Q 01/05

In which year did Illinois become a U.S. state?

A) 1818

B) 1821

C) 1837

D) 1846

Answer · why

A) 1818

It came in as the 21st state, and its northern border was pushed up to include the future site of Chicago partly with a canal route in mind.

Q 02/05

Which phrase is Illinois's official state slogan?

A) Prairie Crossroads

B) Land of Lincoln

C) Heart of America

D) The Inland Empire

Answer · why

B) Land of Lincoln

The slogan was made official in 1955 and has appeared on Illinois license plates ever since.

Q 03/05

Illinois's official motto pairs 'National Union' with which phrase?

A) Liberty and Justice

B) Prairie Freedom

C) State Sovereignty

D) Peace and Plenty

Answer · why

C) State Sovereignty

The motto dates to 1818, and the order of the two phrases on the state seal was quietly a Civil War-era political fight.

Q 04/05

The name Illinois comes from a Miami-Illinois verb meaning what?

A) Tribe of superior men

B) Land of many rivers

C) People of the tall grass

D) He speaks the regular way

Answer · why

D) He speaks the regular way

The old 'tribe of superior men' gloss was popular for decades before linguists traced the word to irenwe·wa.

Q 05/05

Which village, Illinois's first state capital, now sits west of the Mississippi with a Missouri ZIP code?

A) Kaskaskia

B) Cairo

C) Shawneetown

D) Prairie du Rocher

Answer · why

A) Kaskaskia

An 1881 flood shifted the Mississippi into a new channel east of the town, and the 2020 census counted only a couple dozen residents.