Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Development. Community Profiles - Alphabetical Community Index and County Information

Illinois Department of Education & Northern Illinois University. School Test Scores - Part of the Interactive Illinois School Report Cards. This site also has school district spending data.

Illinois Chamber of Commerce - Contains links to local Chambers, which sometimes contains links to businesses in the area.

Yellow Pages - Can be used to search for information on the number and types of businesses in a particular category (restaurants, plumbers, etc.)

American Factfinder - Can be used to search for data from the Decennial Census, American Community Survey, Economic Census and Zip Code Business Patterns.

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Statistics on Wages, Earnings, and Benefits - Wage information by state, region & occupation.

National Agricultural Statistics Service - Agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that collects and disseminates all types of agricultural statistics.

Agricultural Statistics - A statistical reference source with data on agricultural production, prices, and exports. Some data available on the web. Additional data available on CD-ROM (Government Publications, 4th Floor, Malpass Library, GOVCDROM. A 1.47/2:YEAR)

Census of Agriculture - taken every 5 years, the Census of Agriculture counts all U.S. farms and ranches. It contains information on agricultural production, land use & ownership, farm operators, production practices, income, farm expenditures and other topics.

Crop Progress - A weekly report that provides statistics on the planting, growing, and harvesting progress and condition of selected crops in major producing states. Issued during the growing season.

Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin - A site that includes weekly national agricultural weather summaries, information on the weather's effect on crops and summaries and farm progress. Includes a link to Crop Progress.

USDA Rural Development - provides grants for rural communities, including for housing and broadband access.

U.S. Department of Housing & Rural Development Rural Gateway - an information clearinghouse that provides technical assistance and information supporting rural housing and economic development.

National Trust for Historic Preservation - Web site with information on historic preservatiobn, including funds and tax incentives for historic preservation.

Illinois Historic Structures Survey, 1972 -. Inventory of historic structures in . . . [Illinois Counties]: Interim Report. [Chicago]: Illinois Department of Conservation. Available for most Illinois counties as well as some cities and towns.

Illinois Historical Aerial Photography - A collection of scanned aerial photographs for 58 counties in Illinois taken between 1938-1941.

David Rumsey Collection - A private collection of historic maps that is being developed and made available over the internet. Includes the 1876 Warner & Beers Atlas of the State of Illinois (see below). The maps and images from the atlas can be downloaded and printed (plotted).

University of Illinois Digital Maps - includes early topographic and other maps and a copy of the Warner & Beers 1876 Atlas.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps - Maps for Illinois cities (black & white) are available in an online database from UMI at WIU and in other Illinois academic libraries. Color originals available in the University of Illinois Library's Map Collection (request color photocopies).

Warner & Beers, 1876. Atlas of the state of Illinois: to which is added an atlas of the United States, maps of the hemispheres. Contains maps of Illinois counties in the 1870s. (Maps can be downloaded and printed using the Java Client).

Illinois State Geological Survey. Field Trip Guides. [Champaign]: Illinois State Geological Survey. Available for many areas in Illinois. Search their publication database to find items available for various localities. These can be ordered from the Illinois State Geological Survey.

Illinois Natural History Survey Illinois Audubon Society