Adriana Sklenarikova

In December, 1998, she married French football player Christian Karembeu and took his name. Illinois is also home to 49 colleges in the Illinois community college system. Having originally studyied medicine in Prague, she gave up her studies to become a model. Notable Illinois institutions of higher education include Loyola University Chicago, Northwestern University, University of Chicago and the several branches of the University of Illinois. Adriana Karembeu) (born 17 September 1971, Brezno, Slovakia (at that time Czechoslovakia)) is a model. While many students enter the military or join the workforce directly from high school, students have the option of applying to colleges and universities in Illinois. Adriana Sklenarikova (a.k.a. In some cases, elementary, middle and junior high schools of a single district feed into high schools in another district.

District territories are often complex in structure. Education is compulsory from kindergarten through the twelfth grade in Illinois, commonly but not exclusively divided into three tiers of primary and secondary education: elementary school, middle school or junior high school and high school. Opponents to the proposal argue that local communities would lose control over what their children would learn in public schools and the means by which those public schools operate. The structure would mimic the system employed by the Hawaii State Department of Education, which has no local school districts.

However, direct control of the new department would fall under the state governor's jurisdiction. In 2002, the Office of the Governor proposed the creation of a monolithic statewide department of education to replace the ISBE. There is current debate as to the role of the ISBE and whether or not its autonomous relationship with the governor and the state legislature is appropriate. The ISBE also makes recommendations to state leaders concerning education spending and policies.

Local municipalities and their respective school districts operate individual public schools but the ISBE audits performance of public schools with an annual school report card. The Illinois State Board of Education or ISBE, autonomous of the governor and the state legislature, administers public education in the state. See complete listing here... The three largest Protestant denominations in Illinois are: Baptist (15% of total state population), Lutheran (8%), Methodist (8%).

The religious affiliations of the people of Illinois are:. Roman Catholics (who are predominant in and around Chicago) account for one-third of the population. Unlike the other Midwestern states, Illinois is not overwhelmingly Protestant--only about half of the people profess that faith. Females made up approximately 51% of the population.

7.1% of Illinois' population were reported as under 5, 26.1% under 18, and 12.1% were 65 or older. The top 5 ancestry groups in Illinois are German (19.6%), African American (15.1%), Irish (12.2%), Mexican (9.2%), Polish (7.5%). Racially, the state is:. The rest of the population lives in the smaller cities and on the farms that dot the state's gently rolling plains.

More than half of the population of Illinois lives in and around Chicago, the leading industrial and transportation center in the region. At the northern edge of the state on Lake Michigan lies Chicago, the nation's third largest city. Census Bureau, as of 2003, the population of Illinois was 12,653,544. According to the U.S.

Its industrial outputs are machinery, food processing, electrical equipment, chemical products, publishing, fabricated metal products, transportation equipment, petroleum and coal. Illinois' agricultural outputs are corn, soybeans, hogs, cattle, dairy products and wheat. The per capita income was $32,965. The 2003 total gross state product for Illinois was $499 billion, placing it 5^th in the nation.

In extreme northwestern Illinois the Driftless Area, a region of unglaciated and therefore comparatively higher and more rugged topography, occupies a small part of the state. Both figures are as of 2004. while Cook County is the largest county in terms of population, at 5,327,777. McLean County, is the largest county in terms of land area, at 1,184 sq mi.

This division comprises the area generally along and south of Interstate 70. The combination of coal mining and industrialization, especially in the region around Saint Louis, Missouri, has caused the region to lean Democratic politically. The third division is Southern Illinois, or Little Egypt, distinguished from the other two by its warmer climate, different mix of crops (including some cotton farming in the past), more rugged unglaciated topography, coal mining, and proximity to the juncture of the Mississippi River and Ohio River. This region's largely rural character helps to sustain a heavily Republican voting pattern and widespread antipathy toward Chicago.

Major cities include famously average Peoria, Springfield (the state capital), and Champaign-Urbana (home of the University of Illinois). Agriculture, particularly corn and soybeans, figures prominently. Known as the Land of Lincoln, it is characterized by small towns and mid-sized cities. Southward and westward, the second major division is Central Illinois, an area of rolling hills and flat prairie.

While this tendency has historically been balanced by Republican voters in the suburbs, Democrats have significantly increased their suburban support in the past decade. The city of Chicago is heavily Democratic. This region is cosmopolitan, densely populated, industrialized, and settled by a variety of ethnic groups. This region includes a few counties in Indiana and Wisconsin and streches across much of the Northern Illinois toward the Iowa border, generally along and north of Interstate 80.

The first is Chicagoland, including the city of Chicago, its suburbs, and the adjoining exurban area into which the metropolis is expanding. Illinois has three major geographical divisions. Illinois also borders Michigan, but only via a water boundary in Lake Michigan. and borders on Lake Michigan. Surrounding states are Wisconsin to the north, Iowa and Missouri to the west, Kentucky to the south, and Indiana to the east.

It is in the north-central U.S. See List of Illinois counties. The judiciary is comprised of the state supreme court, which oversees the lower appelate courts and circuit courts. Legislative functions are given to the Illinois General Assembly, comprised of the 118-member Illinois State House of Representatives and the 59-member Illinois State Senate.

The executive branch is led by the Governor of Illinois. As codified in the state constitution, there are three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial. The state government of Illinois is modeled after the federal government with adaptations originating from traditions cultivated during the state's frontier era. Seventeen cavalry regiments were also mustered, as well as two light artillery regiments.

Beginning with President Lincoln's first call for troops and continuing throughout the war, Illinois mustered 150 infantry regiments (see Illinois in the Civil War), which were numbered from the 7th IL to the 156th IL. During the Civil War, over 250,000 Illinois men served in the Union Army, more than any other northern state except New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio. By 1857, Chicago was Illinois' largest city (see History of Chicago). Chicago gained prominence as a canal port after 1848, and as a rail hub soon afterward.

Illinois is known as the "Land of Lincoln" because it is here that the 16th President spent his formative years. With the 1832 Black Hawk War, the last native tribes were driven out of northern Illinois. settlement began in the south part of the state and quickly spread northward, driving out the native residents. Early U.S.

state. In 1818, Illinois became the 21st U.S. The Illinois Territory was created on February 3, 1809. The Illinois-Wabash Company was an early claimant to much of Illinois.

The area was ceded to the new United States in 1783 and became part of the Northwest Territory. As a result of their exploration, Illinois was part of the French empire until 1763, when it passed to the British. and Louis Joliet explored the Illinois River in 1673. French explorers Jacques Marquette,S.J.

The Ilini were replaced in Illinois by the Potawatomi, Miami, Sauk, and other tribes. The Illini suffered in the seventeenth century as Iroquois expansion forced them to compete with several tribes for land. The Illiniwek gave Illinois its name. The next major power in the region was the Illiniwek Confederation, a political alliance among several tribes.

That civilization vanished circa 1400-1500 for unknown reasons. Cahokia, the urban center of the pre-Columbian Mississippian culture, was located near present-day Collinsville, Illinois. The USS Illinois was named in honor of this state. postal abbreviation for the state is IL.

The U.S. Most of the state's population resides in Chicago and its suburbs. The capital of Illinois is Springfield while its largest city is Chicago, along the waterfront of Lake Michigan. The word Illiniwek means simply "the people".

Its name was given by the state's French explorers after the indigenous Illiniwek people, a consortium of Algonquin tribes that thrived in the area. Illinois (pronounced [ˌɪləˈnɔɪ] or occasionally [ˌɪləˈnɔɪz]) constitutes the 21st state of the United States, located in the former Northwest Territory. State tree: White oak (Quercus alba). State snack: Popcorn.

State song: "Illinois". State slogan: "Land of Lincoln". State prairie grass: Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii). State motto: "State sovereignty, national union".

State mineral: Fluorite. State insect: Monarch butterfly. State fossil: Tully Monster (Tullimonstrum gregarium). State flower: Purple violet (Viola sororia).

State fish: Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus). State dance: Square dance. State capital: Springfield. State bird: Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis).

State animal: White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President, is buried in Springfield, Illinois. Ronald Reagan, the 40th President, was born in Tampico, Illinois. Non-Religious – 8%.

Other Religions – 3%. Other Christian – 1%. Roman Catholic – 33%. Protestant – 51%.

1.9% mixed race. 0.2% American Indian. 3.4% Asian. 12.3% Hispanic.

15.1% Black. 67.8% White Non-Hispanic. The Junior United States Senator is Barack Obama (Democrat). Durbin (Democrat).

The Senior United States Senator is Richard J. The Treasurer of Illinois is Judy Baar Topinka (Republican). The Secretary of State of Illinois is Jesse White (Democrat). The Lieutenant Governor of Illinois is Pat Quinn (Democrat).

The Governor of Illinois is Rod Blagojevich (Democrat).