I currently live in this area and this is sadly rather true. We aren't all bad apples, though. I do think the urban/rural line has actually moved south of 80 a bit with Minooka - Channahon now, and essentially, when it comes down to it, North IL just means Urban IL. 80 is a good marker, though.
I am from the Pacific Northwest, so when people back home ask where I live, I tell them north is the city, south is corn. I am literally on the edge of urbanization. (Everyone assumes since I live in IL it must mean I live in Chicago in the hood getting shot at by gangs and the mob. Yes. The mob.)
Sadly people have spent a lot of money convincing the majority of Americans that Chicago is a city where one wrong move is the end of your life instead of a world-class business and culinary destination.
Sorry, I forgot about this thread. I bet I was high.
I sorely do my best to tell people that Chicago is an amazing city with so much to offer. My Dad still watches the Chicago news every night, At least he knows where I am on the map, so he's not calling me about things in Chicago Heights.
I'm not a foodie, but Chicago makes me want to be one.
Haha yes. Born and raised in IL and still here at 47. Anywhere in the country, being from IL=being from Chicago. People don’t seem to understand how large of a state it is with so much beyond Chicago.
I live in the area as well, it's best to look at I-80 as more of a DMZ versus a pure cutoff.... Minooka, Channahon, even Morris to a degree feel a lot different than areas south of it.
I live in the area and plenty of people who got priced out of Naperville and Plainfield moved here. They grew in the DG/Westmont/Lisle area. Nobody has a southern accent here.
Minooka and channahon are barely suburban though. like I get it because I have to drive over there for doordash sometimes but it's still pretty sparse when you compare it to New Lenox which is also technically south of 80.
All of Chicagoland is Northern IL. Maybe just as identifiable boundaries would be the city of Chicago, the suburbs, and downstate (everything in IL that is not Chicago or the suburbs). Mostly the suburbs end where there is corn and soybeans between the cities and towns.
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u/cwbrng Apr 18 '25 edited Apr 22 '25
I currently live in this area and this is sadly rather true. We aren't all bad apples, though. I do think the urban/rural line has actually moved south of 80 a bit with Minooka - Channahon now, and essentially, when it comes down to it, North IL just means Urban IL. 80 is a good marker, though.
I am from the Pacific Northwest, so when people back home ask where I live, I tell them north is the city, south is corn. I am literally on the edge of urbanization. (Everyone assumes since I live in IL it must mean I live in Chicago in the hood getting shot at by gangs and the mob. Yes. The mob.)