Northern Illinois

{{Unreferenced|date=December 2009}} {{about|the geographic region|the university|Northern Illinois University|that school's athletic program|Northern Illinois Huskies}} [[Image:Map of Illinois highlighting Northern Illinois.svg|thumb|Northern Illinois]] '''Northern Illinois''' is a region generally covering the northern third of the [[U.S. state]] of [[Illinois]]. ==Economics== Northern Illinois is dominated by the metropolitan areas of [[Chicago metropolitan area|Chicago]], [[Rockford, Illinois|Rockford]], and the [[Quad Cities]], which contain a majority (over 75%) of Illinois' population and economic activity, including numerous Fortune 500 companies and a heavy manufacturing, commercial, retail, service, and office based economy. Much of the economic activity of the region is centered in the [[Chicago Loop]], the [[Illinois Technology and Research Corridor]], and the [[Golden Corridor]]. However, rural sections of this region are highly productive agriculturally, and are part of the [[Corn Belt]]. The headquarters for [[John Deere]] farming equipment are located in [[Moline, Illinois|Moline]]. Additional smaller cities in this area include [[Kankakee, Illinois|Kankakee]], [[LaSalle, Illinois|LaSalle]]-[[Peru, Illinois|Peru]], [[Ottawa, Illinois|Ottawa]], [[Freeport, Illinois|Freeport]], [[Dixon, Illinois|Dixon]], and [[Sterling, Illinois|Sterling]]-[[Rock Falls, Illinois|Rock Falls]], which still have predominantly manufacturing and agricultural economies. Northern Illinois is also one of the world's busiest freight railroad and truck traffic corridors. ==Interstate 80 southern boundary== [[Interstate 80]] is sometimes referenced as the informal southern boundary of Northern Illinois, and is often used in weather reports as a reference point, as in "south of Interstate 80 will see sleet and rain, but north of Interstate 80 can expect mostly snow." ==Interstate 88 cross section== Additionally, [[Interstate 88 (west)|Interstate 88]] (the [[Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway]]) seems to connect the region, east-west, stretching from the Quad Cities, eastward through Sterling-Rock Falls, Dixon, DeKalb, [[Aurora, Illinois|Aurora]], [[Naperville, Illinois|Naperville]], and into Chicago. Northern Illinois is also the only region of the state in which there are tollways, which are run by the [[Illinois State Toll Highway Authority]], another trait separating this region from Central and Southern Illinois. ==Education== [[Northern Illinois University]], located in [[DeKalb, Illinois|DeKalb]] is located in the heart of Northern Illinois and is the state's second largest institute of higher education in terms of enrollment, after [[University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign]]. Additionally, several major colleges can be found in the Chicago area, including the [[Big Ten Conference]]'s [[Northwestern University]], Illinois' third largest state school [[University of Illinois at Chicago]], and other notable schools including the [[Illinois Institute of Technology]], [[Loyola University Chicago|Loyola University]], [[DePaul University]], [[Columbia College Chicago|Columbia College]], [[University of Chicago]], [[Northeastern Illinois University]] and [[Roosevelt University]]. Several liberal arts schools such as [[Aurora University]], [[Lewis University]], [[North Central College]], [[Elmhurst College]], [[Wheaton College (Illinois)|Wheaton College]], [[Concordia University, River Forest|Concordia University]], and [[North Park University]] dot the Metropolitan Chicago landscape. Such schools can also be found in Rockford ([[Rockford College]]) and the Quad Cities ([[Augustana College (Illinois)|Augustana College]]). These schools, along with several others, help to make Northern Illinois a vibrant research area. Such significant developments in science including the creation of the [[Atomic Bomb]] and the [[Fujita Scale]] were rooted in Northern Illinois institutions. ==Politics== Politically, the region is quite diverse, with [[Cook County, Illinois|Cook County]] and [[Rock Island County]] being long-time strongholds for [[United States Democratic Party|Democrats]] and suburban counties such as [[DuPage County, Illinois|DuPage]], [[Kane County, Illinois|Kane]], [[Kendall County, Illinois|Kendall]] and [[McHenry County, Illinois|McHenry Counties]] being reliable for [[United States Republican Party|Republicans]]. However, several counties such as [[Winnebago County, Illinois|Winnebago]] and [[Lake County, Illinois|Lake]] are quite evenly divided. Famous politicians native to the area include [[Ulysses S. Grant]], [[Ronald Reagan]], [[J. Dennis Hastert]], [[Donald Rumsfeld]], [[Hillary Clinton]], [[Barack Obama]], and Mayors [[Richard J. Daley]] and [[Richard M. Daley]]. ==Culture== Culturally, the area is tied heavily to Chicago, and most residents of Northern Illinois tend to root for Chicago teams, lean towards the Chicago media market, and visit the [[Chicago Loop]] often{{Citation needed|reason=please give a reliable source for this assertion.|date=March 2009}}. In college football, most fans in Northern Illinois root for the [[Northern Illinois Huskies]] and/or the [[Illinois Fighting Illini]]. Other teams present are the [[Notre Dame Fighting Irish]] and the [[Iowa Hawkeyes]]. In Central and Southern Illinois, residents are tied primarily to [[St. Louis]]. Additionally, regional dialects in Northern Illinois vary from those in other parts of Illinois. Surprisingly, different areas in Northern Illinois have their own independent cultures. Typically, areas west of [[Interstate 39]] have more ties to Iowa and the Quad Cities area, as that is roughly the location of the westernmost terminus of the Chicago media area. Even dialects within Northern Illinois are different, emphasizing the above. Depending on location and ethnicity, a resident of the Chicago Metropolitan Area may have the stereotypical Chicago dialect, whereas those in more affluent areas, such as DuPage County, may have a more crisp, "sophisticated" manner of speaking. Those west of Chicago have more stereotypical Midwestern dialects, and might not be able to be distinguished from people in Iowa or Nebraska. Depending on how close to a specific metropolitan area a county is, their culture and media reflect that of the metro area. There are exceptions, however. McHenry County may sometimes be considered Chicago-influenced, and, at times, Rockford-influenced. Areas such as the [[Ottawa-Streator Micropolitan Statistical Area]] have a comfortable mix of culture from the Chicago area, Quad Cities area, and Peoria, perhaps being due to its location in the center of the region. ==Subregions== *The [[Illinois]] portion of the [[Chicago metropolitan area]] *[[Fox Valley (Illinois)|Fox Valley]] *[[Northwestern Illinois]] *[[Quad Cities]] ==Counties== *[[Boone County, Illinois|Boone]] *[[Bureau County, Illinois|Bureau]] *[[Carroll County, Illinois|Carroll]] *[[Cook County (Illinois)|Cook]] *[[DeKalb County, Illinois|DeKalb]] *[[DuPage County, Illinois|Dupage]] *[[Grundy County, Illinois|Grundy]] *[[Henry County, Illinois|Henry]] *[[Jo Daviess County, Illinois|Jo Daviess]] *[[Kane County, Illinois|Kane]] *[[Kendall County, Illinois|Kendall]] *[[Lake County, Illinois|Lake]] *[[LaSalle County, Illinois|LaSalle]] *[[Lee County, Illinois|Lee]] *[[McHenry County, Illinois|McHenry]] *[[Mercer County, Illinois|Mercer]] *[[Ogle County, Illinois|Ogle]] *[[Putnam County, Illinois|Putnam]] *[[Rock Island County, Illinois|Rock Island]] *[[Stephenson County, Illinois|Stephenson]] *[[Whiteside County, Illinois|Whiteside]] *[[Winnebago County, Illinois|Winnebago]] {{Illinois}} {{Chicagoland}} {{Coord missing|Illinois}}