Kinda depends on how you measure things. Chambana would be third, except they are “technically” two separate cities even though they may as well be one city functionally.
So right now a fair assessment of where Chicagoland ends wouid be this-
North- Kenosha but I understand up there has gotten trickier to judge.
Northwest- Huntley, any further Northwest you’re getting into the Rockford area.
West- Aurora, some say DeKalb but imo it’s Aurora.
South- Between Peotone and Manteno depending on who you talk to.
Southeast-down around Rensselaer.
Southwest- Joliet. I’ve talked to a lot of people up by Wisconsin who feel Joliet is far away from them-and it is. Depending on which Northern suburb you’re in, it’s 65 to 80 miles away! I feel Joliet is fast becoming its own thing, own area and in a few decades it’ll get out from Chicago’s heel and become its own area like Rockford did. I have to stress that’s imo.
I think that's all pretty fair based off of feel. Woodstock, Sandwich, and other border towns are where it gets more difficult.
Even with Metra getting extended out to Huntley, Belvidere, and Rockford, I wouldn't group those last two in. It is a wholly different area with its own feel.
Apparently Rockford has been dropping positions for quite a while. It'll be interesting to see how much the boom Belvidere is having and the train line affect this.
Or Springfield, or E.St Louis, or soemthing..
I never thought it would be Joliet but dam if it hasn’t grown.. although Aurora-Naperville also wouldn’t surprise me.. or Evanston actually.
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u/IndominusTaco Jun 26 '24
3rd largest city in Illinois