Illinois Counties Page
History
Illinois achieved statehood in 1818. The state filled up from south to north. Railroads and John Deere's invention of the self-scouring steel plow turned Illinois' rich prairie into some of the world's most productive and valuable farmlands, attracting immigrant farmers from Germany and Sweden.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois
Maps
https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/general_ref/stco_outline/cen2k_pgsz/stco_IL.pdfModern Day Adjacent States
The Northeastern border of Illinois is Lake Michigan. Its eastern border with Indiana is the Wabash River and a north-south line above Post Vincennes, 87° 31' 30" west longitude. Its northern border with Wisconsin is fixed at 42° 30' north latitude. Its western border with Missouri and Iowa is the Mississippi River. Its southern border is with Kentucky and runs along the northern shoreline of the Ohio River. Illinois also borders Michigan, but only via a water boundary in Lake Michigan.County Information
See Wikipedia for modern day county informationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Illinois_counties