The Illinois state nickname, "Prairie State," may have been penned specifically with Southern Illinois in mind. Flat, treeless prairie land comprises much of the newly-drawn 19th congressional district in the southeastern part of the state.

The 2000 Census confirmed what many politicians already knew -- population growth in the state was stunted at best. Population in the original 19th district alone only grew by 0.8 percent from 1990 to 2000, leading the state to lose a seat in the House. A bipartisan committee then reconfigured the 19th and 20th districts into a new zone, allowing some areas to be absorbed into other neighboring districts. The so-called "new 19" contains some 60 percent of the original 20th district making it an area that appears to lean Republican, having elected President Bush with 58 percent of the vote.

The new 19th district includes parts of the state capital, Springfield, a city that proudly claims to be the original home of President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln's clapboard house, the offices of his law practice and the courtroom where he argued as a lawyer still stand as an homage to the 16th president.

But beyond the suburban communities of Springfield, southeastern Illinois remains primarily farmland that may have new farming technologies, but has not progressed in essence far beyond its 19th Century glory. Indeed, the 2002 Almanac of Politics says the cultivation of the land and its winding country roads "…cannot be entirely different from what Lincoln saw as a lawyer making his way from one county seat to another on the circuit."

Southern Illinois was originally settled almost wholly by farmers taking advantage of the flat prairie land. When railroad access was introduced to the state, farmers began trading their produce for goods from the more industrialized cities of St. Louis, Chicago and other areas in the east. Coal deposits were also discovered in the area, leading to the birth of several mining towns.

Despite vast coal deposits in downstate Illinois, many coal mines had to be shut down to the high sulfur content in coal mined in the region - so-called "dirty coal." An energy bill that could introduce new clean coal technology and allow more mines in the region to reopen and create new jobs is a hot-button issue for any politician in the region and is largely supported by Democrats and Republicans alike.

According to the Illinois Leader, the state ranks second in corn production in the country, making the production of soybean or ethanol diesel of particular importance to this constituency. A rising increase in demand for renewable energy sources such as soybean fuel alternatives translates to more jobs and the potential to surpass the $1 billion the region already generates annually from alternative fuel production.

The winner of the November 5th general election will confront familiar issues in the newly-configured district, which still bears the characteristics of national pride and cultural conservatism common in the region. Education and health care figure prominently on the list of priorities for the predominantly rural area with an economy banking on an increased dependency on renewable domestic energy sources.

--By Maureen Hoch, Online NewsHour