* Carol Marin partially takes back a column wherein she called Illinois a “sorry state”…
This state is made up of more than what infuriates us. It’s made up of much that makes us proud.
Like the Chicago police officer who was shot and killed July 2 just doing his job, working the night shift so in the daytime he could care for a stepdaughter with special needs. Officer Richard Francis was a great example of public service. That’s why thousands of other people, some who never met him, took it as an almost sacred obligation to turn out to pay their respects and grieve his loss.
It was powerful and inspiring.
And then there was the lost 3-year-old in Oswego. Hundreds of people, some perfect strangers, skipped work or whatever else they were doing to volunteer to help the 25 police departments that, without being asked, converged on the scene. Together, they searched the corners of Kendall County until the little boy was found alive and unharmed.
It spoke volumes about the citizens of this state.
So does the work people do every day for modest pay and no public recognition. Social workers, teachers, medical technicians, garbage collectors, the list goes on.
* Question: Say something nice about Illinois. It doesn’t have to be about our politics. Just something nice. And no snark, please. Thanks.
- Steve - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 9:28 am:
Illinois has the most loyal sports fans in America.
- Plutocrat03 - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 9:31 am:
Lake Michigan is one of the greatest fresh water lakes in the world with opportunities for sport fishing and a spectacular skyline to view from off shore.
- RightGirl - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 9:32 am:
Combines bringing in the crops on a crisp fall morning.
- Tom B. - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 9:36 am:
We have some of the most fascinating political characters in the entire country.
- Dan S, a voter and Cubs Fan - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 9:36 am:
The Chicago National League Ball Club
- bored now - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 9:36 am:
illinois certainly makes life interesting. if you’re bored, you’re not paying attention…
- Dan S, a voter and Cubs Fan - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 9:36 am:
Lincoln Memorial Gardens in Springfield
- Downstate Dem - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 9:37 am:
Great people . . . always make things special
- South of I-80 - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 9:38 am:
To really see Illinois in it’s greatness, one has to see ALL of Illinois. Slow down and look. Each mile down here has something to appreaciate. Judge your driving by miles, not minutes, and look.
- the Other Anonymous - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 9:41 am:
The people of Illinois are the most down-to-earth and grounded people. Yeah, it might not reflect in our politics — doesn’t make it untrue.
And it’s really an amazing state culturally and geographically. The far southern tip is definitely part of the south; the central area reflects the “heartland”; and northeast Illinois could well fit in on the Eastern Corridor. (Sorry, Northwest IL; I haven’t spent much time there to figure you out.)
- Anonymous - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 9:43 am:
Sunsets over the prairie. My husband traveled all over the world during his military service and said one of the things he missed most about Illinois were the sunsets.
- Red Suspenders - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 9:44 am:
We can claim Studs Terkel, Carl Sandburg, Vachel Lindsay, Abe, Mother Jones, Thomas Dorsey, Clarence Darrow, too many cool bluesmen to list…and Uncle Tupelo. Oh, and some of the most fertile soil on earth, almost totally free from man-eating wild animals.
- Patriot - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 9:47 am:
We exhibit exemplary tolerance for “some of the most fascinating political characters in the country.”
- Little Egypt - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 9:50 am:
Anything south of I-64. By now y’all know my love for southern Illinois so here goes. The Shawnee National Forest and right smack dab in the middle of it is the Bald Knob Cross; Garden of the Gods; Ponds Hollow - a great place to spend a day renting a paddle boat and having a picnic lunch; Dixon Springs; The Chocolate Factory across the highway from Dixon Springs; deer hunting in Johnson County, a big plus is hunting with the local sheriff, Elry Faulkner; Grand Tower where the gas pipeline crosses the Mississippi above the river; Old Shawneetown; West Frankfort where coal WAS king; Southern Illinois Miners and their new stadium in Marion; SIU’s beautiful campus; Crab Orchard Lake; Rend Lake; Walt’s Pizza in Marion; 17th Street Bar-b-que in Murphysboro; fresh (prefer over-ripe)
peaches from Cobden; Methodist camp at Eldorado; Baptist camp at Benton; chicken & noodles at the Orient American Legion; chicken ‘n dumplins at Lola’s in West Frankfort; anything from Bennie’s in Marion; any high school sport event; our former cabin on the lake at West Frankfort; Cave-in-Rock; the family style chicken dinners served at the Lodge at Giant City; Mt. Vernon’s Cedarhurst festival in the fall; the Old State Capitol Building in Vandalia; etc. etc. etc. You get the picture.
For Central Illinois, New Salem in Petersburg, almost anything Lincoln in Springfield because it’s free (except the new Lincoln Presidential Museum, which is well worth the price of admission, and never stop going). If you want to see Springfield and all of its tourist sites with totally different eyes, be a chaperone for a school group. The kids are awesome to spend a day with.
- Kevin Fanning - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 9:52 am:
Definitely the people. You would be hard-pressed to find kinder, friendlier, and more hospitable people in this country than Illinoisans.
I was on a shuttle bus in O’Hare once after being away for several months, and remember how happy I was to see random strangers striking up conversations about the Bears and other local small talk. Don’t see that too often in other cities.
- Little Egypt - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 9:53 am:
Oh, and the Spoon River Drive in October in central Illinois where you can get the best apple dumplin’ in the world at Farmington. The whole drive is worth the long waits in traffic.
- Princeville - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 9:54 am:
Certainly not hard to say something nice about Illinois, I love my state. Many a day a map and I set out to just go and do whatever we please and seek out new things. I have a fear of semi trucks barreling down behind me so I stick to the side/country paths and have never failed to learn something new, discover something I hadn’t known about, see something I hadn’t seen. The family has been in this state since the 1820’s, there’s a reason we’ve stayed here this long.
- ChiCountryGuy - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 9:54 am:
Illinois. Home to the soon to be 2008 World Series Champions, the Chicago Cubs.
Now that’s nice.
- The 'Broken Heart' of Rogers Park - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 9:58 am:
It’s easier to spell than Massachusetts.
- publius - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 9:59 am:
we gave the world lincoln and reagan and now obama—not bad for a bunch of flatlanders
- Moderate Repub - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 10:00 am:
Illinois Veterans Grant
- Skeeter - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 10:00 am:
Olive Park in Chicago.
An incredibly beautiful park, built over a water intake plant. They took what could have been a lakefront eyesore and made it one of the best plaes to contemplate the Chicago skyline.
- Cheswick - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 10:06 am:
Frank Lloyd Wright and all that he left us.
- Joe D's Cousin Ralph - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 10:07 am:
Illinois is the transportation hub of the Country for people and goods that move by road, rail, barge and air. It also has one of the most important petroleum pipelines in the country. Most of the petroleum for the MidWest runs through the facility in Patoka, Illinois. Illinois will be one of the most important states in making the US energy independent because of our coal, our refining capacity, and the people with the knowledge to make it all work. The area in the deep South that contains the Shawnee Nat. Forest is striking beautiful.
The Metro-East is home to the one of the most important archaelogical sites in North America, Cahokia Mounds. Its base is larger than that of the largest pyramid in Egypt. It is one of the largest ancient man-made structures in the world. Along the river road near Alton and Grafton is one of the best places in the United States to see Bald Eagles.
- puzzler - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 10:11 am:
The Other Anonymous…let me fill in the gaps for northwest Illinois. The historic charm of Galena; the awesome river views in Savanna and Thomson particularly from Mississippi Palisades State Park and the Thomson Recreation Area; Grand Detour, an incredible collection of talented artists and other eccentrics; President Reagan’s hometown of Dixon; and the Illinois Quad Cities, home to Deere and Company, unique history in places like Arsenal Island, and up close and personal views of the Mississippi from a 64-mile recreational trail.
- Ghost - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 10:14 am:
Last year during the budget fracas Rich Miller made up some shirts to sell reflecting the frustartion of people over what was happening in Springfield. However, instead of selling the shirst as a side little profit business he instead gave the money to a charity. The normaly quarrelsome debaters came together to select Sojourn shelter in springfield as the beneficiary. Sojourn helps protect women who are the victims of domestic abuse.
- TimB - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 10:20 am:
Illinois is a great state with lots of positive things going for it from the rugged outdoors in the Shawnee NF, up through the endless waves of grain all the way to the hustle/bustle of big city life in the NE corner. It just happens to be in a sorry state politically right now. A shame too. With proper leadership, capital developments and infrastructure, Illinois could be capitalizing on the trend to travel less for a vacation. Lots of neat things to do inside her borders, if they had been maintained over the last several years.
- Jake from Elwood - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 10:24 am:
Galena, Starved Rock, Cahokia Mounds, Lake Michigan, beautiful golf courses and no smoking in public places!
- God's Country - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 10:37 am:
There’s something for everyone here - Big city hubbub, small town charm, beautiful prairies, awe-inspiring architecture. I’ve lived here nearly 45 years, and can’t imagine living anyplace else.
Unless someone wants to put me up in Hawaii. ;)
- Vote Quimby! - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 10:39 am:
I love the weather in Illinois…or at least am fascinated by it. From scorching hot in the dog days to frigid and icy with no sun, we have it all! From my government-funded second floor window office I witness the changing of the seasons. The flatlands make it easy to go storm watching (not so much now with $4+ gas) but it truly is a beautiful, diverse state, with what I think is the most beautiful setting for a city in the world on the lake. As a poster last week wrote, Illinois is more north than Boston and more south than Richmond…and yet we can occasionally work together.
- VanillaMan - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 10:39 am:
Illinois is in the middle of the greatest civilization in human history which allows those living there the ability to be half-way between anyplace in the United States. Bostonians rarely visit Seattle. Portlanders rarely see Houston. San Diegans rarely see Duluth. Yet Chicagoans often see every corner of the US because no corner of the US is very far from Chicago.
And the people. I’ve been everywhere. Illinoians are amazingly normal and friendly. They are humble enough to listen and respect others without being gullible. Folks on the coasts believe in illusions of self grandeur, while Illinoians enjoy watching and laughing at them.
- Heartless Libertarian - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 10:45 am:
I find a lot of the Illinois charm comes from the attitude of some of our people. Like that bar owner from Taylorville that said of the health department, “I told them to just go ahead and fine me.” I love the vocal distaste for stupid laws. And the “I dare you” attitude.
- Irish - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 10:49 am:
The majority of State Employees in the trenches are dedicated hard working folks who take pride in their work and spend many more hours at their jobs than they get credit for. My experience in my agency is that the taxpayers of Illinois, a group we are all also members of, get more than they pay for from the frontline employees. These folks stay over sometimes for no pay to get jobs completed that need to be done. They work ever changing shifts to cover the many seasonal programs the agency offers. In spite of old dilapidated equipment, very limited budgets, and shrinking staff levels they still get the job done. I wish those in the decision making positions could work alongside these folks to see the true dedication and committment they have to their professions/careers. After years of cuts it is only recently that sites are beginning to show the result s of shrinking staff levels and loss of budget dollars. We have done so much for so long with little that it has become expected. But it cannot continue. So my tip of the hat goes to the much maligned state employees who keep your services coming.
- wordslinger - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 10:49 am:
North of Boston at the top, south of Richmond at the bottom, it’s a microcosm of the United States, but with Midwestern values.
- Ken in Aurora - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 10:50 am:
Illinois scenery has a quiet, understated magnificence.
- "Higher Angels" - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 10:56 am:
State workers gathering around the flag at the Statehouse days after 911, to sing “God Bless America”; local elected officials who serve their fellow citizens at considerable personal cost, simply because someone needs to do it; principled bureaucrats for whom public service is a sacred trust; a vigorous press corps, the “fourth estate”, for whom reporting is a sacred trust.
- Anonymous - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 11:00 am:
The diversity of the people. From north to south, east to west, you’ll find just about every kind of person.
- Cat - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 11:04 am:
South of I-64 has some of the most scenic sites in the whole midwest.
- Wumpus - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 11:04 am:
There is a lot to do and see. Great architecture, cultural opportunities, etc. As bad as this state is, there are that many positives about it too.
- Dionysus - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 11:06 am:
The vineyards along the Shawnee Wine Trail, whose Chambourcin, Traminette and other varietal wines please me (and, apparently, the mortal judges who award, um, awards).
- KGB - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 11:06 am:
Illinois: We’re a lot better than New Jersey.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 11:07 am:
Let’s watch the snark, please. Thanks.
- Ela Observer - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 11:10 am:
The restaurants are smoke-free.
- My Knd of Town - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 11:14 am:
Chicago is arguably the finest City in the world. Of course it has the architecture, the diversity, the sights. But it also has a feel like no other City this humble poster has ever visited, including major European cities.
- TaxMeMore - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 11:24 am:
Sweet corn fresh off the stalk in summer to accompany a BBQ, mmmmm, mmmmm,mmmmm.
- anon - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 11:32 am:
Jo Daviess County
- Mr. Ethics - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 11:33 am:
Horseshoe sandwiches in the State Capitol.
- Dan S, a voter and Cubs Fan - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 11:35 am:
With all of the precious assets we have as a state why have we elected such an inept state government?
- Fan of the Game - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 11:40 am:
Being from southern Illinois and currently living in central Illinois, I hear often the negatives about Chicago. However, it is a world-class city with tremendous arts, architecture, dining, industry, and entertainment. A fabulous city.
Our other areas have their fine points, also. Shawnee National Forest, Salem–Home of the GI Bill and William Jennings Bryan, Bobe’s Pizza in Lawrenceville, deer hunting and Lincoln sites in Pike County, the horseshoe and the maid-rite, the rolling hills of Galena and the flat farms of Champaign, the abundant wineries (Thank you Bill McCartney and the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association!), our tremendous communitty college system that provides access to higher education for contless thousands who would be unable to further their educations otherwise, and Rueben sandwiches at Belgian Village in Moline and 17th St BBQ in Murphysboro.
But mostly, as others have said, it’s the poeple. Friendly and caring in most places, they will help when help is needed. We saw this in spades during the recent flooding, but even on a day-to-day basis, we just have good folks.
- Q-C Transplant - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 11:46 am:
As you drive south on I-74 between the Quad Cities and Galesburg, there is a strech where you enter a valley and you can see the exquisit fields in every direction for miles and miles. It is truly a sight to behold.
- How Ironic - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 12:07 pm:
Galena IL, beautiful landscape, and tasty wine. Can’t beat the combination!
- Amuzing Myself - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 12:19 pm:
Illinois has a flat income tax of 3%.
- Levois - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 12:19 pm:
Illinois has a nice lakefront on the north. A nice city on the lakefront. And farmfields in most of the state. I enjoy driving thru southern Illinois when I get the chance.
- Amy - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 12:49 pm:
Starved Rock, Volo Bog, the Morton Arboretum. There’s so much life beyond the big lake, although that’s a great lake.
- jerry 101 - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 1:02 pm:
Chicago
Urbana-Champaign
Peoria
Springfield
Galena
Shawnee National Forest
Cahokia
Lake Michigan
Chicago Botanical Gardens
Lincoln Park Zoo
The Art Institute
The Fighting Illini
The 2005 and soon to be 2008 World Series Champion Chicago White Sox.
100 years of failure by the Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Bears
Frank Lloyd Wright
Daniel Burnham
Louis Sullivan
Mies Van der Rohe
and many, many more things to love about this State.
The greatest State in all the land.
- ybm - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 1:18 pm:
October surf sessions on Lake Michigan when the Alberta clipper comes down!
- anon2 - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 2:02 pm:
Those stories that you see around harvest time when the farmers band together to bring in the crop of a deceased or ill neighbor make me want to stand up and sing God Bless America
- Six Degrees of Separation - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 2:13 pm:
Any state that contained Mary Lou’s Diner, Pizzeria Uno, Avanti’s, and Buddy Guy’s Legends can’t be all bad.
- downhereforyears - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 3:32 pm:
Just think about Chicago’s lakefront, the Shawnee National Forest, all the beautiful lakes in Lake County, a cruie down the Mississippi River, The Chicago Bears, Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Cubs. But most of all it’s people, 40 proud years of special olympics, and some of the finest hospitals in the world. Last but not least “It’s the Restaurants” oh yeah.
- cermak_rd - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 3:45 pm:
It’s a state that has welcomed everyone! I mean, is there an ethnic group not present in this state? And it hasn’t insisted that immigrants be assimilated to the point of non-existence, but has allowed them to make their own choices and enrich our great state with their unique cultures, languages and foods. Mmmm, especially the foods.
- Fan of the Game - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 3:46 pm:
===- Six Degrees of Separation - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 2:13 pm:
Any state that contained Mary Lou’s Diner, Pizzeria Uno, Avanti’s, and Buddy Guy’s Legends can’t be all bad.===
Loved Mary Lou’s. May Mary Lou Trammel rest in peace!
- South of I-80 - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 3:58 pm:
The Fighting Illini and of course the farmlands… where else can you drive and see rolling hills, flat lands, and a host of different types of agriculture
- Elegius - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 4:00 pm:
Excellent local produce. Everything from peaches to garlic grows like gangbusters here. Also great wine, cheese, bread and meat. All of it available from Illinois farmers who don’t work for Monsanto or ADM.
- Six Degrees of Separation - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 4:37 pm:
Fan-
I knew Mary Lou had retired, but didn’t realize she’d passed away. I was introduced to her fine cuisine when some friends of mine decided to crash a party down at SIU one weekend…and Mary Lou’s was recommended as an early morning “cure” for the after-effects. Here’s a link to her obit.
http://www.thesouthern.com/articles/2006/12/15/top/18545091.txt
- kj - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 5:09 pm:
The best city in America, period.
- Budget Watcher - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 7:05 pm:
KJ,
Naperville thanks you for those kind words.
- 47th Ward - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 7:12 pm:
There aren’t too many hills, which is nice. Plus it’s always been my home. Illinois: love it or leave it!
- Anonymous - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 9:27 pm:
It’s everything from:
Noticing the guys gather at key windy spots across the loop at lunch to watch the girls go by in their carefully-chosen skirts to…
Eating ice cream cones on sunny weekends near the Museum Campus, fully equipped with our kids, skates, bikes, and dogs to…
Joyfully anticipating the beginning of the new school year at the Bud Billiken parade to…
Dodging our never-ending traffic to get from work in the City to a school play in the Burbs to…
Wearing red, white, and blue to the Fourth of July parades on our Main Streets all across the State to…
Gossiping with the locals in the early AM before the day officially begins in Springfield to…
Heading out to our favorite farms to select the best pumpkin ever and to get spooked on a midnight hayride to…
Getting together with friends on a Friday evening to enjoy live music at one of our blues bars.
It’s our people, our Midwestern values, our spirit, and the way we celebrate life! THAT’s what makes Illinois great!!!
- Suzanne - Monday, Jul 14, 08 @ 11:06 pm:
Sailing on Lake Michigan in the fall, right before the marinas shutter for the winter. Full sails, pushing fast through the cold air. The skyline at sunset or a blue moon October night on the water. My kind of beautiful.
- Quizzical - Tuesday, Jul 15, 08 @ 12:54 am:
It’s easy to live a decent life here. There’s lots of places the working man and woman can afford to live, their neighbors most likely won’t be unfriendly and there’ll be a good place to eat and a good place to drink not too far away. While the politics isn’t pretty, it is interesting. For their thirty peak years, both Saul Bellow and Muddy Waters lived here.