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Illinois State Government Information

A research guide for Illinois government information

Illinois Resources for Illinois History

Illinois Institutions

Illinois State Archives
The Illinois State Archives serves by law as the depository of public records of Illinois state and local governmental agencies which possess permanent administrative, legal, or historical research values. Its collections do not include manuscript, newspaper, or other nonofficial sources.

Illinois State Archives : Online Databases
Illinois State Archives' searchable online databases, including Illinois statewide marriage & death indexes.

IRAD: Illinois Regional Archives Depository System
Illinois Regional Archives Depositories (IRAD) is a system administered by the State Archives to manage the archival records of local governments. For additional information about Illinois records read "A Guide to County Records in the Illinois Regional Archives" (1983). Note: IRAD at Northeastern Illinois University houses documents from local governments and organizations in Cook County.

Illinois State Historical Society
Founded in 1899, at the University of Illinois in Urbana, the Illinois State Historical Society is an independent not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving, promoting, and publishing historical research about the Prairie State.

Digital Repositories

Illinois Digital Archives (IDA)
Illinois Digital Archives was developed to provide access to primary source materials in Illinois libraries, archives, museums, historical societies and other cultural institutions.

CARLI Digital Collections
Digital Collections by CARLI (Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois) is a growing image and special collections research resource for faculty, staff, students, and the public. By combining digital collections from a number of CARLI member institutions into a seamless environment, researchers are guaranteed richer search results on a variety of topics.

The Life & Times of Florence Kelley in Chicago 1891-1899
Digital Collections by Northwestern University Law Library.

Journals & Newspapers

Illinois History
Library has: v.46 (1992)-v.55 (2002) : v55 (2002) -

Journal of Illinois History
Indexed in America: History & Life
Library has print editions

To limit your search results in the database America: History & Life to articles published in the Journal of Illinois History,

  1. Select the Advanced Search option to see a screen with multiple search boxes
  2. Type "illinois history" into a search box and use the pull-down menu on the box label to select SO PUBLICATION NAME
  3. Type one or more descriptive keywords into a separate search box, as shown in the image below

Additional Research Guides

U.S. History research guide