Illinois

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It is estimated that the modern-day state of Illinois has been continuously inhabited for least 7,000 years as suggested by excavations from the Koster Site. The Native Americans who lived in this area during the Pre-Columbian era built the town of Cahokia which served as both an administrative and trading center. The Mississippian culture would later inhabit this area, and they were known for their sophisticated urban centers and burial mounds. The Illinois Confederation was made up of about 13 Native American tribes who came together in the region for trade purposes as well as protection from mutual enemies. Some of the contemporary Native American tribes that inhabited these lands around the time of the arrival of the European explorers were the Miami, Potawatomi, Sauk and Shawnee among many others.

In 1673, the French led by Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette explored the area around the Illinois River. Seventeen years later, the French built a fort at the modern-day Starved Rock State Park. The French arrived in large numbers and settled in this land which was considered part of the French Louisiana up until France lost the French and Indian Wars to Great Britain in 1763. The Illinois-Wabash Company was tasked with buying land from the Native Americans in anticipation of the expected future settlers. On February 3, 1809, the Illinois Territory was founded by the U.S. Government and Kaskaskia was made its capital.

With an estimated population of about 50,000 people, Illinois was admitted to the Union on December 3, 1818, as the 21st state. It now covers an area of about 57,914 square miles which makes it the country’s 25th largest state in size. With its nearly 13 million people calling its home, it now ranks as the 5th most populous US state. Nicknamed the Prairie State and the Land of Lincoln, it is guided by the motto; ‘State Sovereignty, National Union.’

The state is geographically located in the Midwestern part of the United States and shares its borders with the states of Iowa, Mississippi, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Indiana, and Wisconsin. Ill. mostly falls under the Interior Plains region characterized by lowlands even though there are highlands in the areas around Shawnee Hills and the Mound Charles in the Driftless Area. IL can be divided into three major sub-regions. The northern part of the state is mostly made up of the Chicagoland, which refers to the vast and dense metropolitan area with nearly 10 million people comprising of the city of Chicago and its nearby suburbs. The central part of the state has been described as the Heart of Illinois and is made up of medium-sized cities and small towns with prairie vegetation. The southern part of the state is a historical region that houses the ancient town of Cahokia and Kaskaskia; which served as the 1st state capital.

The climate here varies across the state since it is quite large as there 400 miles separating the farthest corners of the northern region to the southern region. The overall climate can be described as a humid continental climate which is characterized by cold winters with hot and humid summers. However, in the south part of the state, the climate is more aptly classified as a humid subtropical climate instead. Tornadoes are very common here and an average occurrence of about 35 tornadoes are recorded every year.

There are various parks, national monuments, scenic places, preserves and museums in the state. The Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail is a path that was followed by the ‘Corps of Discovery’ as they traversed eleven states and opened up the western region of the United States, which was still young at that time. The Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield preserves a home used by one of one of the most celebrated American Presidents; Abraham Lincoln. The Chicago Portage National Historic Site is an ideal area for camping and hiking as you learn the history of the northern part of this state. Some of the other main areas here that are worth a visit include the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, the Pullman National Monument, Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Riverwalk in Naperville, Lake Michigan, Chi. Lakefront Trail, and the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail.

Some of the more popular museums include \the Field Museum of Natural History, in Chicago which is one of the world’s largest museums in its category and features various scientific collections. The Museum of Science and Industry is located in between the UCHI and Lake Michigan and features a German submarine used during WWII and a coal mine replica among many other exhibitions. Other museums and things to experience in this world class city should include Symphony Center, Richard H. Driehaus Museum, Michigan Avenue, Skydecks like the 360 Chicago Observation Deck, Maggie Daley Park, Chi. Cultural Center, Holy Name Cathedral, Lincoln Park Zoo, Wrigley Field, Cloud Gate, Millennium Park, and the Art Institute of Chicago.

The rest of the Land of Lincoln has plenty to see and experience too such as the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio in Oak Park, Anderson Japanese Gardens in Rockford, the Lincoln Tomb & War Memorials and Dana-Thomas House in Springfield, Blackberry Farm and Phillips Park Zoo in Aurora, Blaum Bros. Distilling Co in Galena, Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, Cantigny Park in Wheaton, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet, Caterpillar Visitors Center in Peoria, and the Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin.

The city of Springfield serves as the capital. Nicknamed the Flower City, this city is known for its popular festivals such as the Springfield Old Capital Art Fair, which features some of the best artists in this city and a kid’s tent to promote innovativeness. This town also has attractive parks such as the Carpenter Park, near the Sangamon River, which offers an opportunity for various recreational activities such as bird-watching, camping, and hiking.

There are many modern schools here that offer residents here specialized training across different levels. The U of I, with its main campus in the city of Urbana-Champaign, is the largest public university in this state. Other notable public universities include; Chicago State University, EIU in Charleston, Governors State University in University Park, ISU in Normal, SIU in Carbondale, NEIU in Chicago, NIU in DeKalb, and WIU in the town of Macomb. Most of the major private universities in this state are located in metro Chicago like the IIT, Loyola University, and DePaul University.

The Prairie State hosts some famous professional teams that play in different leagues. Some of the major ones are the NBA's Chi Bulls, the MLB’s Chi. Cubs and CHI White Sox baseball teams, Da Bears NFL football team, and the NHL Blackhawks ice hockey team. College level sports have a wide following within this state. The major teams that compete in NCAA Division I include the NIU Huskies, the NU Wildcats, the Fighting Illini, the SIU Salukis, the EIU Panthers, the WIU Leathernecks, and the ISU Redbirds. The Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison and the hicagoland Speedway in Joliet are famous with auto racing fans as they host racing events such as the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup. For golf fans, they get to attend events like the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic in Silvis.

The economy here is diversified across various economic sectors such as agriculture, retail, banking, food processing, manufacturing, healthcare, education, finance, hospitality, insurance, and tourism just to mention a few. This state serves as the headquarters for more than 30 Fortune 500 companies like Boeing, Archer Daniels Midland, Walgreens, State Farm Insurance Cos., Caterpillar, United Continental Holdings, Deere, Allstate, Mondelez International, Sears Holdings, McDonald's, Exelon, US Foods, Abbott Laboratories, AbbVie, Kraft Foods Group, Baxter International, Illinois Tool Works, CDW, R.R. Donnelley & Sons, Navistar International, W.W. Grainger, Discover Financial Services, Tenneco, Dover, Motorola Solutions, LKQ, Integrys Energy Group, Anixter International, Packaging Corp. of America, Ingredion, Old Republic International, Jones Lang LaSalle, and Essendant. Some of the other large private employers here are the Central Dupage Pediatric, Sylvan Learning Center, Adjutant General, Liberty Tax Service, Scott Air Force Base, and Loyola University Medical Center.

When buying or selling a house here, the real estate closing agent will typically use a Warranty Deed, Special Warranty Deed, or a Quitclaim Deed to convey the title of the property to the new owner. For the deed to be legally valid, the document must include the property’s exact legal description, which usually comes from language within the property’s original survey. This state primarily follows the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) methodology when surveying real estate and has three initial starting points, which are the Second Principal Meridian, the Third Principal Meridian, and the Fourth Principal Meridian.

If you aren’t paying cash for the home and are instead getting a loan to buy the real estate, then understand that this is primarily a lien theory state. This just means that the raw title of the property will remain as collateral until the lien is ultimately paid off. The most common document that is used here to secure the lender’s interest in the title is called a Mortgage.

If for some reason the borrower cannot repay the home loan, then the lender must go to court and start a judicial foreclosure which typically takes about 300 days to complete so long as it remains uncontested. During this process, the mortgage company’s attorney will also typically file a lis pendens against the property so that the public is made aware of the pending foreclosure. Once the judge rules in favor of the mortgage company, then the court will issue a final judgment of foreclosure and the property will either revert back to the bank or will be awarded to the highest bidder at the foreclosure auction. The laws that pertain to the Ill. foreclosure process are mostly found in IL Compiled Statutes: 735 ILCS 5/Art XV.

However, if you are an Illinoisan landlord that needs to evict a non-paying tenant, then you would need to reference the statutes of Chapter 765 Sections 705 to 750 instead. Whereas if you are looking to become a real estate agent, then you would just deal directly with the Ill. Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which oversees all the licensing of the agents and most of the implementation and enforcement of the IL Real Estate Laws. Amongst other things, the main requirements to get a real estate license here would be to be at least 18 years old, have at least a GED, complete at least 45 hours of approved IL real estate courses, successfully pass the written state real estate exam, pass certain criminal background checks, and pay the various required licensing fees.

The modern education system, strong economy, never-ending sporting action, maintained parks & preserves, and all the excellent museums are just a few of the reasons why many residents love calling the state home. Speaking of homes, if you happen to have one that you would like to sell, then we would be honored with the opportunity to purchase it from you. If the speed of selling your home is your concern, have no fear because we can close escrow very quickly. In fact, if you had only contacted Finally Sold ten days ago, your home could have already been Finally SOLD by now.

 

Some of the counties where we purchase properties in this state are: Adams | Alexander | Bond | Boone | Brown | Bureau | Calhoun | Carroll | Cass | Champaign | Christian | Clark | Clay | Clinton | Coles | Cook | Crawford | Cumberland | DeKalb | De Witt | Douglas | DuPage | Edgar | Edwards | Effingham | Fayette | Ford | Franklin | Fulton | Gallatin | Greene | Grundy | Hamilton | Hancock | Hardin | Henderson | Henry | Iroquois | Jackson | Jasper | Jefferson | Jersey | Jo Daviess | Johnson | Kane | Kankakee | Kendall | Knox | Lake | LaSalle | Lawrence | Lee | Livingston | Logan | McDonough | McHenry | McLean | Macon | Macoupin | Madison | Marion | Marshall | Mason | Massac | Menard | Mercer | Monroe | Montgomery | Morgan | Moultrie | Ogle | Peoria | Perry | Piatt | Pike | Pope | Pulaski | Putnam | Randolph | Richland | Rock Island | St. Clair | Saline | Sangamon | Schuyler | Scott | Shelby | Stark | Stephenson | Tazewell | Union | Vermilion | Wabash | Warren | Washington | Wayne | White | Whiteside | Will | Williamson | Winnebago | Woodford.

At Finally Sold, we buy most all single family homes in their as is condition. If you happen to have a property that you would like to sell, make sure you call us or fill out our short online form so that you too can once and for all get your property Finally SOLD!

Finally Sold is a national real estate investment company that specializes in helping homeowners sell quick for cash. We are not Realtors® or a real estate agency. We instead purchase houses and real estate for our benefit. No 'Agency' is created when selling a property to us. We are an Equal Housing Opportunity Provider. We do business in accordance to the Federal Fair Housing Law. One or more franchisees of Right Now Capital, LLC and the Finally Sold Brand may be licensed real estate agents.