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The term "Chicagoland" is commonly used by residents of Chicago and surrounding counties in Illiois to refer to the geographical area around Chicago. In common practice among residents of the region, the term "Chicagoland" basically includes Cook County, Lake County (Illinois), DuPage County and portions of Will and Kane Counties. In recent years, due to urban sprawl, the term "Chicagoland" has been occasionally "stretched" to include Illinois counties that do not border Cook such as DeKalb, Kankakee, McHenry, Kendall and Grundy. However, the the "Chicagoland" does NOT include any adjacent counties in Indiana or Wisconsin.
Northwest Indiana is part of the Chicago Metropolitan Area according to the U.S. census bureau but it has never been referred to by the term "Chicagoland". In fact, there is always a distinction on television and in the media between "Chicagoland" and "Northwest Indiana". Commercials always state "see your Chicagoland or Northwest Indiana Chevy Dealer". Harris Bank, a major Chicago bank recently acquired Mercantile Bank of Hammond, Indiana. They consider this their first expansion outside of the "Chicagoland" area. People in Northwest Indiana seldom say that they are from Chicago. They simply say they are from Northwest Indiana or just Indiana, if a particular geographical reference is needed people usually reference "Gary".
The reasons the term "Chicagoland" excludes Northwest Indiana are many. Geographically, there is an extensive area of steel mills and gasoline refineries separating Indiana from Illinois. There is also a strong regional pride as Northwest Indiana has its own uniqueness apart from Chicago and its suburbs. There is a different state lottery. Laws regarding fireworks and firearms are much more liberal than Illinois laws. There are strong ties to long standing Indiana institutions such as Purdue University, Indiana University, and Notre Dame. Important decisions affecting ther region are made in Indianapolis and not Chicago. Gary is the birthplace of Michael Jackson and well know throughout the U.S., it is in itself a large urban area that can be used as a reference point by Northwest Indiana residents. Northwest Indiana has its own Newspapers, a couple of radio stations and residents can receive NBC and CBS affiliates from both South Bend and Chicago via cable or antenna.
99.149.196.156 ( talk) 15:54, 27 July 2011 (UTC)Bea Bryant
Kenosha County Wisconsin is by U.S. Census Bureau definition, part of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Area. Other than that, it is probably not considered "Chicagoland" for the same reasons as Northwest Indiana. There is a term basically used in transportation--"GCM Corridor" or "Gary Chicago Milwaukee Corridor". It does refer to expressways and transit between those areas. "The Weather Channel" refers to Northwest Indiana as "Gary Metro".
99.149.196.156 ( talk) 15:54, 27 July 2011 (UTC)Bea Bryant
I'm not sure if I agree with a single line of that at all. It's nice to paint all that into a broad stroke, but it's simply not true. I've lived here all my life, and I can say, many people around here like to disconnect themselves with Gary, and boast about their proximity to Chicago in many of the white collar areas. Not sure where this "Northwest Indiana" pride is coming from. Not only that, but many urban areas, on the IL side and IN side have their own unique quirks. It's not just relegated to this one area; that goes for newspapers and media outlets as well. —Preceding
unsigned comment added by
71.201.146.164 (
talk) 04:35, 4 June 2010 (UTC)
Does anyone else take issue with the tone of the first paragraph. Chicagoland seems to be the name of the area that is preferred the most, but its somewhat arbitrary to call it the "preferred" title. Who prefers it? And "Official" is factually wrong, even according to the definition in the article, so why mince words. I have watched TV broadcasts of the Lake County board meetings (I get bored sometimes :) ), and their planners used the term "Chicago metropolitan area". I've lived in the Chicago area for 2.5 years now, and honestly the only people who actively use this term are news broadcasters and advertisers.
Chicagoland is certainly a familiar term, but it's hardly as though people don't use or fully understand other terms, such as Chicago metropolitan area. I agree with the above poster, and I've lived here for 20 years. It would be odd for someone to say to someone from a different locale, "I live in Chicagoland." The person would say "I live in XYZ suburb" or "I live in the northern / western / southern suburbs of Chicago." Frankly, I don't even think Chicagoland deserves a Wikipedia entry.
The "Zones" graphic at right is included in the article but has no explanation, e.g. what the zones represent or who designated them. You get a little more information by clicking through to the full image, but not much. Anyone care to explain the graphic in the article, or should it be removed? InterruptorJones 08:28, 23 January 2006 (UTC)
I created the zones image based roughly on the image found at http://www.wildonions.org/chicagoland-rings.jpg. The image zones as are follows:
Obviously this is debatable on what zones could be defined as.
It was hard for me to define what they were in the image caption's box. If you click on the image and find details, it will explain what the zones are, but this is harder to get to.
-- Isipeoria 06:43, 29 January 2006 (UTC)
Well, the rings are described at [
[1]] but I'm not really sure they are anything but a system that the wild onions website uses.
136.182.2.221 01:59, 3 February 2006 (UTC)
Can these rings be explained in the article? It's a neat graphic, but the article needs to explain context, otherwise its just eye-candy. Bridesmill 14:11, 2 May 2006 (UTC)
I completely agree: while pretty, the map is just eye candy. Zone 5 is "newly developing suburbs"?? C'mon now. Out in Zone 5 you get cities like Michigan City, Indiana, and Plainfield, Libertyville and Zion, Illinois. These are hardly "newly developing suburbs". While I appreciate the work that has gone into the map, I think it is misleading at best and think it should be removed from the article. MrHarman 22:52, 22 August 2006 (UTC)
"....More ambitiously, by mid-century, Chicago may find itself anchoring a largely unbroken urban horseshoe shaped metro area spanning from Green Bay, Wisconsin to Grand Rapids, Michigan..."
Hold your horses, partner. It's more likely that L.A. Riverside and San Diego will grow to one conurbation or BosWash will become the Megalopolis than Chicagoland will come creeping from Green Bay to Grand Rapids.
I agree completely. Green Bay? Grand Rapids? I don't mean at all to be rude, but "Idiot" would be the first word coming into my mind to describe the person who wrote that.
There should be some information on demographics? Is there an easy way to acquire the knowledge? SenorAnderson 01:52, 9 March 2006 (UTC)
The quote "While you sometimes see the word used in redundant phrases like "the Chicagoland area," "metro Chicagoland" or even "the greater metropolitan Chicagoland area," the correct usage is simply "Chicagoland" to mean the city of Chicago and its surrounding communities. Sometimes the term is employed to mean the suburbs only, but that is also incorrect" needs work. Who cares if its redundant? If local people use the above-described expressions, it is your job to describe them, and avoid commentary of what they "should" say---this is an online encyclopedia, not a grammar manual. Kemet 12 April 2006
That's ridiculous -- if you're definining a term, its correct usage is part of its definition. Anyway, the point is that locals don't use it that way. New York ad copywriters do.
As a non-resident of chicago I notice that the description of Chicagoland and the first graphic on the page do not indicate the same area, it would be nice if someone could make the two match or give some explanation as to why the graphic is different. Stardust8212 13:54, 21 April 2006 (UTC)
I'm not sure why they're different. Sort of confusing, I would agree. -- Isipeoria 23:05, 16 June 2006 (UTC)
They differ (in part?) because the Census Bureau definition of its statistical area will, over time, include more counties. (I think it has to do with things like the percentage of workers who commute out of their own county to work.) Thus DeKalb county was added a few years ago -- apparently after the graphic was made. (I notice it's also outside this "zone map", which I have to say is pretty silly -- apart from a discussion of the effects of disaster there is no reason to lump regions together based solely on radial distance from the Loop.) I live in DeKalb county and cannot imagine anyone saying they live in "Chicagoland". Maybe if they were talking to someone from thousands of miles away they would say their town is "near Chicago". But the inclusion of this county in a statistical reporting unit does not match the perception of the residents that their county is culturally part of the Chicago metro area.
People: I decided to "be bold" and copyedit the lead paragraph of this article to:
Hope you like it. MrHarman 04:12, 24 August 2006 (UTC)
Now it's 16 counties? Is Rockford in Chicagoland now? Are we sure? It is just this sort of confusion that leads me to urge that we move most of this page to a Chicago Metropolitan Area article, and leave Chicagoland as a nickname page. Other metro areas have taken this more encyclopedic route; I refer you to Talk:Greater Los Angeles Area where they debated calling the article The Southland like their traffic reporters do. Wisely, they choose Greater Los Angeles Area. Perhaps the following points need to be made again: Using Chicagoland encourages laziness on the part of article writers who cannot be bothered to look up where something actually happened. Chicagoland is ill-defined. Chicagoland is used ahistorically when refering to the Chicago area prior to the popularization of the term by a few traffic reporters and advertizing copywriters. Some people use Chicagoland to refer to the suburbs sans the City, and/or as a sort of mental White flight from the scary city. As evidence, note that they have segregated the African-American suburbs into the Chicago Southland. Chicagoland is not a term that is well known outside of the Chicago area, and is especially not well known to people outside the US. Wikipedia's mission is to create an encyclopedia, not to rub other people's noses in our insider knowledge. Speciate 20:24, 24 April 2007 (UTC)
In the time that it took me to write the above, it changed again to 14 counties. Unbelievable. Speciate 20:26, 24 April 2007 (UTC)
Kenosha County is not a part of Chicagoland, contrary to what many Chicagoans would like to be true and what many Californians and NYC ppl researchers will say with absolutely zero visits to the area. I personally live in Kenosha County and it is not a part of Chicagoland. Not in any metro areas at all. Wonder who thought of that. And I am going to change the text "Suburbs" to "Towns and Cities", because not all of those cities are suburbs of Chicago. Hardly any are. And don't argue with this if you don't live in Kenosha County or a similar location that is not in Chicagoland, at least by de facto. The Person Who Is Strange 21:06, 8 July 2006 (UTC)
The top of the infobox: Chicago, Naperville, Michigan City The infobox itself: Chicago, Gary, Naperville The article text: Chicago, Gary, Kenosha
Someone want to pick three and keep them standard? Oz Lawyer 11:48, 11 August 2006 (UTC)
Hi! Can someone please give me a link where I can find many pictures about Chicagoland? Benok 16:00, 26 December 2006 (UTC)
I was born in 1954 and grew up just outside of Chicago. I think the term Chicagoland was used on the Tribune map that was published. This was similar to the size of a large highway map for a state but it included the city and the surrounding area. I always thought that Chicagoland was a word the Tribune kind of made up in the same way it wanted to change the language to have "through" become "thru" and "though" become "tho". This would also be consistent with use by television newscasters and weathercasters since WGN was a Chicago Tribune station.
I was thinking that it might be a good idea to offer an article on the northwest suburbs as a specific region within Chicagoland, similar to those offered for the North Shore and Chicago Southland. In fact, it might be a better idea to represent all parts of Chicagoland in this manner. Brackenborough 23:29, 15 March 2007 (UTC)Brackenborough
Chicagoland →
Chicago Metropolitan Area — Chicagoland is a folk definition, and is disliked by many Chicagoans, not just me. Cf the
Greater Los Angeles (vs "The Southland") article for a similar debate. (comment copied from an edit summary by
User:Speciate) --
Polaron |
Talk 22:22, 7 May 2007 (UTC)
I will list as many of my objections to the term Chicagoland as I can remember:
There is one anonymous user who has a problem with me who has been reverting all my efforts to create a more encyclopedic definition of the Chicago metro area. I realize that some people may have a fondnesss for the term, but I am not proposing its elimination, merely that its use be limited to the informal. I have a fondness for the term Chi-town, but I would not like to see it all over Wikipedia. Both "Chicagoland" and "Chi-town" are unencyclopedic.
Please take a look (in the history) at how I redesigned the Chicagoland page. I think it looks good. If you like, take a look at my other efforts on behalf of WikiProject Chicago; I have always tried to be a good editor. Speciate 23:34, 7 May 2007 (UTC)
It probably would be a good idea to move the informative data found in this article to an article(s) named for the Chicago area rather than Chicagoland. Since the Chicago urban area, metropolitan area, and combined statistical area are three different entities with three different boundaries as defined by the Census Bureau, it is tempting for data pertaining to all three entities to be channeled here in the "Chicagoland" article. The previously mentioned conflicting maps in this article are evidence of that.
Marathone 04:55, 12 May 2007 (UTC)
There is evidently a will to move the page away from Chicagoland. Whether the term "Chicagoland" is dealt with in a separate section or a separate article are beyond the scope of a move request. I have also taken the liberty of converting the proposed title to lower case, in line with the majority of United States metropolitan areas. This article has been renamed from Chicagoland to Chicago metropolitan area as the result of a move request. -- Stemonitis 08:36, 13 May 2007 (UTC)
Well, I have been looking and looking at this article. Can it be explained to me when DeKalb County was included into this area? I guess, living in Ogle County, I have never viewed our neighbor county as part of the Chicago metropolitan area. When and where was this added in? No only that, but your map doesn't even include DeKalb as being red.-- Kranar drogin 15:29, 11 June 2007 (UTC)
Is it true chicago area is the most conservative major metropolitan in the u.s.? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Petchboo ( talk • contribs) 19:25, 14 March 2008 (UTC)
I appreciate the effort, and I don't want to come across as overly hostile... but the new image (Chicagoland Area Update.GIF) we're using to define "zones" of Chicagoland doesn't really do justice to the situation. In one sense, it actually is fairly accurate. However, it seems like a violation of the "DO NOT include original research" rule. It is obvious someone just took a map of the area- went on MS paint.. and drew what they thought made sense.
More importantly, Algonquin / Crystal Lake are not "suburbs" on the map, but Joliet is. I know we are trying to reconcile reality with the zones theory - but realistically the Northwest suburbs stretch further. Suburban sprawl is pretty constant to about Route 47 in southwestern McHenry County - so I don't know why that should fall into the same "zone" as Kankakee (which is clearly more disconnected from the city, development-wise). If we are doing this (arbitrarily drawing lines on a printable map) from now on, I suggest we move the suburbs circle a bit to fit in line better with all the suburban sprawl, and then you can save the metro area line to cover the surrounding towns and villages. That way, you don't have the "suburbs" line cutting through densely populated Elgin (clearly a suburb) in the northwest... and simultaneously passing south of Mokena through a big rural area.
A box would almost fit it all better, as most of the suburban sprawl terminates just west of the Fox River - from Oswego in the south to Crystal Lake in the north.
What I actually suggest we do is leave this map or that previous zone map up, but also include a POPULATION DENSITY map. Or, maybe layer a zones map with a population density map. People should be able to look at an image and say, oh, I see how that development is all connected.
Thoughts? Rob Shepard ( talk) 08:48, 13 December 2008 (UTC) Rob Shepard ( talk) 08:48, 13 December 2008 (UTC)
I think the south-east section needs improvement. No mention of the major moraine there is mentioned (See article on the dunes park for info). Also, it is said there are no bluffs or such, yet I know it is a steep walk down to the shore in some places. I don't think these are dunes, but some-one familiar with the park or with a good reference should check. Kdammers ( talk) 23:55, 25 January 2010 (UTC)
That image in blue that shows about 16 counties over Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana with the statement "Chicagoland -as defined by Construction Data Company" needs to be removed and replaced with an image hat shows the actual counties of metropolitan Chicago. What is Construction Data Company?... just some company that does conmstruction work? It doesn't matter what they define as Chicagoland because they are not a government entity. There should be two images, both defined by the federal government. The first: the counties that make up the CSA. The second: the counties that make up the MSA. This should be defined in print under the images with their respective populations. -Likewie, if it is decided that the graph by Construction Data Comapny will remain (which I do not see why it should since they are a construction company) then the article MUST mention the population of that area defined by them, which would be over the 9.8 million people the article states is in the CSA. Otherwise, Wikipedia is doing a disservice to its readers because it is making readers believe there are 9.8 million people in those entire 16 counties when there are actually more people in that area. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.251.112.134 ( talk) 03:22, 9 April 2011 (UTC)
Just wondering why the population density in the article is somewhere in the 500 person/km2 when if you take the population stated in the article and divide it by the area in the article it comes up in the 300+ person/km2 range? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.230.14.132 ( talk) 08:35, 8 March 2013 (UTC)
There is a discussion that may be of interest to this project at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/West Suburban Faith Based Peace Coalition. Thanks. John from Idegon ( talk) 06:40, 23 July 2014 (UTC)
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hi, the article states on population estimate of 9,554,598 based on this source from 2013 the table on the right states 9,729,825 from 2011 (don't know which source). What is the correct number and which source should be used? Thanks! Golan's mom 09:44, 23 March 2016 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by אמא של גולן ( talk • contribs)
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The redirect Gary Metropolitan Area has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2023 April 13 § Gary Metropolitan Area until a consensus is reached. – dudhhr talk contribs (he/they) 15:34, 13 April 2023 (UTC)
The primage image for this article should be a map. I want to know what area it is, at a glance! Benjamin ( talk) 08:54, 15 January 2024 (UTC)