Final answer:
Illinois has a significant population which affects its number of electoral votes in the Electoral College. However, the relationship between population size and electoral votes does not always correspond directly due to the fixed minimum of electoral votes smaller states receive. Urban areas like Cook County in Illinois demonstrate the substantial influence some regions have in elections.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question of whether Illinois has a larger population than the "other 12 states lost its in the cart and the district of Colombia combined" is most likely referring to the population as it relates to electoral votes in the U.S. presidential election. Illinois has a significant population which is reflected in its number of electoral votes. The state’s congressional delegation—and thereby its number of electors in the Electoral College—includes two Senators plus the number of members it has in the House of Representatives. This number can fluctuate every ten years with the census results, which can lead to changes in the state's electoral votes.
It is also crucial to understand that the Electoral College system does not directly correlate with population size. Some states may have a disproportionate number of electoral votes relative to their population size. For instance, states like Wyoming have a minimum of three electoral votes despite having a small population, while some more populous states do not see a proportional increase in electoral votes.
A good example of population influence can be seen with California, which, as of the data derived from the 2000 census, had a population making up 11% of the total U.S. population but received 20% of the nation's electoral votes. However, smaller states and the District of Columbia combined might have more electoral votes than Illinois, due to the fixed number of electoral votes they receive regardless of their smaller populations.
Cook County in Illinois, which includes Chicago, is a good example of how urban areas can have an outsized effect on elections, illustrating the significant intrastate variation in voting and the massive contribution of urban areas to the outcome of major elections. This impact is not always clearly represented in maps that show state-level results.