In April 1818, Congress passed a bill allowing Illinois to become a state if it could show that the population of the territory was at least 40,000, and that it had a state constitution that passed muster in Congress.Territorial Gov. Ninian Edwards began the process of taking a census. The goal was to show that Illinois was home to 40,000 people, which it clearly was not. Census takers appointed for each of the 15 counties counted everyone, including those in wagons passing through the state.There were approximately 15,000 …