Economy

The Consumer News and Business Channel ranked Illinois at No. 12 in their 2026 Top States for Business list, the highest ranking in the state’s history.

Since 2019, the state has risen in annual ranking from No. 30 to No. 12, one of the largest improvements any state in the country has seen during this period.

Illinois ranks high in major categories including No. 3 in infrastructure, No. 7 in education and No. 12 in technology and innovation and access to capital, allowing the state to climb near the top.

Illinois is bordered by 880 miles of rivers and has 87,110 miles of rivers and streams within its borders. The Mississippi River, Ohio River and Wabash River are the bordering rivers of the state. The Mississippi River forms the western border of Illinois in a 581 mile stretch of its course and, as such, is the longest river in the state.

The Ice Age had major impacts on Illinois and its rivers. Glaciers blocked and buried some rivers and created new ones. Some ancient rivers, such as the Teays, Cumberland, Paw Paw and Ticona, no longer exist. The Missouri River once flowed in much of what is now the Mississippi River bed but was blocked and filled during the Kansas glacier and diverted to a new channel. The Teays River was diverted south of the glacier and became the Ohio River.

If someone said that only one U.S. president has a patent and asked you to guess which one it was, who would you say? Thomas Jefferson? Theodore Roosevelt? No, the answer is Abraham Lincoln.

With all of Lincoln’s other accomplishments, it is understandable that his patent flies under the radar, especially because it was before he became president. But it is no less impressive.

Alton hosted its classic Riverbend Earth Day Festival on April 11 this year and the event drew hundreds. The event featured live music, food and eco-friendly vendors, plant sellers and artisans. Many local businesses, musicians and restaurants were highlighted with an emphasis on eco-conscious shopping. A portion of the proceeds went to the Piasa Palisades Sierra Club, whose work includes supporting native pollinators and local ecosystems. 

The community on the river has been committed to protecting the Mississippi River watershed, managing forests and restoring native prairies. National Great Rivers conducts research, education and outreach on wetland protection. The Nature Institute manages and maintains prairie land in the Alton area through the Heartland Prairie Project and the Great Rivers Land Trust promotes the preservation and improvement of natural resources in the watershed of the Mississippi for the benefit of the general public.

To learn more about conservation, hunting, Illinois investments in parks and historic sites click here.

Illinois is home to a wide variety of fish species. At present, 34 families of fishes are represented in the state's waters.

Illinois’ official state fish is the bluegill. Illinois school children selected the bluegill as the state fish in 1986. The bluegill is a very common fish throughout Illinois. It is the most common member of the sunfish family and is recognized by its stripy olive to yellow colors and its distinctive black spot behind the gills. It grows to about nine inches in length. Bluegill are most abundant in clear lakes with large amounts of aquatic vegetation, but they also occur in a variety of habitats, such as pools, overflow ponds, oxbows, swamps and man-made impoundments. In the summer bluegills build nests in water less than about two feet deep.