Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the
U.S. state of
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...
. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010.
Economics
Northern Illinois is dominated by the metropolitan areas of
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
, the
Quad Cities
The Quad Cities is a region of cities (originally four, see History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport and Bettendorf in southeastern Iowa, and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline in northwestern Illinois. These cities are t ...
, and
Rockford, which contain a majority (over 75%) of Illinois' population and economic activity, including numerous Fortune 500 companies and a heavy manufacturing, commercial, retail, service, and office based economy. Much of the economic activity of the region is centered in the
Chicago Loop
The Loop, one of Chicago's 77 designated community areas, is the central business district of the city and is the main section of Downtown Chicago. Home to Chicago's commercial core, it is the second largest commercial business district in Nort ...
, the
Illinois Technology and Research Corridor
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockfo ...
, and the
Golden Corridor. However, rural sections of this region are highly productive agriculturally, and are part of the
Corn Belt. The headquarters for
John Deere
Deere & Company, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, transmissions, gearboxes) used in heavy equipment, ...
farming equipment are located in
Moline. Additional smaller cities in this area include
Kankakee,
LaSalle-
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
,
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...
,
Freeport,
Dixon Dixon may refer to:
Places International
* Dixon Entrance, part of the Inside Passage between Alaska and British Columbia
Canada
* Dixon, Ontario
United States
* Dixon, California
* Dixon, Illinois
* Dixon, Greene County, Indiana
* Dixon, In ...
, and
Sterling-
Rock Falls, which still have predominantly manufacturing and agricultural economies. Northern Illinois is also one of the world's busiest freight railroad and truck traffic corridors.
Interstate 80 southern boundary
Interstate 80
Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one ...
is sometimes referenced as the informal southern boundary of Northern Illinois, and is often used in weather reports as a reference point, as in "south of Interstate 80 will see sleet and rain, but north of Interstate 80 can expect mostly snow."
Interstate 88 cross section
Interstate 88 (the
Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway
Interstate 88 (I-88) is an Interstate Highway in the US state of Illinois that runs from an interchange with I-80 near Silvis and Moline to an interchange with I-290 and I-294 in Hillside, near Chicago. I-88 is long. This route is ...
) connects the region, east-west, stretching from the Quad Cities, eastward through Sterling-Rock Falls, Dixon, DeKalb,
Aurora
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
,
Naperville, and into Chicago. Northern Illinois is also the only region of the state in which there are tollways, which are run by the
Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, another trait separating this region from Central and Southern Illinois.
Education
Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system ...
(NIU), in
DeKalb, IL, is located at the heart of Northern Illinois and is the state's second largest institute of higher education. According to the Regional History Center at NIU, their area of service to the northern portion of Illinois includes the 18 northernmost counties, excluding Cook, Grundy, Kankakee, Mercer and Rock Island Counties, which are covered by Eastern Illinois University and Western Illinois University, respectively, and University of Illinois at Chicago.
Several major colleges can be found in the Chicago area including Illinois' third largest state school, the
University of Illinois at Chicago
The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the University of Illinois ...
, as well as the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
and
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
. Other notable schools include the
Illinois Institute of Technology,
Loyola University,
DePaul University
DePaul University is a private, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul. In 1998, it became the largest Ca ...
,
Columbia College,
Northeastern Illinois University
Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) is a public university in Chicago, Illinois. NEIU serves approximately 9,000 students in the region and is a Hispanic-serving institution. The main campus is located in the community area of North Park ...
, and
Roosevelt University
Roosevelt University is a private university with campuses in Chicago and Schaumburg, Illinois. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
The unive ...
.
Several liberal arts schools such as
Aurora University
Aurora University (AU) is a private university in Aurora, Illinois. In addition to its main campus and the Orchard Center in Aurora, AU offers programs online, at its George Williams College campus in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, and at the Wood ...
,
Lewis University
Lewis University is a private Roman Catholic and Lasallian university in Romeoville, Illinois, United States. The enrollment is currently around 6,800 students. Lewis offers more than 80 undergraduate majors and programs of study, 22 graduate ...
,
North Central College,
Elmhurst University,
Wheaton College Wheaton College may refer to:
* Wheaton College (Illinois), a private Christian, coeducational, liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois
* Wheaton College (Massachusetts)
Wheaton College is a private liberal arts college in Norton, Massachus ...
,
Concordia University
Concordia University (French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...
, and
North Park University dot the Metropolitan Chicago landscape. Other institutions of higher education are found in Rockford, including
Rockford University,
Rock Valley College,
Northern Illinois University-Rockford,
University of Illinois College of Medicine-Rockford, a branch of
Rasmussen College
Rasmussen University is a private for-profit university with multiple locations throughout the United States. It offers associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees at 23 campuses in Minnesota, Illinois, North Dakota, Florida, Wisconsin ...
, and a branch of
Judson University. Other colleges near the Quad Cities include
Western Illinois University-Quad Cities and
Augustana College.
These schools, along with several others, help to make Northern Illinois a vibrant research area. Such significant developments in science including the creation of the
Atomic Bomb
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...
and the
Fujita Scale
The Fujita scale (F-Scale; ), or Fujita–Pearson scale (FPP scale), is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation. The official Fujita scale category is deter ...
were rooted in Northern Illinois institutions.
Politics
Before Virginia, Massachusetts and Connecticut laid claims to what would become northern Illinois during colonial times.
Politically, the region is quite diverse, with
Cook County and
Rock Island County being long-time strongholds for
Democrats and north-central Illinois counties (
Boone,
Ogle,
Lee
Lee may refer to:
Name
Given name
* Lee (given name), a given name in English
Surname
* Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee:
** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname
** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...
, etc.) being reliable for
Republicans. Suburban Chicago counties such as
DuPage,
Kane,
Kendall and
McHenry Counties were also very reliably
Republican until recently. Some counties, such as
Lake
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...
,
Winnebago and
DeKalb, were once Republican strongholds, but are now more evenly divided. Famous politicians native to the area include
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union A ...
,
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
, Barack Obama,
J. Dennis Hastert,
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, government official and businessman who served as Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under president Gerald Ford, and again from 2001 to 2006 under Preside ...
,
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
, and Mayors
Richard J. Daley and
Richard M. Daley
Richard Michael Daley (born April 24, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 54th mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1989 to 2011. Daley was elected mayor in 1989 and was reelected five times until declining to run for a seventh term ...
.
Culture
Culturally, the area is tied heavily to Chicago. Most residents of Northern Illinois tend to support Chicago teams and lean towards the Chicago media market. The major college football program in Northern Illinois is the
NIU Huskies. Northern Illinois also has large fanbases for the
Illinois Fighting Illini
The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports.
The University operates a number of athletic faci ...
,
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...
,
Iowa Hawkeyes
The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 22 sports, 8 for men and 14 for women; a 15th women's sport will be added in 2023. The teams partici ...
, and the
Northwestern Wildcats, as well Chicago's professional sports teams such as
the Sox,
the Cubs,
the Bears,
the Blackhawks
Blackhawk is the eponymous fictional character of the long-running comic book series ''Blackhawk'' first published by Quality Comics and later by DC Comics. Primarily created by Chuck Cuidera with input from both Bob Powell and Will Eisner, th ...
, and
the Bulls. In Central and Southern Illinois, residents are tied primarily to
St. Louis. Additionally, regional dialects in Northern Illinois vary from those in other parts of Illinois. Surprisingly, different areas in Northern Illinois have their own independent cultures. Typically, areas west of
Interstate 39 have more ties to Iowa and the Quad Cities area, as that is roughly the location of the westernmost terminus of the Chicago media area. Even dialects within Northern Illinois are different, emphasizing the above. Depending on location and ethnicity, a resident of the Chicago Metropolitan Area may have the
stereotypical Chicago dialect, whereas those in more affluent areas, such as Lake County, may have a less easily pinpointed manner of speaking. That west of
McHenry and
Kane counties have more stereotypical
Midwestern dialects, and might not be able to be distinguished from people in Iowa or Nebraska.
Depending on how close to a specific metropolitan area a county is, their culture and media reflect that of the metro area. Areas such as the
Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area have a comfortable mix of culture from the Chicago area, Quad Cities area, and Peoria, perhaps being due to its location in the center of the region.
Subregions
Northern Illinois is divisible into subregions.
Chicago metropolitan area
The
Chicago metropolitan area
The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hin ...
, or Chicagoland, is the metropolitan area associated with the city of Chicago, Illinois, and its suburbs. It is the area that is closely linked to the city through geographic, social, economic, and cultural ties.
Chicago
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
( or ) is the third most populous city in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, after
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
. With 2.7 million residents,
it is the most populous city in both the
U.S. state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...
and the
American Midwest
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
. Its metropolitan area, sometimes called ''
Chicagoland
The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hin ...
'', is home to 9.5 million people and is the
third-largest in the United States.
Chicago is the
seat
A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense.
Types of seat
The following are examples of different kinds of seat:
* Armchair, a chair ...
of
Cook County, although a small part of the city extends into
DuPage County
DuPage County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, and one of the collar counties of the Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 932,877, making it Illinois' second-most populous county. Its county seat ...
.
Collar counties
The collar counties are the five counties of
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...
that border on
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
's
Cook County. The collar counties (
DuPage,
Kane,
Lake
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...
,
McHenry, and
Will
Will may refer to:
Common meanings
* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
* Will (sociology)
* Will, volition (psychology)
* Will, a modal verb - see Shall and wi ...
) are tied to Chicago economically, but, like many
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separ ...
an areas in the United States, have very different political leanings than does the core city. Chicago has long been a
Democratic stronghold, and the collar counties are known for being historically Republican strongholds.
While the demographics of these suburban Chicago counties are fairly typical for American
metropolitan area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually ...
s, the term is apparently unique to this area. And because Chicago is so firmly entrenched in the Democratic column, and rural
Downstate Illinois
Downstate Illinois refers to the part of the U.S. state of Illinois south of the Chicago metropolitan area, which is in the northeast corner of the state and has been dominant in American history, politics, and culture. It is defined as the pa ...
is so overwhelmingly
Republican, the collar counties are routinely cited as being the key to any statewide election. However, that conventional wisdom was challenged by the fact that
in 2010 Democrat
Pat Quinn became governor while winning only Cook, St. Clair, Jackson and Alexander counties. All five collar counties went Republican, so the key to winning that gubernatorial election was simply winning Cook County, but by a wide enough margin to overwhelm the rest of the state.
While the term is perhaps most often employed in political discussions, that is not its exclusive use.
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
used the term in his speech before the Democratic National Convention in 2004.
Fox Valley
The
Fox Valley—also commonly known as the Fox River Valley—is a
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separ ...
an and exurban region within Illinois along the western edge of the Chicago suburbs. This region centers on the Fox River of Illinois and Wisconsin. Around 1 million people live in this area. Native American tribes that lived near the Fox River included the Potawatomi, Sac, and Fox tribes. Some of cities in the Fox River Valley are part of the rust belt. Within this region is Aurora, the second largest city in the state,
Elgin, and the nearby cities of Batavia, St. Charles, and Geneva, which have been known as "the Tri-City area" since the early 20th century.
Northwestern Illinois
Northwestern Illinois
Northwestern Illinois is a geographic region of the state of Illinois within the USA.
Northwestern Illinois is generally considered to consist of the following area: Jo Daviess County, Carroll County, Whiteside County, Stephenson County, Winn ...
is generally considered to consist of the following area: Jo Daviess County, Carroll County, Whiteside County, Stephenson County, Winnebago County, Ogle County, and Lee County. Northwestern Illinois borders the states of Iowa to the west and Wisconsin to the north.
Rockford, Illinois, metropolitan area
The
Rockford Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of four counties in north-central Illinois, anchored by the city of Rockford. As of the 2010 census, the MSA had a population of 349,431.
Quad Cities
The
Quad Cities
The Quad Cities is a region of cities (originally four, see History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport and Bettendorf in southeastern Iowa, and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline in northwestern Illinois. These cities are t ...
is a group of five cities straddling the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...
on the
Iowa
Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...
–
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...
boundary, in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. These cities,
Davenport
Davenport may refer to:
Places Australia
*Davenport, Northern Territory, a locality
*Hundred of Davenport, cadastral unit in South Australia
**Davenport, South Australia, suburb of Port Augusta
** District Council of Davenport, former local govern ...
and
Bettendorf (in
Iowa
Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...
) and
Rock Island,
Moline, and
East Moline (in
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...
), are the center of the
Quad Cities Metropolitan Area
The Quad Cities metropolitan area, more formally known as the Davenport–Moline–Rock Island Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the metropolitan area associated with the Quad Cities in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois. The area consists of t ...
, which, as of 2012, had a population estimate of 382,630 and a
CSA population of 474,226, making it the 90th largest CSA in the nation.
The Quad Cities is midway between Minneapolis and St. Louis, north and south, and Chicago and Des Moines, east and west. The area is the largest 300-mile market west of Chicago.
Counties
*
Boone
*
Bureau
*
Carroll
*
Cook
Cook or The Cook may refer to:
Food preparation
* Cooking, the preparation of food
* Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food
* Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry
* ...
*
DeKalb
*
DuPage
*
Grundy
*
Henry
*
Jo Daviess
*
Kane
*
Kankakee
*
Kendall
*
Lake
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...
*
LaSalle
*
Lee
Lee may refer to:
Name
Given name
* Lee (given name), a given name in English
Surname
* Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee:
** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname
** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...
*
McHenry
*
Mercer
*
Ogle
*
Putnam
*
Rock Island
*
Stephenson
Stephenson is a medieval patronymic surname meaning "son of Stephen". The earliest public record is found in the county of Huntingdonshire in 1279. There are variant spellings including Stevenson. People with the surname include:
* Ashley Steph ...
*
Whiteside
*
Will
Will may refer to:
Common meanings
* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
* Will (sociology)
* Will, volition (psychology)
* Will, a modal verb - see Shall and wi ...
*
Winnebago
References
{{coord, 41, 45, N, 89, 15, W, region:US-IL_scale:1000000, display=title
Regions of Illinois
Chicago metropolitan area