Chicago is NOT all there is to Illinois
Those of us who grew up south of Chicago - which is 98% of the state - are sick and tired of all the Illinois bashing thanks to the various shenanigans of the former governor and various other elected folk. For the record, Illinois was a great place to grow up. I would go back in a heartbeat.
I grew up in Peoria, back when the City was two and a half times larger than it is now - like much of the Midwest a lot of major industries have moved on but still that river city has a lot to offer. Oh sure there are the usual issues you have in any city that size (well over 100,000 currently). But there is history, art, theatre (will it play in Peoria?), good schools and corporate heaquarters of international companies (e.g. Caterpillar). Heck there's hockey, minor league baseball and the government's agricultural research center. You want it? Odds are Peoria has it.
It also has great people. Peoria has a nature center I practically grew up in that is a true gem. Private and public universities are close by including Ronald Reagan's (and mine) alma mater Eureka College and Bradley University. The historic area around Bradley is great.Major medical centers offer top notch care.
We've had great mayors and not so great mayors, like everywhere. But to say that all of Illinois is corrupt is just WRONG. Chicago doesn't "speak" for all of us. I love Chicago (politics aside) but my heart belongs to Peoria.
Oh by the way Chicgo is NOT the capital - Springfield is another great city.
St Louis is partly in Illinois. There's a lot of great farmland in Illinois. The Mississippi serves as the Western border, the Illinois meanders on through from the mighty Mississippi to Chicago connecting the Great Lakes to the Gulf and river life offers a rich history.
The politicians from Chicago do not represent the entire state. They never have. The state is rich and varied, more democratic to the north and more republican towards the middle and south. Overall we're more moderate than anything else, given that 99% of the time it is a so-called "red" state.
You can't apply an generic label and make it stick. So PLEASE stop trying to stuff the entire state and everyone who lives there into a one size fits all box. Chicago is NOT all there is to Illinois and even so that city isn't 100% corrupt either.
I grew up in Peoria, back when the City was two and a half times larger than it is now - like much of the Midwest a lot of major industries have moved on but still that river city has a lot to offer. Oh sure there are the usual issues you have in any city that size (well over 100,000 currently). But there is history, art, theatre (will it play in Peoria?), good schools and corporate heaquarters of international companies (e.g. Caterpillar). Heck there's hockey, minor league baseball and the government's agricultural research center. You want it? Odds are Peoria has it.
It also has great people. Peoria has a nature center I practically grew up in that is a true gem. Private and public universities are close by including Ronald Reagan's (and mine) alma mater Eureka College and Bradley University. The historic area around Bradley is great.Major medical centers offer top notch care.
We've had great mayors and not so great mayors, like everywhere. But to say that all of Illinois is corrupt is just WRONG. Chicago doesn't "speak" for all of us. I love Chicago (politics aside) but my heart belongs to Peoria.
Oh by the way Chicgo is NOT the capital - Springfield is another great city.
St Louis is partly in Illinois. There's a lot of great farmland in Illinois. The Mississippi serves as the Western border, the Illinois meanders on through from the mighty Mississippi to Chicago connecting the Great Lakes to the Gulf and river life offers a rich history.
The politicians from Chicago do not represent the entire state. They never have. The state is rich and varied, more democratic to the north and more republican towards the middle and south. Overall we're more moderate than anything else, given that 99% of the time it is a so-called "red" state.
You can't apply an generic label and make it stick. So PLEASE stop trying to stuff the entire state and everyone who lives there into a one size fits all box. Chicago is NOT all there is to Illinois and even so that city isn't 100% corrupt either.
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