Peoria

City and river port in central Illinois, USA, on the Illinois River, 208 km/130 mi southwest of Chicago; population (2000) 112,900. It is the third-largest city in Illinois, and an important transport, mining, and agricultural centre on the Great Lakes–Gulf of Mexico inland waterway system. Products include bituminous coal, livestock, and grain. Its principal industries are distilling, food-processing, and the manufacture of computer-ware, steel, tractors, and earth-moving equipment.

Fort Crève Coeur was built here by the French explorer Robert de la Salle in 1680, but was later abandoned. The first US settlement was established in 1818, and known as Fort Clark until 1825, when it was renamed after the American Indian people who were inhabiting the area when the French first explored the region in 1673.

Peoria is the seat of Bradley University, founded in 1897.