| Best Illinois Travel Deals | Sponsored Links |
The Allerton Hotel
Stylish Chicago Accommodations Right Downtown Near Loop, Shopping! Chicago Luxury Hotel
Enjoy views of Lake Michigan w/easy access to all starting $395/night. 5 Star Chicago Hotels
Get your last night free at 700+ HotelsBrowse Chicago Hotels & Save
| Learn the local customs of Illinois. Tips and photos posted by real travelers and Illinois locals. Map |
 | Illinois Local Customs | Tips 1 - 10 of 17 |  |
Click photo because it is a PANORAMIC
The variety of life in Illinois results from the state's special geographic position and geologic history. Along its north-south axis, Illinois is one of the longest states in the Midwest. Thus, the north has cooler summers and colder winters; the south has mild winters and hot summers. These mixed temperatures and moistures attribute to a rich diversity of wildlife year-round.
Illinois has woodlands along the moist river valleys; grasslands in the plains; the coastal plains of the southern part of the state resemble forest & swamps of Mississippi!
Because of our rich soils, mineral deposits, varied plants and animals, Illinois has always attracted the following:
Farmers (Illinois is known as an Agricultural State), Miners & Oil Speculators (Illinois has coal mines & oil rigs in Southern Illinois), Construction Workers (Chicago is famous for its varied and innovative skyscrapers), Forest Rangers (We need them to work at Shawnee National Forest, Giant City State Park, Garden of the Gods, Ferne Clyffe State Park, Crab Orchard National Fish & Wildlife Refuge, Chain o' Lakes State Park, and National Tallgrass Prairie), Scientists and Teachers (thousands of Public Schools, Private Schools, Junior Colleges, State Universities, and such outstanding universities as: Northwestern University, University of Chicago, and University of Illinois).
Definitely, Illinois has a variety of natural areas as well as a diversity of cultures, and a need for a wide-range of jobs--Thus, Variety is the "Spice" of Illinois! Leave a Comment
|
 | |  |
Visiting Illinois?
Read reviews about Illinois Hotels
Real Reviews from Real VirtualTourist Members.
I did not know where else to put this interesting information about the solution to the floods in Galena.
While in Galena, we took a tour and were most interested in the big Green flood gates.
To look at the Galena River as it is today, it seemed unlikely to us that it would be the cause of flooding. Yet, we were told that Galena had created a levy and changed the way the river was used as well as adding the flood gates. Why? Because of all the many floods they had experienced through the years. In 1937 a town committee prepared a report to the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers urging support to build a levy.
You have to know a little history to understand. Most of the people in the early days arrived at Galena by keelboats and steamboats. At that time, the Galena River was navigable for all Mississippi River steamers, even a low tide. Later, Galena became the most important steam port on the Mississippi between Rock Island & St. Paul. Once the farmers began to plw the uplands, there was a continual problem with silt and the river had to be dredged. In 1890 a lock and dam near the mouth of the Galena River was built to maintain a navigable stage up the stream to Galena. It was not constructed correctly so a dam at Aiken in Harris Slough was built. This forced the Galena river to flow up stream for two miles from its mouth and this caused more sediment. By 1921, the dam was abandoned and the stream bed was filled (this resulted in less rainfall causing floods at Galena). Early floods began in 1826 and continued regularly. One of the worst was in 1937 when the highest stage ever recorded (27.67) devasted the town due to the heavy ice flow after the rains. After this horrid flood and the flood commissions plea, the levy along the Galena River was constructed, and the gates which are still used today were installed. Leave a Comment
|
| | |
You can tell a great deal about a state by its choice of Symbols, its Famous People, & its Reputation as a 'body of People.
First, & most importantly, the "body of people" in the State of Illinois are known for being friendly & helpful. That Midwestern, downhome attitude is refreshing.
It is the children of Illinois who have chosen the State Symbols:
White Oak Tree (tree) which represents the strength of the state.
Violet (flower) points out the beauty of Illinois.
Cardinal (bird) signifies the state's bright determination & inventiveness.
Monarch Butterfly (insect) represents the state's ability to change.
Bluegill indicates the state's reputation for fighting for what it wants.
White-tailed Deer (animal) shows the state's gentle, nurturing nature.
Big Bluestem Prairie Grass represents the state's size & flexibility.
Wise choices for a State of "Superior Men"!
When it comes to famous people, I see their fame as Outcomes of the values engrained in them while growing up in Illinois:
A State That Backs the Arts:
Ray Bradbury (author), Gower Champion (Dance), Benny Goodman (musician), Ernest Hemingway (author), Charlton Heston (actor), Rock Hudson (actor), Quincy Jones (composer), Carl Sandburg (poet), Gloria Swanson (actress).
A State With Compassion:
Jane Addams (social worker)
An Inventive State:
John Deere (inventor)
A State Filled With Laughter:
John Balushi, Jack Benny, Bill Murray, Bob Newhart, Richard Pryor (comedians)
A State That Values Sports/Fitness:
Jimmy Connors (Tennis)
Dorothy Hamill (ice skating)
A State That Values Beauty:
Cindy Crawford (model)
Raquel Welch (Beauty & actress).
A State That Values Leadership:
Ulysses S. Grant, Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Regan (Presidents)
Black Hawk (Sauk Indian Chief)
Yes, choices tell a great deal about people & their state! Leave a Comment
|
| | |
As you drive southwards in Illinois out of Chicago, the presumed starting point for most people, you gradually move from one cultural region to another. You transition from a city, through suburbs, to the Midwest, to the South. Somewhere around an imaginary line between Springfield and Effingham you begin the change from the midwest to the South. This cross seemed to almost announce it, "You are entering the lands of the Christian fundamentalists", which is one aspect of a deeper change about to occur incrementally. Service in restaurants becomes more informal and slower, accents become drawls, the food changes (fried), the music changes to country, buildings sit closer to the ground, and in any regard that matters, you begin the slow, gradual, entry to the cultural entity called Dixie. This change takes place gradually, but by the time you cross into the counties below the forests, you are there. Leave a Comment
|
| | |
If you were to draw an imaginary line from the suburbs of Chicago to Champaign, then to Springfield and on to St. Louis, and if you then stayed on the northwestern side of that line, I would say you are probably culturally in the Midwest.
The Midwest isn't the most exciting part of the US, but it is kind of fun and quirky in its own way. People tend to be individualistic, even if they are conservative at heart. They generally do their own thing, like to talk to people, and pursue their own interests. They do tend to be a bit isolated form the world at large. Don't expect them to speak two or three languages like people in Chicago, and avoid talking religion and politics, and you'll find them a warm and welcoming folk.
This picture was taken in Prairie du Rocher Leave a Comment
|
Visiting Illinois?
Read reviews about Illinois Hotels
Real Reviews from Real VirtualTourist Members.
Monument With Standing Beast by Jean Dubuffet looms over the plaza outside the Thompson Center (formerly the State of Illinois Center) on West Randolph Street. The sculpture was constructed of ten tons (9,072 kilograms) of white fiberglass outlined in black. Leave a Comment
|
In 1967, Pablo Picasso donated a sculpture to the City of Chicago. Rising 50 feet (15 meters) and weighing 162 tons (146,966 kilograms), the rusted iron sculpture was not named by Picasso, and is simply known as The Picasso Sculpture. No one really knows what the work represents either, and each person must decide for himself what the artist had in mind when he created this sculpture. Leave a Comment
|
Marc Chagall's Four Seasons is a 70-foot (21-meter) long mosaic mural of multi-colored marble, glass, and stone that is located in the Bank One Plaza on South Dearborn Street. A protective canopy shields the sculpture from the elements. Leave a Comment
|
The arts are very important to the people of Chicago. Consequently, there are many public works of art throughout the city, most notably large modernist sculptures by such artists as Alexander Calder, Marc Chagall, Jean Miró, Jean Dubuffet, and Pablo Picasso.
Alexander Calder's Flamingo is a 50-ton (45,360-kilogram) iron sculpture that is the centerpiece of the Federal Plaza on South Dearborn Street. Leave a Comment
|
Joan Miró's Chicago is a stylized female form that sits in an alcove on West Washington Street, across from Daley Plaza. Leave a Comment
|
 | 1 | 2 |  |
|
More Illinois Travel Deals Hotel
Rosemont hotel services. The small hotel for the traveler 5 STAR HOTELS CHICAGO
Free Wi-Fi and Great Location. 30% Discount Available. Book Now! Trump Hotel Chicago
Luxurious Downtown Chicago Hotel. Exclusive Value Offers & Packages. Dana Hotel and Spa
Chicago's Hip 2009 Hot List Hotel. Boutique Hotel Featuring Ajasteak. Sponsored Links
|
on October 7, 2004
on October 18, 2005
on January 1, 2003
