Why is Illinois considered the midwest?

Question

If California is west, then why is Illinois the midwest......its no where near California.....

Answer 1

well midwest means middle west so its in the middle and it has a similar landscape to all the other states in the u.s (grass plains). the midwest is a region and actually illinois is the end state of the midwest the the east starts

Answer 2

I too have pondered this many a time

Answer 3

The US on a map is sectioned vertically, for time zones I believe, but I have always heard Ill. refered to as East, so I am not quite positive, may be just my interpretation of why they have done this. California is the west, the middle of the US is the Mid west and the East is the East. NY, NJ

Answer 4

Illinois is a great lakes state.....Missouri, Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma are Midwest state to me