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Springfield is the capital of Illinois and the state's seventh-most populous city with 114,394 residents according to the 2020 census, located in Central Illinois near the Sangamon River along historic Route 66. Settled by European-Americans in the late 1810s, Springfield was originally named Calhoun after Senator John C. Calhoun in 1820 when John Kelly built the first cabin, but was renamed Springfield in 1832 and designated the state capital in 1839 largely through the efforts of Abraham Lincoln and associates known as the "Long Nine." Abraham Lincoln, the city's most famous historic resident, lived in Springfield from 1837 to 1861 before becoming U.S. President, leaving behind major attractions including the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, his home, the Old State Capitol, law offices, and tomb. As the state capital, Springfield's economy centers on government agencies, healthcare, and state institutions including the Illinois General Assembly, Supreme Court, Governor's office, and the University of Illinois Springfield campus. The metropolitan area encompasses approximately 208,000 residents across Sangamon and Menard counties and features the mayor-council form of government typical of middle-latitude U.S. cities. Champaign is a city in Champaign County in central Illinois with a population of 88,302 as of the 2020 census, making it the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth largest city outside the Chicago metropolitan area. Founded in 1855 when the Illinois Central Railroad laid tracks two miles west of Urbana, it was originally called "West Urbana" before being renamed Champaign upon receiving its city charter in 1860. The city hosts the main campus of the University of Illinois and Parkland College, establishing it as a hub of the Illinois Silicon Prairie with numerous technology startups, while also serving as an office location or headquarters for Fortune 500 companies including State Farm, John Deere, Caterpillar, and Abbott, as well as Jimmy John's. Champaign is part of the Champaign-Urbana metropolitan area with 236,000 residents and is known for hosting the first Farm Aid concert in September 1985 at Memorial Stadium, which drew 80,000 people and raised over $7 million. The city experiences a humid continental climate typical of the Midwest, with hot summers and cold winters averaging 24 days above 90°F and six nights below 0°F annually. Decatur, Illinois is the largest city and county seat of Macon County in Central Illinois, founded in 1829 along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur, with a 2020 population of 70,522 making it the state's 17th-most populous city. Named after War of 1812 naval hero Stephen Decatur, the city holds significant historical importance as Abraham Lincoln's first Illinois home in 1830 and the site of his first political speech at age 21, as well as where the Illinois Republican State Convention endorsed him as "The Railsplitter Candidate" in 1860. The economy is anchored by industrial and agricultural commodity processing, particularly soybeans - at its peak, over one-third of the world's soybeans were processed in Decatur, earning it the "Soybean Capital of the World" designation due to the A.E. Staley Manufacturing Company headquarters located there. The city is home to two higher education institutions, Millikin University and Richland Community College, and received the All-America City Award in 1960; notable historical events include the 1900 invention of the fly swatter by Robert R. Montgomery and a devastating 1974 railroad explosion that killed seven people and caused $18 million in damage. Despite these historical achievements, Decatur is now known as Illinois's "fastest shrinking city."