Illinois is not only a great place to do business; it's a great place to call home – something that is a key factor in attracting high-quality workers. From our world-class educational opportunities, to our world-class sports to world-class opera, Illinois is a great place to live.
QUALITY EDUCATION
Few states can offer the diverse, high quality educational opportunities that Illinois provides. From our graduate schools to our community colleges, Illinois covers its bases when providing education to its citizens.
COMMUNITY COLLEGES
- Illinois has 48 community colleges, 1 community college center, and 39 college districts – all of which provide instruction and workforce preparation in more than 240 occupational specialties.
- More than 90% of community college students remain in Illinois to work.
- Community colleges annually provide more than $6 million worth of workforce preparation for business and industry. The colleges provide customized training to approximately 3,400 companies, serving approximately 130,000 employees.
- 37 Illinois Community Colleges offer “educational guarantees”, which ensure that program graduates will have the necessary skills to perform the work. If not, the college will provide re-training at no cost.
COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
- Illinois ranks 5 th in the nation in the number of institutions of higher education, with 188 degree-granting institutions.
- Illinois has 9 public universities on 12 campuses, which include 700 baccalaureate degree programs, 550 masters degree programs, nearly 200 doctoral programs, and professional degrees in medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, and law.
- Illinois has 99 not-for-profit colleges, and an additional 29 proprietary institutions.
- Illinois has 2 of the top-10 business schools in the nation – the Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University, and the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.
- The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign boasts one of the top graduate engineering programs in the nation.
MODERATE CLIMATE
Illinois residents enjoy the full variety of the four seasons, generally recording about 220 sunny days per year.
- Average Temperatures (Fahrenheit):
January – 30 to 40 degrees
July – 85 to 90 degrees
October – 65 to 75 degrees
- Precipitation is moderate, with only about 4 inches per month.
SPORTS AND RECREATION
Illinois offers its residents proximity to a wide array of college and professional sports and recreational activities, including:
- Chicago Cubs baseball
- Chicago White Sox baseball
- Chicago Bears football
- Chicago Bulls basketball
- Chicago Blackhawks hockey
- Division I collegiate sports at universities such as the University of Illinois, Northwestern University, Northern Illinois University, Southern Illinois University, and Bradley University
In addition, Illinois's closeness to the St. Louis metropolitan area provides easy access to:
- St. Louis Cardinals baseball
- St. Louis Blues hockey
- St. Louis Rams football
- University of Missouri collegiate sports
Illinois is also the home of a broad array of other recreational activities.
- There are 36 symphony orchestras in Illinois. Chicago is home to one of the top 5 symphonies in the United States.
- The largest concentration of museums in the Upper Midwest is in Chicago, with a total of 12.
- There are 20 museums within Illinois covering a variety of fields, including natural history, contemporary art, photography, botanical sciences, and historic preservation, among a host of others.
- There are six cultural and civic centers in Illinois, five of which are located in the Chicago area and one in Urbana.
- There are five zoos and one aquarium in Illinois.
- There are two arboretums in Illinois, one in Chicago and one in Rockford.
- There are 17 botanical gardens distributed across the northern half of the state, with six located in the Chicago metro region.
- The State of Illinois has 1,425 listed historic sites and districts listed on the National Historic Register of Places.
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