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This article is written in American English, which has its own spelling conventions (center, color, defense, realize, traveled) and some terms may be different or absent from other varieties of English. According to the relevant style guide, this should not be changed without broad consensus.

Illinois was one of the good articles, but it has been removed from the list. There are suggestions below for improving the article to meet the good article criteria. Once these issues have been addressed, the article can be renominated. Editors may also seek a reassessment of the decision if they believe there was a mistake.

Article milestones
Date	Process	Result
May 29, 2006	Peer review	Reviewed
September 10, 2006	Good article reassessment	Delisted
May 8, 2007	Peer review	Reviewed

Current status: Delisted good article

Illinois Top‑importance

	Illinois portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Illinois, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Illinois on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.IllinoisWikipedia:WikiProject IllinoisTemplate:WikiProject IllinoisWikiProject Illinois
Top	This article has been rated as Top-importance on the project's importance scale.

United States Top‑importance

	United States portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject United States, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of topics relating to the United States of America on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the ongoing discussions. Template Usage Articles Requested! Become a Member Project Talk Alerts United StatesWikipedia:WikiProject United StatesTemplate:WikiProject United StatesUnited States
Top	This article has been rated as Top-importance on the project's importance scale.

Section sizes

Section size for Illinois (84 sections)
Section name	Byte count		Prose size (words)
Section name	Header	Total	Header	Total
(Top)	12,983	12,983	595	595
Etymology	3,886	3,886	195	195
History	42	39,079	0	2,692
Pre-European	5,699	5,699	369	369
European exploration and settlement prior to 1800	2,917	2,917	235	235
19th century	236	15,515	0	1,376
Prior to statehood	2,127	2,127	275	275
State of Illinois prior to the Civil War	11,095	11,095	918	918
Civil War and after	2,057	2,057	183	183
20th century	7,405	7,405	444	444
21st century	7,501	7,501	268	268
Geography	1,653	27,008	163	1,388
Topography	1,082	1,082	140	140
Geology	1,528	1,528	119	119
Divisions	4,668	4,668	512	512
Climate	13,676	13,676	288	288
Urban areas	4,401	4,401	166	166
Demographics	5,755	86,468	270	3,800
Race and ethnicity	11,062	43,892	32	2,187
2024 American Community Survey	3,820	3,820	145	145
Hispanic Americans	4,724	4,724	320	320
African-Americans	5,585	5,585	395	395
Asian-Americans	4,935	4,935	343	343
Native Americans	1,321	1,321	104	104
Pacific Islanders	945	945	57	57
European-Americans	6,494	6,494	501	501
Arab Americans	2,120	2,120	102	102
Demographic Trends	2,886	2,886	188	188
Ancestry	3,418	3,418	121	121
Immigration	5,627	5,627	85	85
Age and sex	2,092	2,092	139	139
Socioeconomics	5,858	5,858	300	300
Birth data by race/ethnicity	7,757	7,757	0	0
Languages	3,406	3,406	139	139
Religion	936	8,663	0	559
Christianity	3,015	3,015	294	294
Other Abrahamic religious communities	4,531	4,531	251	251
Other religions	181	181	14	14
Economy	2,203	30,986	83	1,815
Agriculture	3,866	3,866	234	234
Manufacturing	1,804	1,804	105	105
Services	801	801	91	91
Investments	413	413	44	44
Energy	692	13,266	33	843
Coal	2,957	2,957	293	293
Petroleum	1,259	1,259	71	71
Nuclear power	2,214	2,214	148	148
Wind power	3,796	3,796	197	197
Biofuels	2,348	2,348	101	101
Taxes	8,633	8,633	415	415
Culture	13	15,777	0	1,742
Museums	2,609	2,609	289	289
Music	2,376	2,376	247	247
Movies	679	679	88	88
Recreation	1,655	1,655	131	131
Sports	8,445	8,445	987	987
Law and politics	493	18,507	17	1,162
State government	5,263	5,263	264	264
Party balance	4,899	4,899	289	289
History of corruption	1,620	1,620	184	184
U.S. presidential elections	1,859	1,859	242	242
African-American U.S. senators	950	950	53	53
Political families	328	3,423	33	113
Ingersoll	907	907	18	18
Stevenson	881	881	23	23
Daley	434	434	7	7
Pritzker	448	448	20	20
Madigan	425	425	12	12
Education	413	4,984	0	487
Illinois State Board of education	525	525	61	61
Primary and secondary schools	777	777	99	99
Colleges and universities	2,042	2,042	190	190
School financing	1,227	1,227	137	137
Transportation	222	18,830	27	836
Airports	2,344	2,344	190	190
Highways	3,240	3,240	157	157
Buses	6,304	6,304	63	63
Railroads	5,301	5,301	250	250
Waterways	1,419	1,419	149	149
See also	178	178	0	0
Notes	26	26	0	0
References	35	35	0	0
Further reading	4,196	4,196	0	0
External links	2,344	2,344	0	0
Total	265,287	265,287	14,712	14,712

Archives

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Bloomington-Normal

please add Bloomington-Normal to the list urban areas as it's grown larger tthan Springfield. 98.215.55.73 (talk) 03:40, 24 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Bordering states?

why is there no mention of which states borders with illinois in the opening description instead of the bordering waterways?

Every other states and nations seem to have that information. Edit: The article about Virginia also seem to lack a mention of neighbouring states.

2A00:801:7AA:9E2A:580C:3ACD:7295:EACC (talk) 21:18, 8 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 23 September 2025

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

Add somewhere in the border description that Illinois borders "Wisconsin to the north". 66.99.95.110 (talk) 14:01, 23 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. The current text already mentions Wisconsin twice. If you'd like it changed, please specify what specifically. "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." Nubzor [T][C] 14:34, 23 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 9 December 2025

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

Between "it borders Lake Michigan to its northeast" and "the Mississippi river to its west", add "Wisconsin to its north". ~2025-39642-72 (talk) 14:51, 9 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Done Aston305 (complain/compliment) 16:28, 9 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]