1.
Illinois
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Illinois is a state in the midwestern region of the United States, achieving statehood in 1818. It is the 6th most populous state and 25th largest state in terms of land area, the word Illinois comes from a French rendering of a native Algonquin word. For decades, OHare International Airport has been ranked as one of the worlds busiest airports, Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and politics. With the War of 1812 Illinois growth slowed as both Native Americans and Canadian forces often raided the American Frontier, mineral finds and timber stands also had spurred immigration—by the 1810s, the Eastern U. S. Railroads arose and matured in the 1840s, and soon carried immigrants to new homes in Illinois, as well as being a resource to ship their commodity crops out to markets. Railroads freed most of the land of Illinois and other states from the tyranny of water transport. By 1900, the growth of jobs in the northern cities and coal mining in the central and southern areas attracted a new group of immigrants. Illinois was an important manufacturing center during both world wars, the Great Migration from the South established a large community of African Americans in Chicago, who created the citys famous jazz and blues cultures. Three U. S. presidents have been elected while living in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, additionally, Ronald Reagan, whose political career was based in California, was the only U. S. president born and raised in Illinois. Today, Illinois honors Lincoln with its official slogan, Land of Lincoln. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is located in the capital of Springfield. Illinois is the spelling for the early French Catholic missionaries and explorers name for the Illinois Native Americans. American scholars previously thought the name Illinois meant man or men in the Miami-Illinois language and this etymology is not supported by the Illinois language, as the word for man is ireniwa and plural men is ireniwaki. The name Illiniwek has also said to mean tribe of superior men. The name Illinois derives from the Miami-Illinois verb irenwe·wa he speaks the regular way and this was taken into the Ojibwe language, perhaps in the Ottawa dialect, and modified into ilinwe·. The French borrowed these forms, changing the ending to spell it as -ois. The current spelling form, Illinois, began to appear in the early 1670s, the Illinois 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 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
2.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
3.
Johann de Kalb
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Kalb was born in Hüttendorf, a village near Erlangen, Bavaria, the son of Johann Leonhard Kalb and Margarethe Seitz. He learned French, English, and the skills to earn a substantial military commission in the Loewendal German Regiment of the French Army. He served with distinguished honor in the War of the Austrian Succession in Flanders and he won the Order of Military Merit in 1763, and was elevated to the nobility with the title of baron. In 1764, he resigned from the army and married Anna Elizabeth Emilie van Robais, in 1768, he traveled to America on a covert mission for de Choiseul, on behalf of France, to determine the level of discontent among colonists. During the trip, he gained a respect for the colonists, in 1777, he returned again with his protégé, the Marquis de Lafayette, and joined the Continental Army. He was at Valley Forge for most of the 1777–78 winter and he wrote letters of introduction for John Adams to the French court. De Kalb wrote, On the whole, I have annoyances to bear, one of them is the mutual jealousy of almost all the French officers, particularly against those of higher rank than the rest. These people think of nothing but their incessant intrigues and backbitings and they hate each other like the bitterest enemies, and endeavor to injure each other wherever an opportunity offers. I have given up their society, and very seldom see them, la Fayette is the sole exception, I always meet him with the same cordiality and the same pleasure. He is an excellent young man, and we are good friends, la Fayette is much liked, he is on the best of terms with Washington. De Kalb was assigned to command a division of Maryland and Delaware troops, during the British southern campaign, he was disappointed to learn that Horatio Gates had been appointed to command instead of him. Gates led the army to a defeat at Battle of Camden on August 16,1780. De Kalbs horse was shot from under him, causing him to tumble to the ground, before he could get up, he was shot three times and bayonetted repeatedly by British soldiers. His friend and aide, the Chevalier du Buysson, was seriously wounded blocking additional blows with his own body and it is reported that Cornwallis supervised as de Kalbs wounds were dressed by his own surgeons in Camden, South Carolina. He died three days later and was buried in Camden, upon visiting de Kalbs grave several years later, George Washington is reported to have said, So, there lies the brave de Kalb. The generous stranger, who came from a distant land to fight our battles, would to God he had lived to share its fruits. DeKalb was greatly revered by his contemporaries, numerous towns and counties in the U. S. are named DeKalb after him, in Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, New York, Tennessee and Texas. Streets include the DeKalb Avenue in Brooklyn, New York City, Merrick, New York, in Brooklyn, New York, the Knights of Columbus established the Baron DeKalb Council #1073 in 1906 named in his honor
4.
County seat
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A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is used in the United States, Canada, Romania, China, in the United Kingdom and Ireland, county towns have a similar function. In the United States, counties are the subdivisions of a state. Depending on the state, counties may provide services to the public, impose taxes. Some types of subdivisions, such as townships, may be incorporated or unincorporated. The city, town, or populated place that houses county government is known as the seat of its respective county, a county seat is usually, but not always, an incorporated municipality. The exceptions include the county seats of counties that have no incorporated municipalities within their borders, such as Arlington County, Virginia, likewise, some county seats may not be incorporated in their own right, but are located within incorporated municipalities. For example, Cape May Court House, New Jersey, though unincorporated, is a section of Middle Township, in some of the colonial states, county seats include or formerly included Court House as part of their name. Most counties have only one county seat, an example is Harrison County, Mississippi, which lists both Biloxi and Gulfport as county seats. The practice of multiple county seat towns dates from the days when travel was difficult, there have been few efforts to eliminate the two-seat arrangement, since a county seat is a source of pride for the towns involved. There are 36 counties with multiple county seats in 11 states, Coffee County, for example, the official county seat is Greensboro, but an additional courthouse has been located in nearby High Point since 1938. For example, Clearwater is the county seat of Pinellas County, Florida, in New England, the town, not the county, is the primary division of local government. Historically, counties in this region have served mainly as dividing lines for the judicial systems. Connecticut and Rhode Island have no county level of government and thus no county seats, in Vermont, Massachusetts, and Maine the county seats are legally designated shire towns. County government consists only of a Superior Court and Sheriff, both located in the shire town. Bennington County has two towns, but the Sheriff is located in Bennington. In Massachusetts, most government functions which would otherwise be performed by county governments in other states are performed by town governments. As such, Massachusetts has dissolved many of its county governments, two counties in South Dakota have their county seat and government services centered in a neighboring county
5.
Sycamore, Illinois
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Sycamore is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. It has a district based and centered on Illinois Route 64. The population was 17,519 at the 2010 census, up from 12,020 in 2000, Sycamore is the county seat of DeKalb County and was named after the sycamore tree. Prior to settlement the county of DeKalb that Sycamore is contained within was populated by the Pottawatomie, the first European settlers to the Sycamore-area arrived in 1835 and concentrated themselves mostly north of the Kishwaukee River and the present site of Sycamore. The original town was platted by a New Yorker named Christian Sharer, a mill was constructed and the Kishwaukee dammed but the town failed. By 1837, after controversy, the location of county seat was settled in favor of Orange, Sycamores original name. The present-day town site was platted by James Waterman and Evans Wharry in 1837, the first settler at the new site was Carlos Lattin, who preceded the town, having arrived in 1835. Lattin staked a claim that included most of the present west side of the city, early in the citys history, it seemed, that Sycamore might not be the location of the DeKalb County Courthouse, other towns were vying for the county seat title. A now defunct town called Brush Point was the choice of a Dr. Henry Madden and Rufus Colton would have preferred Coltonville, where he made his home. The Clerk of the Court and preparer of the writs and process of the court, in his attempt to make Coltonville the county seat, Colton decided to hold a new election for the status in 1837. Colton made sure that Coltonville would win the election by telling only the population of Coltonville about it and his political tactics were eventually cancelled by an act of the Illinois General Assembly, after the DeKalb County court intervened. When court convened the sheriff served a court order declaring a courthouse be built in Sycamore, afterward, Coltonville eventually suffered the same fate as Brush Point and disappeared from the map. These events seemingly settled the issue of where the courthouse and, in turn, in 1903, as the county prepared to construct a new courthouse, the debate over county seat was reignited. This time, it was the city of DeKalb that sought to wrest the title of county seat away from Sycamore. Two of DeKalbs most prominent citizens, Jacob Haish and Isaac L. Ellwood, the city of Sycamore responded, raising funds of their own, and after some back and forth and legal wrangling, the issue was settled in Sycamores favor. Following the end of the county seat controversy, in 1839. A year later the settlement consisted of 12 houses, which increased to 18 by 1844, Sycamore then began an era of steady growth marked by population increases in 1848 to 262,1849 to 320,1850 to 390,1851 to 435. The Sycamore and Cortland Railroad arrived in the late 1850s and a station was erected in Sycamore, Sycamore was home to 41 commercial and industrial business by 1855
6.
DeKalb, Illinois
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DeKalb /dᵻˈkælb/ is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 43,862 according to the 2010 census, the city is named after decorated German war hero Johann de Kalb, who died during the American Revolutionary War. DeKalb was originally called DeKalb Centre, and under the name was platted in 1853. The name is for Baron Johann de Kalb, a general in the American Revolutionary War. A post office has been in operation at DeKalb since 1849, DeKalb is located at 41°55′53″N 88°45′1″W. According to the 2010 census, DeKalb has an area of 14.812 square miles. The Kishwaukee River flows northward through the city of DeKalb, on August 24,2007, the Kishwaukee River at DeKalb crested at 15.27 feet causing major flooding. This was only the time the river has risen above 15 feet since the level of the river has been recorded. DeKalb has a continental climate typical of northern Illinois, with four distinct seasons. Summers can be hot, while winters are cold and snowy, precipitation is somewhat uniform year-round, although it can be heavier in the spring and summer when the area is prone to strong thunderstorms. DeKalb is governed by a Council-Manager government, policy is developed by an elected City Council then implemented by an appointed professional City Manager. DeKalbs City Council is made up of a Mayor, elected at-large, each serves a four-year term, with half the council being elected every two years. A City Clerk is also elected every four years who serves as the record keeper of the city. The Clerk is also the primary Freedom of Information Act officer for the city, City council meetings are held the second and fourth Mondays of every month. DeKalb is home to Northern Illinois University, the citys largest employer, DeKalb is also home to warehouses for several major companies, including Target, 3M, Nestlé, and Panduit, in part due to Dekalbs proximity to major highways such as I-88 and I-39. 3Ms complex serves as the hub for five of 3M’s six business units and export operations to North America, Europe, Africa. In 1984, the intersection of two streets in a popular NIU housing district in Dekalb begot the name of a consulting firm called Greenbrier & Russel. In 2011, DeKalb was the broadcast base of Up and In, The Baseball Prospectus Podcast with Kevin Goldstein, the DeKalb Park District is responsible for the 44 parks and recreation facilities in DeKalb
7.
2010 United States Census
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The 2010 United States Census, is the twenty-third and currently most recent United States national census. National Census Day, the day used for the census, was April 1,2010. As part of a drive to increase the accuracy,635,000 temporary enumerators were hired. The population of the United States was counted as 308,745,538, as required by the United States Constitution, the U. S. census has been conducted every 10 years since 1790. The 2000 U. S. Census was the previous census completed, participation in the U. S. Census is required by law in Title 13 of the United States Code. On January 25,2010, Census Bureau Director Robert Groves personally inaugurated the 2010 Census enumeration by counting World War II veteran Clifton Jackson, more than 120 million census forms were delivered by the U. S. Post Office beginning March 15,2010, the number of forms mailed out or hand-delivered by the Census Bureau was approximately 134 million on April 1,2010. The 2010 Census national mail participation rate was 74%, from April through July 2010, census takers visited households that did not return a form, an operation called non-response follow-up. In December 2010, the Census Bureau delivered population information to the president for apportionment, personally identifiable information will be available in 2082. The Census Bureau did not use a form for the 2010 Census. In several previous censuses, one in six households received this long form, the 2010 Census used only a short form asking ten basic questions, How many people were living or staying in this house, apartment, or mobile home on April 1,2010. Were there any additional people staying here on April 1,2010 that you did not include in Question 1, mark all that apply, Is this house, apartment, or mobile home – What is your telephone number. What is Person 1s age and Person 1s date of birth, is Person 1 of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin. Does Person 1 sometimes live or stay somewhere else, the form included space to repeat some or all of these questions for up to twelve residents total. In contrast to the 2000 census, an Internet response option was not offered, detailed socioeconomic information collected during past censuses will continue to be collected through the American Community Survey. The survey provides data about communities in the United States on a 1-year or 3-year cycle, depending on the size of the community, rather than once every 10 years. A small percentage of the population on a basis will receive the survey each year. In June 2009, the U. S. Census Bureau announced that it would count same-sex married couples, however, the final form did not contain a separate same-sex married couple option
8.
Illinois's 14th congressional district
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The 14th congressional district of Illinois is represented by Republican Randy Hultgren. The congressional district covers parts of DeKalb, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will counties, the representatives for these districts were elected in the 2012 primary and general elections, and the boundaries became effective on January 5,2013. A map of the redistricting can be here, Illinois redistricting Google Map. The 14th district was represented by Republican Dennis Hastert, who was the longest serving Republican Speaker of the House in U. S. history, the previous holder of this GOP record, Joseph Gurney Cannon represented the district in his early career from 1873-1883. A special election was held on March 8,2008, democrat Bill Foster defeated Republican Jim Oberweis by 52. 5% to 47. 5%. However, Foster failed to win re-election in 2010, Republican Randy Hultgren won back the seat for the GOP and was sworn in when the 112th Congress convened. As of May 2015, two members of the U. S. House of Representatives from Illinoiss 14th congressional district are alive. Illinoiss 14th congressional district special election,2008 Illinoiss congressional districts List of United States congressional districts Martis, the Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts, Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present Washington Post page on the 14th District of Illinois U. S. Census Bureau - 14th District Fact Sheet
9.
Illinois's 16th congressional district
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The 16th Congressional District of Illinois is represented by Republican Adam Kinzinger. All or parts of Belvidere, Channahon, DeKalb, Dixon, Loves Park, Machesney Park, Ottawa, Morris, Pontiac, Rockford, the representatives for these districts were elected in the 2012 primary and general elections, and the boundaries became effective on January 5,2013. Prominent past representatives from the 16th district have included Everett Dirksen, for decades, the 16th district was the most geographically stable district in Illinois. For more than six decades, in comparison to the districts in the state. While its shape fluctuated slightly after each census, in general it included the northwest corner of the state, extending just far enough to the east to include its largest city, Rockford. By the 1990s, it extended eastward to include part of McHenry County and this geographic stability also contributed to electoral stability. It first became a Rockford-based district for the 1948 election, and from then until 2010 it was represented by just five people, all, however, with the new map drawn for 2012, the familiar shape of the 16th was rendered unrecognizable. It was pushed well to the east to take in the extreme exurban region of the Chicago metropolitan area, while it still included most of Rockfords suburbs, half of Rockford itself—essentially the more Democratic portion of the city—was shifted to the 17th district. As of May 2015, four members of the U. S. House of Representatives from Illinoiss 16th congressional district are alive. Illinoiss congressional districts List of United States congressional districts Martis, Kenneth C, the Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts, Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present Washington Post page on the 16th District of Illinois U. S. Census Bureau - 16th District Fact Sheet
10.
Time in the United States
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The time zone boundaries and DST observance are regulated by the Department of Transportation. The clocks run by these services are synchronized with each other as well as with those of other international timekeeping organizations. It is the combination of the zone and daylight saving rules, along with the timekeeping services. The use of solar time became increasingly awkward as railways. American railroads maintained many different time zones during the late 1800s, each train station set its own clock making it difficult to coordinate train schedules and confusing passengers. Time calculation became a problem for people travelling by train. Every city in the United States used a different time standard so there were more than 300 local sun times to choose from, Time zones were therefore a compromise, relaxing the complex geographic dependence while still allowing local time to be approximate with mean solar time. Railroad managers tried to address the problem by establishing 100 railroad time zones, operators of the new railroad lines needed a new time plan that would offer a uniform train schedule for departures and arrivals. Four standard time zones for the continental United States were introduced at noon on November 18,1883, the conference therefore established the Greenwich Meridian as the prime meridian and Greenwich Mean Time as the worlds time standard. The US time-zone system grew from this, in all zones referred back to GMT on the prime meridian. It is, within about 1 second, mean time at 0°. It does not observe daylight saving time and it is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. For most purposes, UTC is considered interchangeable with GMT, standard time zones in the United States are currently defined at the federal level by law 15 USC §260. The federal law establishes the transition dates and times at which daylight saving time occurs. As of August 9,2007, the time zones are defined in terms of hourly offsets from UTC. Prior to this they were based upon the solar time at several meridians 15° apart west of Greenwich. Only the full-time zone names listed below are official, abbreviations are by common use conventions, the United States uses nine standard time zones. The Central standard time zone, which comprises roughly the Gulf Coast, Mississippi Valley, the Mountain standard time zone, which comprises roughly the states that include the Rocky Mountains
Interstate 88
US Route 30
US Route 34
Illinois Route 23
Illinois Route 38
Illinois Route 64
Illinois Route 72
Illinois Route 110
DeKalb County, Illinois
