Illinois continues to be one of the top destinations in the United States for international visitors. In 2012, Illinois had more than 2 million visitors, which ranked 6th in the country. Chicago had 1.4 million visitors.

When Kathy Reichs, a forensic anthropologist who grew up in Chicago, published her first academic paper titled "Cranial suture eccentricities: a case in which precocious closure complicated determination of sex and commingling" in the Journal of Forensic Science in 1989, she probably couldn’t have deduced that she would one day go on to pen some of the most thrilling and engaging crime fiction novels of her generation.

But that is exactly what happened.

Need to get there from here? You probably can if you live in Illinois. Chicago is home to O’Hare, which recently reclaimed its place as busiest airport in the world. Between O’Hare and Midway, you can catch a direct flight to 62 international cities and 156 domestic destinations.