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About the District
Bureau County
Amid its slightly rolling hills, agriculture is the key industry in Bureau County. Its population center is the county seat and historic community of Princeton – home to antique stores and a restored Underground Railroad stop in the Lovejoy Homestead.
The symbol of Princeton is its Red Covered Bridge – one of the very few still in use in the State of Illinois. Princeton also features the largest summer theater festival in the State. Scattered throughout the many small towns in the County are small businesses featuring the making of ice cream, cheese and pizza.
Helpful Websites
Bureau County Government
Bureau County Tourism
Princeton Tourism & Visitor's Bureau
Grundy County
Although it has the smallest population of any 11thCongressional District county, Grundy County is positioned for growth as it serves as the buffer between the dramatic growth of the southwest Chicago suburbs during the past decade and the traditionally small towns and rural areas beyond its borders. Its population center and county seat is the City of Morris, yet another city in the 11thDistrict whose beginnings are entwined with the building of the Illinois and Michigan Canal. The booming Canal commerce in the mid-19thcentury not only encouraged the development of canal towns such as Morris, LaSalle, Ottawa, Marseilles and Seneca, it ignited the explosive growth of the City of Chicago. An interesting Grundy County contrast is posed by being the site of the nation’s first commercial nuclear reactor and a major spent nuclear fuel storage facility as well as the 2,537 acre Goose Lake Prairie State Nature Preserve which features some of the last remaining remnants of the Prairie State’s native prairie.
Helpful Websites
Grundy County Government
Grundy Economic Development Council
Kankakee County
The beautiful Kankakee River Valley highlights this far south suburban county. Not surprisingly, “Kankakee” is the Pottawatomie Indian word for “Wonderful Land”. Most of the population of the County is centered in the City of Kankakee, which is also the county seat, and the adjacent Villages of Bourbonnais and Bradley. Two hospitals in Kankakee provide high quality health care while higher education opportunities are available through Olivet Nazarene University and Kankakee Community College.
Of special note are two adjacent Frank Lloyd Wright homes in the City of Kankakee. An interesting agri-business tourism attraction is the Barn Quilt Tour. Traditional, colorful quilt designs, each with a special meaning, are hand painted on eight foot by eight foot wooden blocks and prominently affixed to historic barns and corn cribs all across Kankakee County. Noted especially for its abundant waterfowl, the Kankakee River State Park sets aside 4,000 acres and runs for eleven miles along both sides of the Kankakee River. An important cause in Kankakee County is the preservation of the Kankakee River which is listed on the Federal Clean Streams Register. Kankakee County is also home to the Chicago Bears Summer Training Camp.
Helpful Websites
Kankakee County Government
Economic Alliance of Kankakee County
Kankakee County Convention & Visitor's Bureau
LaSalle County
The second largest county in Illinois in terms of area, LaSalle County offers an interesting mixture of agriculture, manufacturing,
small businesses and a growing tourism industry spurred by the spectacular natural beauty of the Illinois and Fox Rivers and Starved Rock State Park – named as one of the Seven Wonders of Illinois by a recent statewide survey.
The county seat and largest community is the City of Ottawa – site of the first Lincoln-Douglas Debate in 1858 and the birthplace of Scouting in America in 1910. LaSalle County is bisected not only by the Illinois River but also by the historic Illinois & Michigan Canal. Completed in 1848, the Canal is now a major hiking and biking trail which also features a replica canal boat ride at LaSalle as a growing heritage tourism attraction.
Helpful Websites
LaSalle County Government
LaSalle County Economic Development Committee
LaSalle County Tourism Coalition
Ottawa Visitor's Bureau
McLean County
Containing the largest area of any county in the State of Illinois, the portion of McLean County loc
ated in the 11thCongressional District contains its population centers – the City of Bloomington and the Town of Normal. The economy of these two cities is bolstered by the intersection of major interstate highways, the fourth busiest airport in Illinois, a major bus and passenger train multimodal facility, a huge auto manufacturing plant, the corporate headquarters of large insurance companies and the surrounding highly productive farmland.
Bloomington-Normal also heavily benefits from the strong presence of higher education and the fine arts. Illinois State University and Illinois Wesleyan University combine to bring 23,000 students to the community. In addition to the resources of the universities, the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts and Children’s Discovery Museum in Normal enrich the quality of life in these communities.
Helpful Websites
McLean County Government
Economic Development Council
Bloomington-Normal Area Convention and Visitors Bureau
Will County
One of the suburban Cook County Collar Counties, Will County was one of the fastest growing counties in the nation during the 
past decade and the City of Joliet, its county seat, is the fourth largest city in the State of Illinois. Visitors to Joliet will find a city with its roots in the steel making industry and the commercial transportation of the Illinois & Michigan Canal but now featuring the gaming industry and minor league baseball. Not to be missed is the “Jewel of Joliet” – the restored Rialto Theatre. Built in 1926, the Rialto is oftentimes considered to be one of the ten most beautiful theaters in the United States. Joliet is also home to Joliet Junior College – the oldest community college in the nation and renowned for its culinary and horticulture programs. Just outside Joliet is located the former Joliet Arsenal built to manufacture ammunition during World War II.
Having undergone a textbook transition from surplus federal government property to productive civilian use, the Arsenal is now home to the unique 20,000 acre Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, a major intermodal facility and the nearly 1,000 acre Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, the second largest national cemetery in the United States. Spread across the county is the impressive 84 year old Forest Preserve District of Will County with more than 20,000 acres organized into more than two dozen preserves and a wide variety of recreational facilities.
Helpful Websites
Will County Government
Will County Center for Economic Development
Heritage Corridor Tourism Site
