The Big City Areas vs The Rest of the State Round 2: Illinois

[Mr. Smith]

And here's Round Two.

This time, Chicago vs the rest of Illinois. Will the big city roll it in, or will the side of Champaign, Nauvoo, the Capital, and Normal be tossed a bone?

Two days to find out.

Results
Round 1 [New York]: 58.3% New York City

[Torie]

This is going to go one way. If you want to go the other way, try AZ.

[dead0man]

Me and my people for several generations on both sides are from "downstate", so that.




(I'd rather live in Chicago though)

[SATW]

Chicago is a world-class city, but the crippling crime rate and corruption rate forces me to vote Down State.

[Gass3268]

Chicago, the rest of Illinois is awful.

[Goldwater]

Went with downstate, but I'm not a fan of either TBH.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

My dad's father, mother, and brother are buried next to each other in Springfield, IL, and the corn dog (apparently) was originally pioneered in that same city as the Cozy Dog, which is a great restaurant. As well, Lincoln's from that area.

[muon2]

Suburban Cook is 20% of the IL population - does it count as Chicago for this poll?
The Suburban Collar Counties are about 30% of the state's population - where does it count? If it is in with Chicago how far out does Chicago extend for the poll - the whole MSA? If so that only leaves about 30% of the state for Downstate which is roughly the definition understood by the locals.

[Mr. Illini]

Chicago because it is Chicago, but Champaign is a little-known gem, in my opinion.

[Mr. Smith]

Chicago because it is Chicago, but Champaign is a little-known gem, in my opinion.

This is pretty much my take, and I add Nauvoo to that.

[Mr. Smith]

FINAL RESULT: Chicago, 53.8%

[muon2]

FINAL RESULT: Chicago, 53.8%

You never answered the question about how far the city extends for the purposes of the poll.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I'd say the whole MSA counts as "Chicago". It doesn't make much sense otherwise.

[Torie]

FINAL RESULT: Chicago, 53.8%

You never answered the question about how far the city extends for the purposes of the poll.

I think I know where you are going with this.   So, alternatively, do you prefer the City of Chicago, or downstate ex the collar counties? 

[Mr. Smith]

FINAL RESULT: Chicago, 53.8%

You never answered the question about how far the city extends for the purposes of the poll.

If I were to give a definite answer, I'd say the MSA is the best default.

But I wanted to leave it open to readers a bit to define it as they know it, since there're always little  disagreements.

@Torie: Pretty much.

[muon2]

That's always the problem in IL. It tends to be categorized as Chicago or downstate beyond the Chicago suburbs. That neglects about half the state's population - about 7 million out of 13 million. People talking about downstate will also tend to ignore the half million or so that live in suburban St Louis. However if one counts the whole Chicago MSA then most of it is mix of old (Aurora, Joliet, Elgin) and new (Schaumburg, Naperville) suburban areas. That tends to get a different reaction than just the city of Chicago.

[Clarko95 📚💰📈]

Chicago, the rest of Illinois is awful.

[RINO Tom]

As a native Peorian, Downstate.  Love both, though.  I'm glad IL has a little bit of everything.