Happy Birthday,

I Like Illinois!

After 365 days of providing an

alternative view of our great state, we

still like Illinois.

As I Like Illinois celebrates its first birthday, here are some of the top

stories on our great state.

Illinois has an amazing array of public and private high schools throughout the state, and one Chicago high school recently received national honors.

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Whitney M. Young High School ranked #2 most diverse school in America

As state economies reap some of the benefits of lower energy costs, the Illinois economy grew more than its neighboring states and remains the top performer in the region.

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Illinois GDP rises, outperforms all neighboring states

George Colin’s art is described as wild and primitive, and has been displayed at the Smithsonian and the American Folk Art Museum in New York City. His work features bright colors, Illinois farm scenes, nature, abstracts and a range of eclectic subjects rendered in pastels on paper.

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Salisbury folk artist George Colin leaves beautiful collection

Crook’s love for his home state has inspired much of his work, including drawings of the state capitol, Lincoln’s home and historic sites throughout the state.

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Illinois Artist of the Month: William Crook Jr.

“Essentially, what that means is workers in collective bargaining states – New York, California and Illinois, to name a few – are subsidizing the low-wage model of employment in right-to-work states such as Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.”

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How Texas and Indiana rely on Illinois union workers’ wages

Those delicious, chocolate slabs that decorate bakery shelves from Portland, Maine to Portland, Oregon were created at the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago during the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893.

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Did You Know? Brownies were invented in Illinois

The idea to build a zip line business in Southern Illinois first came to Marc Miles after he built a zip line in his backyard for his children. Miles started looking into the growing popularity of zip lines around the world and his research and interest led him to open Shawnee Bluffs Canopy Tours in 2013.

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Soaring through Southern Illinois

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