108-570: The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority ( ISTHA ) is an administrative agency of the U.S. state of Illinois charged with building, operating, and maintaining toll roads in the state. The roads, as well as the authority itself, are sometimes referred to as the Illinois Tollway . The system opened in 1958 in the Chicago area, and has subsequently expanded to include the eastern and central sections of Interstate 88 (I-88) extending into
216-643: 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
324-601: 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nation to adopt the recommendation of the American Law Institute and pass a comprehensive criminal code revision that repealed the law against sodomy .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
432-593: 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
540-407: 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
648-489: A $ 20 refundable deposit. There are various options for self-pay replenishment, including the Tollway Service Centers located at five oasis rest stops . Customers wishing to pay by check or cash can pay at the oasis customer service centers or can buy $ 20 I-Pass Gift Cards at Jewel-Osco. ISTHA has implemented open road tolling , allowing any vehicle with an I-Pass or E-ZPass transponder to continue through
756-529: 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
864-610: 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
972-474: 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
1080-556: 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
1188-648: A dispute with the Morton Arboretum in Lisle , Illinois. Original plans for this toll highway would have seen it constructed through the middle of land belonging to the Arboretum, and closer to the existing Illinois Route 53 . Construction on other projects has also been delayed, mostly through protests by area residents. Much of the criticism in the 1980s and 1990s was centered on the continued existence of ISTHA itself, and its quasi-independent status from even
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#17327799077771296-399: A fleet of Highway Emergency Lane Patrol vehicles which assist stranded motorists with mechanical problems, flat tires or insufficient fuel. Each year, the H.E.L.P. Trucks assist more than 35,000 motorists and log nearly 1.5 million patrol miles. As of 2017, ISTHA maintains and operates 306 miles (492 km) of tollways in 12 counties in northern Illinois, comprising five routes: Except for
1404-796: 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
1512-682: 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
1620-513: 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 the state's 12.8 million residents. Two World Heritage Sites are in Illinois, the ancient Cahokia Mounds , and part of
1728-734: 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
1836-528: A number of top ISTHA staff members have left in 2009. Illinois Illinois ( / ˌ ɪ l ɪ ˈ n ɔɪ / IL -in- OY ) is a state in the Midwestern region of 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
1944-493: A stable outlook. ISTHA has the power to take lands by eminent domain , and ISTHA's employees are subject to conflict of interest laws enacted in 2005. The Executive Director of ISTHA supervises 12 departments. The Tollway is patrolled by both police and non-police fleets. The Tollway comprises a separate Illinois State Police District 15, one of 21 districts of the Illinois State Police . ISTHA also operates
2052-537: 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
2160-716: 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
2268-645: 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
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#17327799077772376-538: 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
2484-576: 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
2592-487: 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
2700-715: 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 ,
2808-564: 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
2916-478: 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
3024-524: 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
3132-424: 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
3240-610: 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 ,
3348-805: 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
Illinois Tollway - Misplaced Pages Continue
3456-549: 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"
3564-490: 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
3672-683: 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
3780-678: 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
3888-707: 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
3996-432: 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
4104-653: 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
4212-651: The Tri-State Tollway (I-94/I-294) and the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88, between Hillside and Sugar Grove). The first segment to open was the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway between Devon Avenue and Elgin on August 20, 1958 at 3 p.m. The Toll Highway Act, in its present form, dates from 1967, but has been amended since. Under this Act, promulgated April 1, 1968, ISTHA assumed the assets and obligations of
4320-476: 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
4428-481: 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
Illinois Tollway - Misplaced Pages Continue
4536-457: 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
4644-522: The 1990s to try to force ISTHA to disband, and convert the toll highways in Illinois into freeways. This stems from the 1953 law that established the then Illinois State Toll Highway Commission. By 1999, Governor George Ryan began to publicly discuss the closure of ISTHA and the abolition of toll collection in Illinois, but the plans were eclipsed by Ryan's increasing scandals. After Ryan declined to run for re-election and his successor, Governor Rod Blagojevich , had been elected (but had not yet taken office),
4752-630: 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 . Illinois Route 390 Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include
4860-734: The Congestion Relief Program, as well as construct several new projects. The program is expected to create 120,000 jobs and add $ 21 billion to the economy. The projects in Move Illinois include reconstructing and widening I-90 between Rockford and the Kennedy Expressway as well as I-294 between Balmoral Ave and 95th Street; new projects include constructing the Elgin-O'Hare Western Access project as well as an interchange between I-294 and I-57 (previously,
4968-733: 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
5076-725: 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
5184-489: The I-Pass system has greatly alleviated this problem since all vehicles with an I-Pass or E-Zpass can continue to travel at normal highway speeds through the toll plazas. In 2003, during Governor George Ryan's administration, ISTHA entered into a public-private partnership with Wilton Partners to renovate the oasis rest stops in exchange for a 25-year lease. That lease has been the subject of various investigations, including
5292-409: The ISTHA board publicly suggested a sudden hike in toll rates that the new Governor could simply blame on his outgoing predecessor. The previous adjustment to Illinois toll rates had taken place in 1983. ISTHA would have been able to raise rates without approval of the Illinois General Assembly because of its quasi-independent nature. However, a rate hike did not go into effect at that time. Ultimately,
5400-452: The Illinois General Assembly. The original decision to build the tollway was made in an era when five states used toll roads to create a superhighway between New York and Chicago. This predated the Interstate Highway System and the associated funding from federal gasoline taxes. Critics argue that Tollway users are paying twice, first by paying tolls and then by paying the same gasoline taxes that other motorists pay. Citizens' groups formed in
5508-493: The Illinois State Toll Highway Commission. In the 1970s, the East–West Tollway was extended west from Sugar Grove to Dixon with a freeway continuing to the Quad Cities. The route was later given the I-88 designation in order to obtain a higher speed limit. In 2004, ISTHA voted to rename this route the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway. In June 1984, Republican minority leader of the Illinois House of Representatives , James "Pate" Philip , helped push through legislation authorizing
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#17327799077775616-426: The Interstates crossed, but had no direct connection). Legislation passed in 2013 gives the authority the power to build high-speed rail lines if there is funding made available, similar to the authority of other state high-speed rail authorities. It is the only road-related authority with rail construction powers in the United States. The Tollway's board of directors has eleven members. The Governor of Illinois and
5724-457: 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 the state's rich prairie into some of the world's most productive and valuable farmland, attracting immigrant farmers from Germany and Sweden . In
5832-411: The Tri-State Tollway and I-57 . These projects were financed by long-term revenue bonds that require the system to remain as toll roads until the bonds are repaid in 2034. The Congestion Relief Program was followed by another 15 year capital program named Move Illinois. Approved by ISTHA in 2011, the $ 14 billion capital program will address the remaining perceived needs of tollway system not addressed by
5940-452: The advent of the I-Pass system in 2005, the tolls for cash payments were doubled, while rates for cars equipped with I-Pass transponders remained the same. On January 1, 2012, tolls increased by 87 percent, to 75 cents at the main plazas for transponder-equipped cars, and $ 1.50 for those paying cash. In addition, congestion pricing is used to charge trucks a rate which is $ 0.50 or $ 1.00 higher during rush hour than during off-peak hours. Until
6048-491: 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
6156-474: 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
6264-409: 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
6372-416: The construction of the North–South Tollway, then referred to as simply the DuPage Tollway. Officials at the Morton Arboretum , one of the nation's premier woodland research centers, promptly filed a federal lawsuit to block construction of the tollway. They also promised to prevent the tollway authority from obtaining environmental approval from federal officials. Ultimately, the lawsuit was settled, and I-355
6480-446: 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
6588-548: 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,
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#17327799077776696-414: The expense of implementing Open Road Tolling has justified by claiming it significantly decreases the amount of pollution from vehicle exhaust that enters the air. This is because the old barrier style tollbooths adds to the amount of time that certain vehicles spend on the roadway by requiring them to slow down, stop, and sometimes idle for several minutes while waiting to pay their tolls. The introduction of
6804-422: 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 the region. Following U.S. independence in 1783 , which made the Mississippi River the national boundary, American settlers began arriving from Kentucky via
6912-692: The four (previously seven) Illinois Tollway oases . The close relationship between the governor and the near-majority of appointed board members has led to numerous allegations of endemic corruption throughout the tollway authority's lifetime. ISTHA's annual budget for fiscal year 2010 totals $ 696 million. ISTHA has 1,704 full-time employees, of which 754 are toll collectors. As of July 11, 2019, ISTHA has $ 6,248,860,000 in bond debt, maturing as late as 2044, which have been rated Aa3, AA− and AA− by Moody’s Investors Service, Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor's , respectively. On May 31, 2019, Moody’s Investor Service downgraded ISTHA's bond rating from Aa3 to A1, with
7020-540: The head of the Illinois Department of Transportation serve as ex officio members of the Tollway Board. The remaining 9 members are named by the governor. No more than 5 appointed members may be of the same political party as the governor. The Authority has the power to collect and raise tolls, and is responsible for the maintenance and construction of tollway roads and related signage (including electronic message boards, used for driving time notices, Amber Alerts and other notifications). The Tollway also supervises and manages
7128-507: The mid-1970s, the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (then the Northwest Tollway) used a ticket system on the segment between Elgin and Beloit to collect tolls based upon the exact mileage traveled. Drivers were handed a Hollerith card when they entered the segment and paid a toll when they left. I-Pass is the Illinois Tollway’s electronic transponder toll collection system that allows drivers to pre-pay their tolls. As of 2010, Tollway drivers use 3.3 million I-Pass transponders. Every toll lane on
7236-433: 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 the central and southern areas attracted immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe . Illinois became one of America's most industrialized states and remains
7344-415: 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
7452-407: 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
7560-409: 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 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
7668-410: 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
7776-495: The northwestern part of the state. Beginning in 2005, the system was reconstructed to include more lanes and open road tolling , the latter of which uses I-Pass transponders to collect revenue as vehicles pass antennas at toll plazas or designated entrance or exit ramps. As of 2017, ISTHA maintains and operates 294 miles (473 km) of tollways in 12 counties in Northern Illinois. The original Toll Highway Authority
7884-474: The pandemic. Plans regarding demolition of the side cash lanes along the tollways (which outside one I-Pass lane now designated to allow users to check their account status by an indicator lamp, are blocked off) are yet to be determined. ISTHA and the toll highway system in Illinois have undergone much criticism since the 1980s. Construction of the North–South Tollway ( I-355 ) was delayed, in part, due to
7992-499: The political connections between food vendors in the oases with former Governor Blagojevich. Ultimately, Wilton Partners' lender foreclosed on the Oases. On December 9, 2008, Governor Blagojevich was arrested on corruption charges including allegations that he solicited campaign donations from Tollway construction contractors. On December 18, Dalley resigned claiming that Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan would not grant waivers from
8100-399: 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
8208-596: 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
8316-504: The side of the road to handle vehicles without transponders. The plan also included rebuilding and widening many of the toll roads, including most of the original portion of I-88 and the northern and southern sections of I-294. I-355 was extended south of I-55 to connect to I-80 in New Lenox , a distance of 12.5 miles (20.1 km), in order to serve fast-growing areas of Will County. The project also includes adding an interchange between
8424-423: 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
8532-402: 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
8640-592: 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
8748-407: 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
8856-417: The state ethics law that prohibited high level ISTHA executives from being employed by contractors within a year of leaving office. In January 2009, Governor Blagojevich was impeached, tried, and removed from office for abuse of power , and was succeeded by Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn . Following this, ISTHA Board appointed a new chief executive without consulting Quinn. On August 12, 2009, John Mitola, who
8964-588: 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
9072-482: 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
9180-422: 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
9288-448: 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
9396-479: 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 ,
9504-534: The system is equipped to accept I-Pass which can also be used on the Chicago Skyway and anywhere E-ZPass is accepted. (E-ZPass is a transponder consortium of toll road authorities on the East Coast.) A refundable deposit of $ 10 and $ 20 in pre-paid tolls is charged at the time of purchase. Illinois Tollway offers an auto-pay replenishment option by registering a credit or debit card to an I-Pass account at
9612-451: The system, making permanent a moratorium on cash toll collection in place since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic . Lower-income motorists will be able to acquire an initial deposit-free I-Pass based on income requirements, and ISTHA had already instituted an online pay option for video tolling and pay-by-plate customers without I-Pass or EZPass transponders in June 2020 as a response to
9720-399: The time of activation. Each month, the minimum balance and replenishment amounts are recalculated based on the average usage during the previous six months. A special program for low-income motorists allows them to obtain I-Pass units with a reduced outlay of $ 20. Users choosing to replenish their account without auto-pay are responsible for monitoring their transactions and balance and must pay
9828-405: The toll plaza at highway speeds while those paying cash have to stop at a tollbooth. If a vehicle registered with I-Pass passes through a toll collection without the transponder, the toll amount will be automatically deducted from the respective I-Pass account. This process is called "V-Tolls" (Video Tolls). On February 25, 2021, ISTHA announced that cash tolling would be fully eliminated throughout
9936-432: The toll rates for I-Pass users remained at 1983 prices while the toll rate for cash payers doubled. Practically, the I-Pass system and open road tolling appears to have removed the annoying aspect of toll collection which motivated many toll opponents, and subsequently the calls to ending the tolls have quieted. The Sierra Club criticized the capital projects as adding to urban sprawl while hurting air quality. In response,
10044-669: The vicinity of O'Hare International Airport , none enter the city of Chicago . The Chicago Skyway , which is owned by the City of Chicago but on a 99-year lease to the Skyway Concession Company, is the only toll road in Illinois that is not operated by ISTHA. ISTHA was planned to operate tolling for the Longmeadow Parkway bridge that is maintained by Kane County, Illinois , however in January of 2024, it
10152-504: 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 ,
10260-472: The website underwent a $ 4.4 million e-commerce overhaul. In 2004, ISTHA made a strategic decision to expand the tollway system instead of converting the roads to freeways. It adopted a $ 6.3 billion Congestion Relief Program. Under the program, the main toll plazas were rebuilt to have open road tolling , so that drivers with transponders would drive at normal speeds under toll collecting equipment instead of stopping to pay tolls. The toll plazas were relocated to
10368-455: 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,
10476-530: 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
10584-531: 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
10692-414: Was announced the bridge would be toll free. ISTHA sets its tolls at a level necessary to maintain and operate the system while retiring its bond debt, and it is required to conduct public hearings on any proposed toll increase. In 1958, the tolls were set at 25 cents at the main plazas and 10 cents at the exit ramps. In 1983, the tolls increased to 40 cents at the main plazas and 15 cents at most ramps. With
10800-455: Was appointed the ISTHA board chairman in 2003 by Governor Blagojevich, resigned for personal reasons. The next day, Governor Quinn appointed a new chairman and two new board members. Ex-ISTHA Chairman Mitola was reported to have failed to disclose an investment in a real estate development with former state purchasing and contracting CEO Michael Rumman under ousted Governor Blagojevich. In addition,
10908-658: 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
11016-513: 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
11124-522: Was established in 1941. After construction of the first toll highways in Illinois was delayed by World War II, the Illinois State Toll Highway Commission was established in 1953. The first three toll highways in the Chicago area were all planned, constructed, and opened in 1958 under the authority of this Commission. These first three toll highways are the present day Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90/I-39/US 51),
11232-454: Was opened in 1989 as a tollway between Army Trail Road and I-55 near Bolingbrook. On November 24, 2007, a 12.5 miles (20.1 km) extension of I-355 opened to link I-55 to I-80. Construction of that I-355 extension began after years of delays and environmental litigation. The Illinois Tollway website officially launched on September 1, 1997. The website includes online ordering of I-Pass transponders and managing I-Pass accounts. In 2009–2010,
11340-662: 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
11448-614: 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
11556-496: 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
11664-553: 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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