Illinois Among 'Least Patriotic' States: Study

ILLINOIS — The Prairie State faces a lot of criticism, and often for good reason: Our imprisoned governors, our sky-high taxes, our fiscal woes. But now we're being dissed for our patriotism: A new survey ranked Illinois — the home and final resting place of Abraham Lincoln himself! — among the least patriotic states in the nation.

Really?

The state that was home to presidents Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, Ulysses S. Grant and even Barack Obama is among the least patriotic?

It is, according to the new WalletHub report, which ranked Illinois at No. 41, right between Pennsylvania and Michigan.

The personal finance website determined the most and least patriotic states based on 13 indicators of military and civic engagement. The ranking is based on figures from a range of sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau and the United States Elections Project.

The website ranked Illinois 41st in military engagement, a score comprised of the average number of military enlistees per 1,000 adults, veterans per 1,000 adults, active-duty military per 100,000 adults and share of adults in military reserves. Wallet Hub also ranked Illinois No. 37 in civic engagement, a category that includes voting in the 2016 elections, volunteerism, AmeriCorps and Peace Corps volunteers, jury duty participation, residents who participate in groups or organizations, and civics education requirements.

The state ranked most patriotic was New Hampshire, and New Jersey ranked dead last. Here's what Wallet Hub says are the top 10 most patriotic states.

• New Hampshire
• Wyoming
• Vermont
• Utah
• Idaho
• Wisconsin
• Alaska
• South Carolina
• Missouri
• Minnesota

What do you think makes someone patriotic? Tell us what you think in the comments.

Karen Wall, Patch Staff, contributed to this article