(NOTE: This is only for the Illinois part of the metropolitan area.)
Downstate Illinois refers to the part of the U.S. state of Illinois south or outside of the Chicago metropolitan area, which is in the northeast corner of the state and has been dominant in state history, politics, and culture.[1][2][3][4]
Downstate Illinois lacks a precise definition. Various boundaries that have been used are the Chicago city limits, the boundaries of Cook County, the collar counties, all of Illinois not contained in the Chicago media market, Interstate 80, and Bloomington.[5] Prior to the 2000 United States census, when it became part of the Chicago metropolitan area, even DeKalb (located 65 miles west of Chicago) was often considered to be "downstate".[6][7][8]
With regard to geographic placenames, the terms "up" and "down" generally refer to upstream and downstream with respect to a river basin, in this case that of the Mississippi River, which flows from north to south along the western edge of the state. Thus, the term "Downstate Illinois" may be understood to refer to the part of the state which lies downstream with respect to the Mississippi River and its tributaries in Illinois, such as the Illinois River.
Downstate Illinois is divided into three regions: Northern, Central, and Southern, which in turn are divided into more regions. The term has been used by Northern Illinois residents for decades and is commonly used by the media.[9][10][11][12] The Illinois General Assembly regularly uses the term in the titles of bills it passes.[13]
Most of the state's largest cities (six of the top ten) are concentrated in and around the Chicago area, but several mid-sized cities exist in the downstate area as well. Springfield, the state capital, is located in Downstate Illinois.
Ten Largest Cities in Downstate Illinois[14]
Rank
City
Population
County
1
Rockford
148,655
Winnebago
2
Springfield
114,394
Sangamon
3
Peoria
113,150
Peoria
4
Champaign
88,302
Champaign
5
Bloomington
78,680
McLean
6
Decatur
70,522
Macon
7
Normal
52,736
McLean
8
Moline
42,985
Rock Island
9
Belleville
42,404
St. Clair
10
Quincy
39,463
Adams
^"Building Permits Rise 11%". Chicago Tribune. December 5, 1987.
^"They Got Us Wrong". Chicago Reader. February 3, 2011.
^"Bradley University: Foster College of Business Administration". Bradley.edu. Archived from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
^"Illinois raises cap on charter schools - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star". Rrstar.com. Associated Press. Archived from the original on September 15, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
^Thompson, James R. "'Downstate'". Encyclopedia of Chicago. Chicago Historical Society. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
^"MTV's Campus Invasion Tour". October 18, 2000. Archived from the original on June 11, 2014. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^"DeKalb Corp. announces capitalization of three new companies, spinoff". June 21, 1988. Archived from the original on June 11, 2014. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^"Names". www.lib.niu.edu.
^"Lawrence Journal-World - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
^Around, Getting (August 23, 2010). "Chicago-K.C. corridor ready to roll - Chicago Tribune". Articles.chicagotribune.com. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
^Ramsey, Mike (November 6, 1998). "Missionary Educator From Downstate Illinois Is Remembered In China - Chicago Tribune". Articles.chicagotribune.com. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
^[1] Archived March 8, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
^"Illinois General Assembly - list of bills with "Downstate" in the text". Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
^"U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: United States". www.census.gov. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
and 23 Related for: Downstate Illinois information
DownstateIllinois refers to the part of the U.S. state of Illinois south or outside of the Chicago metropolitan area, which is in the northeast corner...
the region outside the Chicago metropolitan area is often called "downstate" Illinois. This term is flexible, but is generally meant to mean everything...
with the results of the remainder of Illinois ("downstateIllinois"). Thompson performed stronger in downstateIllinois than he did in the cumaltive vote...
Downstate may refer to: DownstateIllinois, the portion of the U.S. state of Illinois south of the Chicago metropolitan area Downstate New York, the southeastern...
Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois comprising the southern third of the state, principally south of Interstate 70. Part of downstate Illinois...
(2001) as an aspiring ballerina forced to leave her small town in downstateIllinois to live with her struggling musician father in Chicago after her mother...
in Illinois range from Inland Northern near Chicago and the northern part of the state, to Midland and Southern dialects further downstate. Illinois has...
unheard of for Republican presidential candidates to win handily in downstateIllinois, only to lose statewide due to large Democratic margins in Chicago...
single operating company providing power to most of downstateIllinois. However, the Ameren Illinois service territory is split into three rate zones corresponding...
city where Clinton was born and raised. Trump meanwhile won most of the downstate rural counties by large margins. Many of these counties had voted for...
downstateIllinois. SIU was once the only medical school in Illinois with its main campus outside of Chicago or its suburbs until the Carle Illinois College...
9 June 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2014. "Armadillos have arrived in downstateIllinois and are heading north — yes, you might someday see an armadillo in...
the Illinois Senate into three areas: 18 to Chicago, 6 to Cook County, and 34 to downstate. The amendment, written to keep the Senate in downstate control...
among one, two, or three candidates. Due to the unwillingness of downstateIllinois to cede power to the growing Chicago area, the district boundaries...
within Illinois as "downstateIllinois" but with political developments since World War II "Downstate" now generally refers to all of Illinois outside...
the suburban collar counties continue trending Democratic while downstateIllinois can be considered more conservative with several Democratic leaning...
Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld in 1992. The Illinois Innocence Project, formally known as the DownstateIllinois Innocence Project, was founded in 2001 by...
S.) Yellow Checker Cab of Peoria, Illinois, was founded in 1922 and is the largest taxi fleet in downstateIllinois. (U.S.) Yellow Cab Co. in Oklahoma...
cities became major manufacturing centers in the 20th century. In downstateIllinois, the John Deere Company became one of the world's largest makers of...
that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the upper Hudson Valley, the Capital District...
fifty stores throughout Chicago, as well as in downstateIllinois, Decatur, Illinois, Moline, Illinois; Davenport, Iowa; Omaha, Nebraska; Boston, Massachusetts;...
was an imprisoned Chicago Outfit enforcer and hit man. He died in a downstateIllinois prison in May 2010. On March 11, 1989, Ferriola died at The Methodist...
Global Information