Jill Tasker, age 9, of rockford, Ill., for her question:

How did the state of Illinois get its name?

The prairie state was once populated with Indians of the Illiniwek tribe. They also were known as the Illini. In their language, their Indian name meant the men. Perhaps they thought they were more manly than the Indians of other tribes.

Early settlers from France reached the rich prairie state and met the Indians who hunted there, but the French could not pronounce the Indians' tribal name. They did the best they could and called them the Illinois. Later, the Indian name, with the French touch, became the name of the state.