Liberal Southern Illinois Cities? (Chicago, Springfield: 2013, crime rate, university)

[Karl Lagos]

Cairo you can live there for free!!!!

[Caglee]

Originally Posted by LynnMac89

Needs to offer low crime neighborhoods because we like to walk at night.

Just a friendly caution, this type of wording usually comes across as veiled racism.

Everything you described is not going to be something you'll easily find outside of the north shore suburbs, or maybe Oak Park. Champaign near U of I would be the next closest thing outside of the Chicago area. I don't think Carbondale will fit the bill, but if you absolutely need to stay south of Champaign, that's probably the best choice.

[deeman7]

Originally Posted by Caglee

Just a friendly caution, this type of wording usually comes across as veiled racism.

Are you implying that only people of color commit crimes?

Seems to come across as veiled racism, just a friendly caution to you.

[dcisive]

Na veiled racism would be if you brought up the South Side of Chicago, St. Louis, East LA, Detroit (and most large cities in Michigan). Cleveland and the list goes on. Now THAT could easily be veiled racism, or just a bit of reality as to bastions of crime. So now we can't deal with simple realities because it's not politically correct?

[DannFrankenstein]

Ya that was a fair way to ask about an area’s safety. Saying “low crime” is referring to the behavior of individuals in the area, regardless of who they are. I think you’re fine, OP

[twb0392]

Champaign-Urbana is the most liberal area south of Chicago; this is not Southern Illinois, even though people North of interstate 80 think it is. Like others have mentioned, Carbondale is probably the only real option in real Southern Illinois. Carbondale is pretty small, but there are very scenic areas near by in the national forest.

[bernerscotty]

Would you take Edwardsville ill compared to towns in Missouri close to illinois/ Missouri border?

[SciFiNerd1]

Carbondale is small but it is a nice college town due to SIU. Student population should make the town more blue than most southern Illinois towns outside Metro East. I know people there also like Murphysboro and Carterville.

For Metro East, I have always liked Belleville and Edwardsville. There are other charming towns like Columbia, Waterloo, Millstadt, and Caseyville but I don't know how they are politically.

I've heard great things about Jacksonville outside Springfield about 1.5 hours north of St. Louis Metro. First college in Illinois was founded there. I would love to know more about Jacksonville if anyone can make comments on that town. I got a job offer there and it would put me 3 hours away from my family in Cape Girardeau, MO.

[gentle_bee]

It's more central than south, but Champaign-Urbana is kind of the best of both worlds. Very liberal town with a huge pride parade, lots of students, good library system, good bike path, etc. It's only about an hour to the Indiana border which means if you want to do an evening in Indianapolis, it's about a two hour trip. Chicago is two and a half by car, and there is an Amtrak station in town with a line that goes to Chicago as well. There's also a lot of small towns nearby that are easier to find housing in should you wish to live in a smaller town but still be quite close to the city: Savoy, Philo, Tolono, Mahomet, etc. all have a fairly large amount of housing and you can get to Champaign Urbana by car within thirty minutes. For health care, there are two hospital systems in town (Carle Hospital and Heart of Mary Medical Center - run by OSF). Closest Airport would be in Bloomington though, which is about an hour away by car.

Bloomington-Normal is further north than Champaign-Urbana but it is also quite liberal and a good community. Huge bike path, very diverse, very friendly. Lots of local businesses. At least one hospital - also run by OSF - and I believe there may be a Carle clinic there as well. Has some cool art deco buildings downtown. About half college students and half state farm employees depending on where you are. There's a train to Chicago that is on the high speed rail line between Chicago and St. Louis. I believe its still under construction but the construction is up by Chicago now, so most of the line should be functional. There is also a local airport here - Central IL Regional Airport. It does some direct flights to Florida and can also do flights to O'Hare/Midway to Florida.


If you want to live further south, Springfield isn't awful. It has a lot of hometown charm. But it def leans more right-wing, even if a lot of blue politicians moonlight there. It's worth a day trip but I wouldn't commit to it site unseen. It also has a train station to Chicago, but the train ride is four hours instead of two, and the parking situation is not as good as at the station in Chambana IMO. Be warned the pizza is closer to Imos than Lou Malnatis, though.

As far as Jacksonville, @SciFiNerd1, one of my friends taught in the school system there for a long time and found it a very good job she enjoyed a lot! But it is a pretty small town and most of her problems with it have been with typical small town problems (eg people gossiping). Overall though she would recommend it if you can live the small town lifestyle.

[SonySegaTendo617]

Originally Posted by twb0392

Champaign-Urbana is the most liberal area south of Chicago; this is not Southern Illinois, even though people North of interstate 80 think it is. Like others have mentioned, Carbondale is probably the only real option in real Southern Illinois. Carbondale is pretty small, but there are very scenic areas near by in the national forest.

I'd say to some extent, one would find liberals also near Peoria, Springfield, and in the 'metro east'(any of the IL communities, east of Saint Louis) as well. I think there might also be a few, near the Quad Cities as well?