What is Illinois known for? Here are 9 things; some good, some bad and some in between

Illinois is one of the most populated states in the country, albeit getting smaller, according to recent U.S. census results. It's also one of the most multifaceted states.

Big cities, small towns, urban sprawl, open land — Illinois has plenty of all that. It's something most of its 12 million or so residents always have known. Except perhaps some Chicagoans who never travel south of Interstate 80.

For them and for the rest of the world, here, in no particular order, are nine things for which Illinois might be known. Some are good; some aren't. While not an exhaustive list, these things all are critical for understanding what makes the Prairie State tick.

1. Chicago

This one is a no-brainer. Chicago is the third-largest city in the country, but its influence extends well beyond its borders.

Chicago is an international center for finance, culture, industry, technology and transportation. O'Hare International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world. The city is the hub of the nation's railroad network.

The Chicago area also is home to at least 11 Fortune 500 companies, including Caterpillar Inc., which until 2017 was based in Peoria. And Chicago also is home of the Chicago Cubs, the 2016 World Series champions. (For some, the sound of that never gets old.)

On the negative side, Chicago also might be infamous for crime, all the way from the organized version for which Al Capone was known to the modern, random variety. As of the last day of 2020, Chicago had recorded 774 murders for the year, an increase of more than 50% from the 506 of 2019.

2. Abraham Lincoln

The 16th U.S. president was born in Kentucky and resided in Indiana when he was young. But Illinois became known as the Land of Lincoln, where he first struck out on his own and began his rise to immortality.

Part of that rise took place at the old courthouse in Metamora, where Lincoln practiced law on the Eighth Judicial Circuit. The courthouse has been preserved as a state historic site.

Lincoln's circuit riding helped him in his failed campaign against Stephen A. Douglas in 1858 for a U.S. Senate seat. The legendary debates in that campaign boosted his profile enough to run successfully for president.

He helped guide the nation through the Civil War, preserve the Union and abolish slavery before his 1865 assassination.

3. Corruption

Wrongdoing in public office has been a bipartisan affair in Illinois. Over the past 50 years, four former governors – Rod Blagojevich, Otto Kerner, George Ryan and Dan Walker – were imprisoned following felony convictions. The General Assembly impeached Blagojevich and removed him from office.

Although charges were dropped in a deferred-prosecution agreement, former U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock of Peoria resigned in 2015 amid a scandal regarding the Republican's alleged misuse of public and campaign funds.

According to WLS-TV in Chicago, there have been almost 900 public-corruption convictions in Illinois over the past two decades, the highest total in the nation.

4. Famous foods

The Chicago area is fabled for deep-dish pizza, of course. One slice of it can constitute a meal. (Chicago residents consider deep-dish something for tourists. Thin-crust, tavern-style pizza, cut into squares, might be more popular in the neighborhoods.)

Chicago-style hot dogs feature an all-beef frank, poppy-seed bun and any combination of a pickle spear, tomato slices, sport peppers, chopped white onions, green relish and yellow mustard. But no ketchup. Never ketchup. Unless you're 5 years old, maybe.

Downstate's farming heritage might best be embodied (full-bodied?) by the pork tenderloin sandwich, a breaded and deep-fried cutlet found in diners, drive-ins and dives from Quincy to Danville and Cairo to East Dubuque.

More prevalent around the Springfield area is the horseshoe sandwich. The classic version consists of a Texas-toast base topped with a hamburger patty topped with cheese sauce topped with french fries.

5. Farming

For all the talk about Illinois being a center of manufacturing and industry, agriculture is a major player.

No other state produces as much in soybeans as Illinois. According to the state soybean association, Illinois produced 532 million bushels of the crop in 2019. Iowa was second, at 503 million bushels.

Illinois also is the country's second-leading producer of corn, according to World Population Review. In 2018, Illinois farmers grew 2.3 billion bushels of corn. Only Iowa (2.5 billion bushels) produced more.

A crop in which Illinois is the far-and-away leader nationally is one that doesn't seem to get much notice, except around Halloween and the ensuing holidays.

Between 90% and 95% of the processed pumpkins in the U.S. are grown in Illinois, according to the University of Illinois Extension. Of the top 10 pumpkin-producing counties in the state, Tazewell is first, Mason is third, Marshall is sixth, and Woodford is 10th.

The Tazewell County village of Morton claims to be the pumpkin capital of the world.

A Nestle USA plant in Morton produces Libby's canned pumpkin. That accounts for about 80% of such pumpkin sold worldwide, according to the company.

6. Taxes

Those Illinoisans who recoil in horror when they receive their property-tax bills aren't delusional. Nor might they be regarding state and local taxes, either.

According to a study by WalletHub.com, Illinois has the highest effective state and local tax rates on median U.S. households. The combined rate is almost 15%.

The total is 38.5% higher than the national average, which is 10.75%.

As far as overall tax burden is concerned, Illinois ranks ninth. That measures the proportion of total personal income residents pay toward state and local taxes.

That total in Illinois is 9.62%, slightly below Rhode Island and slightly above Iowa. At 12.28%, New York is first.

Taxes might be one reason for Illinois' aforementioned population decrease in recent years. From 2010 through 2019, Illinois' population dropped by almost 169,000, the largest raw decline in the country.

7. More presidents: Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama and Ulysses Grant

Lincoln wasn't the only president associated with Illinois. Ulysses Grant and Barack Obama spent significant parts of their adult lives as Illinois residents.

But only one president, the 40th, was born and raised an Illinoisan.

Reagan was born Feb. 6, 1911, in Tampico, a village of about 800 residents located 75 miles north of Peoria. His family moved to Galesburg and Monmouth before it settled in Dixon when Reagan was 8. In 1932, he graduated from Eureka College.

Eventually, the entertainment industry led Reagan to California, where he acted in film and television before he was elected governor in 1966. He was elected president in 1980, served two terms and became perhaps the most influential voice in the modern conservative movement.

More:Why is Peoria famous? Here are 7 reasons

8. Home of Superman

Clark Kent's fictional adult residence of Metropolis often is mentioned in print, on television and in film. But what state it's in never is revealed.

A city along the Ohio River at the southern tip of Illinois has staked its claim to the protagonist of the "Superman" franchise.

Metropolis bills itself as the hometown of Superman, an honor the Illinois General Assembly bestowed in 1972 by proclamation. The most obvious manifestation of that claim is a 15-foot statue of Superman, in full regalia, that stands outside the Massac County Courthouse.

Each June, Metropolis plays host to Superman Celebration, a festival of all things Man of Steel. Celebrities from the "Superman" movies and various TV shows usually are featured guests. The town swells well beyond its usual population of about 6,000.

Reminders of the Superman lineage usually aren't far from the average Metropolis resident. After all, the local newspaper is called The Planet, just like the one where Kent plied his trade.

9. Cheap Trick

In 1973, four guys from the Rockford area formed a band. That band, 43 years later, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Cheap Trick's popularity has ebbed and flowed since its first performance, but the band still tours and records new material. Its salad days were in the late 1970s, when tracks from the band's live "At Budokan" album were heard every five minutes, seemingly, on AM rock radio.

"I Want You to Want Me," "Surrender" and "The Flame," the band's only No. 1 hit, are among the most familiar in the Cheap Trick catalog, heard on classic-rock stations to this day. Also familiar is band member Rick Nielsen, he of the five-necked guitar and the Bowery Boys/Huntz Hall-style cap and bow tie.

Nielsen still resides in Rockford, where his wife is an investor in a proposed casino.