Springfield is the county seat of Sangamon County. It is the third and current capital city of the state of Illinois. According to the 2010 Census Bureau, the population of the city was 116,250, making it the 2nd most inhabited city in the state of Illinois outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area and the 6th most populated city within the State of Illinois.
In the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area, just over 208,000 inhabitants live there. This region includes Sangamon County, in addition to Menard County. The existing location of Springfield was initially settled during the latter part of the 1810s, around the time that Illinois became a state.
Abraham Lincoln is the most famous past resident of Springfield. He lived there from 1837 until 1861, when he moved to the White House. Some of Springfield's main tourist attractions comprise a lot of historic places that are connected with Abraham Lincoln. A huge race riot erupted within Springfield in the year 1908 which resulted in the founding of the NAACP after the terrible lynching of two African American residents.
The city sits upon a mostly flat plain which cover a lot of the nearby area. There is more hilly terrain near the Sangamon River. A large artificial lake known as Lake Springfield is owned by City Water, Light and Power. The company known as CWLP supplies Springfield with recreation and drinking water.
The climate in Springfield is quite typical for middle latitude regions. The inhabitants experience hot summers and cold winters. Summer and spring weather conditions is similar to that of the majority of Midwestern cities. Tornadoes occurred in Springfield in the year 1957 and 2006 and thunderstorms are common.
The government of Springfield is led by a mayor and city council, whereas Illinois State government is based both in the "Capital Township" governmental entity and in the city proper. Some of the state government entities found in the city include the Illinois General Assembly, the Illinois Supreme Court and the Office of the Governor of Illinois. There are 2 private and 3 public high schools within Springfield. District No. 186 operates the public schools in Springfield. The city's economy is marked by government jobs. This sector is responsible for a major portion of the city's labor force.
Within Springfield, a high proportion of the jobs are centered about the government of the state. The state and county governments are both the biggest employers in the city as of the year 2002. These two governments provided the city and county with roughly 17,000. Around 30,000 of Springfield's non-agricultural jobs are because of state, local and county government jobs, based on 2007 statistics. Around 17,000 to 18,000 jobs within Springfield are provided by health care, transportation and utilities and the trade industries. Memorial Health Systems was the largest private sector employer during 2002. That year, about 3400 people worked for that specific company.