[antinomian]

Between 1850 and 1860 the black population of Illinois grew faster than the black population of Florida and Georgia and Alabama.

That's a very sloppy use of statistics. If there were only 7 to 8 thousand blacks there in 1850 it only takes a small increase in absolute numbers to equal a large percentage increase.

[Non-Sequitur]

That's a very sloppy use of statistics. If there were only 7 to 8 thousand blacks there in 1850 it only takes a small increase in absolute numbers to equal a large percentage increase.

But if your claim is true and no blacks were allowed in then how did the population grow? A increase from 5436 to over 7600 is a 40 percent growth rate. A far greater growth rate than comperable Southern states.