Education

The state superintendent of education is responsible for the supervision of public schools in Illinois. The superintendent is selected by the state board of education, whose members are appointed by the governor. School attendance is compulsory from age 7 to age 16.

The first school in the state was a log mission school founded by Father Jacques Marquette at Starved Rock in 1675. The first college in Illinois was Illinois College, established at Jacksonville in 1830. Legislation providing for a free public school system was enacted in 1855. The nation's first coeducational high school was opened in Chicago in 1856. The nation's first public junior college was founded in 1901 in Joliet.

The largest institution of higher learning in the state is the University of Illinois, a land-grant school. It was incorporated as Illinois Industrial University in 1867 and received its present name in 1885. The Urbana-Champaign campus extends over more than 700 acres (280 hectares). The Chicago campus was opened in 1965 near downtown Chicago. Among the state's well-known privately supported schools are the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, and Illinois Institute of Technology, all in the Chicago area.