 They had a maximum complement of 213 including 11 officers.The LST was ordered as part of the Fiscal Year 1966 group on 15 July 1966 and laid down on 22 February 1968 by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company at their yard in San Diego, California.The ship was named for the city in Illinois and was launched on 23 November 1968, sponsored by the wife of Congressman Robert H. Michel.