13 I Am America
I’m Illinois, the 24th largest state, and the 21st to be admitted to the Union in 1817. There are two sides to me. First, I’m farmland, rolling hills and small country towns. And then, I’m a city, not my capital city of Springfield, though that’s a great place, but the windy city, Chicago, where half my people live. You can always count on having a hot time in Chicago, but one night, in 1871, it got a little too hot. Rumor has it that a fire started in Mrs. O’Leary’s shed when a cow kicked over a lantern, and that fire ended up destroying much of the city. Today we have the three largest buildings in the world, the largest grain exchange in the country, and the world’s busiest airport, O’Hare International. Before I go, I want to tell you about a favorite son of mine, Abraham Lincoln. Abe was a poor farmer’s son, who taught himself to read and write. He studied law and went into politics. He became the sixteenth, and some say one of the greatest presidents this country ever had. I am proud to call myself Illinois, the land of Lincoln.
