Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District, which is urban, suburban and rural, starts on the shores of Lake Michigan at 43rd Street and Lakeshore Drive in Chicago to the north and extends past Danville to Westville in Vermilion County to the south. Its eastern border is the Indiana state line and its western border includes parts of the famous Route 66. It consists of all or parts of Champaign, Cook, Ford, Iroquois, Livingston, Kankakee and Will counties.
The district is home to historic sites, including the highly anticipated Barack Obama Presidential Center, the Museum of Science and Industry, the Pullman National Historic Park, Kankakee River State Park and Route 66.
The 2nd District is home to 4,577 farms and over 2 million acres of farmland, which generate over $2 billion in market value. 93 percent of farms are family-owned and grow primarily corn and soybeans.
Local educational institutions include Governors State University in University Park, Chicago State University in Roseland, Prairie State College in Chicago Heights, South Suburban College in South Holland and Olive-Harvey College, a Chicago city college, in Pullman, Olivet Nazarene in Bourbannais, Kankakee Community College and Danville Area Community College. The University of Chicago is directly west of the district’s northern end. Hospitals in the district include Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey, Advocate South Suburban Hospital in Hazel Crest, St. James Hospitals in Chicago Heights and Olympia Fields, Advocate Trinity Hospital in Calumet Heights, La Rabida Children’s Hospital in Woodlawn, South Shore Hospital in South Chicago and Roseland Community Hospital in Roseland.