It is time that Illinois has a state vegetable and I strongly believe that it should be the beet. Illinois was one of the first states to explore mass beet production at the turn of the 20th century. In 1906, after hundreds of jobs were lost and factories shutdown, Illinois was successful in producing the worst beet crop - totaling 5,775,000 lbs - that year when compared to the 4 other major beet producing states of the time. Today's dollar value of this 1906 crop would be approximately $11,550,000 or 0.7*10^-7% of the US deficit. By making the beet the vegetable representation of Illinois, we can ensure that they can rise from the 6th most indebted state in the nation to the 5th or even the 4th! With your help, we can drop the 2014 beet crop to deficit percentage as low as 0.7*10^-25!
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