Ancient folklore describes the muskie as a beast among fish, an eel-like creature that slithers along the ocean floor with an aggressive nature that urges fisherman to use caution with this fish. The muskie or muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) has an elongated head and body that makes it an excellent ambush predator.

It hides among seaweed and waits for prey, and its sharp teeth are pefect for pointing holes in anything unfortunate enough to cross its path. An adult muskie is an apex predator; only humans pose a significant threat. Its weight ranges from 30 to 60 pounds or even up to 110 pounds, according to a 1908 fisherman’s myth. It can be found in northern freshwater waterways such as the Great Lakes.

It’s commonly found in large rivers in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and northern Canada. On July 5, Jim Hack, a financial advisor in Barrington, reeled in a whopping 54-inch muskie from a lake in Lake County, Illinois. He brought it to the Salmon Stop in Waukegan, where it was certified. It weighed 35 pounds, 10 ounces with a length of 54 inches and girth of 22.5 inches. This fish has now gone on record to be the largest muskie caught in Illinois in 2006 but still short of a 2002 muskie caught by Matt Carmean that weighed in at 38 pounds, 8 ounces with a length of 50 ¾ inches. Carmean was fishing for walleye below the Lake Shelbyville Dam.

UPDATE: President Barack Obama cited this report in his speech to the Illinois General Assembly on February 10, saying:

"I just saw a story the other day showing that if you rank all 50 states across categories like education levels and household incomes, and race and religion, the one state that most closely mirrors America as a whole is Illinois, this state."

Illinois’ diversity catapulted it to the top of a new ranking of states best suited to host the country’s earliest presidential primary contests because they best reflect the makeup of the United States.

Illinois’ finances would look very different today if it adopted tax systems like its Midwestern neighbors do, according to a new video that breaks down the differences.

That’s the message Illinois Senate President John Cullerton has been delivering around the state for years and that the Illinois Economic Policy Institute acknowledged in its new video that explains how Illinois stacks up against Wisconsin, Indiana, Missouri and Iowa.

A recent study credits Illinois’ 2011 workers’ compensation reforms with now lowering average payments below neighboring Indiana’s.

The law passed four years ago cut fees by 30 percent, which led to a 15 percent drop in medical payments over a 12-month period that ended in Sept. 30, 2013. Workers’ compensation insurance rates also began to fall.

As a result, Illinois is seeing lower payments even as basic worker protections are upheld and Illinois workers, on average, make 27 percent more than their counterparts in Indiana.

Illinois is one of three states that showed declines in payment from 2010-11 to 2013-14.

Crain’s: Illinois workers' comp costs fall below Indiana, Wisconsin

Insurance Journal: Illinois Workers’ Comp Premium Rate High but Improving

Illinois vs. Indiana – Workers’ Compensation

It is no secret that Illinois has some of the best universities in the world. With top ranked institutions such as The University of Chicago and The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois universities offer an unparalleled access to great education.

Recently, U-Chicago and U of I were named among the top 25 schools responsible for the greatest advances in science by US News college rankings.

The rankings are the culmination of a study that emphasizes lasting contributions to society; the primary focus being on science technology, engineering, medicine and mathematics.

The Illinois schools are among good company. Other institutions that made the list include Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Stanford.