Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County. The city’s population of 116,250 as of the 2010 U.S. Census makes it the state’s sixth most populous city. It is the largest city in central Illinois. As of 2013, the city’s population was estimated to have increased to 117,006, with just over 211,700 residents living in the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Sangamon County and the adjacent Menard County. Present-day Springfield was settled by European Americans in the late 1810s, around the time Illinois became a state. The most famous historic resident was Abraham Lincoln, who lived in Springfield from 1837 until 1861, when he went to the White House as President. Major tourist attractions include a multitude of historic sites connected with Abraham Lincoln including his presidential museum, his home from 1837 to 1861, his tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery, and the historical town of New Salem, within a short drive from the city.The city lies on a mostly flat plain that encompasses much of the surrounding countryside. Hilly terrain lies near the Sangamon River. Lake Springfield, a large artificial lake owned by the City Water, Light & Power company (CWLP), supplies the city with recreation and drinking water. Weather is fairly typical for middle latitude locations, with hot summers and cold winters. Spring and summer weather is like that of most midwestern cities; severe thunderstorms are common. Tornadoes hit the Springfield area in 1957 and 2006.The city is governed by a mayor–council form of government. The city proper is also the ” Capital Township ” governmental entity. In addition, the government of the state of Illinois is also based in Springfield. State government entities include the Illinois General Assembly, the Illinois Supreme Court and the Office of the Governor of Illinois. There are three public and three private high schools in Springfield. Public schools in Springfield are operated by District No. 186. Springfield’s economy is marked by government jobs, and the medical field, which account for a large percentage of the city’s workforce. Champaign is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The city is 135 miles (217 km) south of Chicago, 124 miles (200 km) west of Indianapolis, Indiana, and 178 mi (286 km) northeast of St. Louis, Missouri. The United States Census Bureau estimates the city was home to 84,513 people as of July 1, 2014. Champaign is the tenth-most populous city in Illinois, and the state’s fourth-most populous city outside of the Chicago metropolitan area.Champaign is notable for sharing the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign with its sister city of Urbana. Champaign is also the home of Parkland College which serves about 18,000 students during the academic year. Due to the university and a number of well known technology startup companies, it is often referred to as the hub, or a significant landmark, of the Silicon Prairie. Champaign houses offices for Abbott, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Caterpillar, Deere & Company, Dow Chemical Company, IBM, State Farm, and Intel all of which are Fortune 500 companies, and for Sony. Decatur / d ə ˈ k eɪ t ər / is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city was founded in 1829 and is along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. In 2015, the city’s estimated population was 73,254. The city is home of private Millikin University and public Richland Community College. Decatur has vast industrial and agricultural processing production, including the North American headquarters of agricultural conglomerate Archer Daniels Midland, international agribusiness Tate & Lyle’s largest corn-processing plant, and the designing and manufacturing facilities for Caterpillar Inc.’s wheel-tractor scrapers, off-highway trucks, and large mining trucks.