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]
Although most of the state's population is concentrated in and around Chicago, several midsized cities such as Springfield, the state capital, are located "downstate".
| 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.