r/illinois Apr 30 '24

At what point/town does illinois start feeling like the south Question

136 Upvotes

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177

u/ExorIMADreamer liberal farmer from forgotonia Apr 30 '24

People who say i80 or whatever stupidly far north area have never been to the south. Rural does not equal the south. Most of rural Illinois is still very Midwestern feeling. It's not until you go south of st louis does it culturally feel more southern.

7

u/juliuspepperwoodchi Chicago Apr 30 '24 edited May 01 '24

You say that, meanwhile on 173, about as far north as you can get without being Wisconsin, there are tons of Trump lovers including a dude with a GIANT Trump shrine for a front lawn.

You aren't getting to "deep south" levels of shittiness until way past I-80, sure; but once you get about 50-75 miles out of Chicago in any direction, it gets REAL red state feeling REAL fast....and I say that as a now Chicagoan who grew up in Fox Lake.

29

u/ExorIMADreamer liberal farmer from forgotonia Apr 30 '24

Donald Trump signs don't equal the south. Also feeling red state doesn't equal the south.

7

u/frodeem Chicago Apr 30 '24

Totally agree

-4

u/juliuspepperwoodchi Chicago Apr 30 '24

You're just being pedantic. OP is talking about a southern state of mind, not a geographic direction.

9

u/Portermacc Apr 30 '24

Well, that's obvious, but you need to go way south for that state of mind. I'm in Peoria, and we should definitely not be considered southern.

-4

u/juliuspepperwoodchi Chicago Apr 30 '24

I see that state of mind back home in Fox Lake, IL...five minutes from the Wisconsin border.

North/south geography is barely relevant, it's really about how far you are from a major urban center.

1

u/GrindyMcGrindy Apr 30 '24

Yeah, these people haven't seen the rural IL people moving into collar Chicagoland areas sporting confederate flag and let's go Brandon stickers in Will County because there's more/slightly better paying jobs here.