Downstate hate: A history of the bitter, nearly 200-year rivalry between Chicago and the rest of ...

[TexasTowelie]

Downstate hate: A history of the bitter, nearly 200-year rivalry between Chicago and the rest of Illinois

The animosity between Illinois's largest city and its smaller towns is almost as old as the state itself. I say "almost," of course, because Chicago, incorporated in 1837, is 19 years younger than Illinois, which is set to begin a yearlong celebration of its bicentennial on December 3. Downstaters have always thought of Chicago as a black hole of street violence and political corruption, sucking up tax dollars generated by honest, hard-working farmers. Chicagoans have always thought of downstate—when they've thought of it at all—as an irrelevant agricultural appendage full of Baptists and gun owners who'd just love to turn Illinois into North Kentucky.

For most of Illinois's history, the two spheres have been evenly matched in influence, with downstate contributing some of Illinois's most important political figures, from Abraham Lincoln to Adlai Stevenson. Downstate was also the forcing ground of internationally known industries: Moline gave us John Deere, Peoria gave us Caterpillar, and Decatur gave us Staley, which in 1920 hired George Halas to coach a company football team he would move to Chicago the following year and rename the Bears.

More recently, though, the misunderstandings and alienation between Chicago and downstate have been ramped up by two particularly 21st-century phenomena: globalization and political polarization. As the big global city in the northeastern corner of the state sucks jobs and college graduates out of the rest of Illinois, downstate is becoming older, less educated, less prosperous, more reactionary, and more Republican. Politically, downstate is in complete opposition to the Chicago area, especially on such culturally charged matters as gun rights, LGBT rights, and abortion. But it lacks the votes to bend the state to its will on any of those issues. This was never more evident than in 2010, when Governor Pat Quinn defeated state senator Bill Brady, a social conservative from Bloomington, despite carrying only four of the state's 102 counties—and could've won by carrying only Cook County.

"Illinois needs an electoral college," a Republican friend from Decatur groused after that election.

Read more: https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/downstate-illinois-secession-history/Content?oid=34519694

[guillaumeb]

1. Most people in Illinois live north of the I-80 highway.

And most of the revenue also comes from that area.

[guillaumeb]

2. Also from the article:

It's very simple folks: we just do this and we'll resemble Indiana more than the present, debt-ridden state of Illinois," Mitchell said at a press conference to promote his bill. "We can resemble Indiana, which has a lower debt, a lower unemployment rate, and a lower deficit."

And Indiana has a lower standard of living, lower average wages, and less appeal for big businesses.

[questionseverything]

3. actually mclean county where bloomington is located

voted for Obama in 2008....I have lots of repub friends that either voted for him or didn't vote at all so as not to vote against him...and it was because they wanted everyone to have healthcare and we definitely don't want endless war

what went wrong was the freaking aca is so expensive for the over 55 set, they felt conned so in 2012 it went back repub

brady only has the rep job because no one can afford to run against him

Bloomington should be part of the downstate carve out for a dem congresspeop (4 universities), Halverson won it in 08 but as soon as she got in it was "healthcare has to be budget neutral" and yea cops ,yea military so she lost in 2 yrs and we have a tea bagger from downsouth that is gun ho on tax cuts for billionaires

even my rich friends don't want that but they are only millionaires not billionaires

[Dawson Leery]

4. North Illinois has the population, jobs, and revenue.

South of I-80 has very little to offer.