University of Illinois

The Urbana-Champaign campus is the flagship of the university, a typical example of the massive public land-grant residential campuses the midwest is famous for. University employment dominates both towns' economies, although other industries exist. The campus is 130 miles distant from Chicago, yet the vast majority of students hail from the Chicago metropolitan area (reflecting the general distribution of population in the state). Famous for its athletics, the campus teams are called the Fighting Illini.

The Chicago campus is a synthesis of two formerly distinct units: the UI Medical Center and the UI Circle Campus. The campus has a notable NCAA basketball team, known as the Flames (a reference to the Chicago Fire which started just two blocks from the campus).

• The Medical center had its own hospital as well as colleges of medicine, nursing, public health, and other health sciences.
• The Circle Campus focused on engineering, business, liberal arts, education and fine arts programs. It began life after World War II on Navy Pier to accommodate the influx of students who wanted to use their GI Bill benefits, moving to the current site near Maxwell Street in the 1970s.

The Springfield campus was formed when Sangamon State University was assimilated in the 1990s. Liberal arts subjects are taught.