes on the shield represent the original thirteen states of the Union. The date August 26, 1818, when Illinois’s first constitution was adopted in Kaskaskia, appears along the bottom arc of the circle, and 1818, the year of statehood, displays on the seal below 1868, the year the current seal was adopted. This basic design has survived through several minor modifications since it was first conceived.
During her time as state regent of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1912, Ella Park Lawrence began a campaign to have Illinois adopt a state flag. She was unsuccessful during her time as state regent, but continued to lobby members of the Illinois General Assembly to adopt a state flag. On April 1, 1914, Lawrence sent a letter to every Illinois chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution announcing a contest to design an Illinois state flag, with the winner receiving a prize of $25. Thirty-five designs were submitted in response to this contest.