Liberal Southern Illinois Cities?

[ILTXwhatnext]

I'm originally from Illinois. I didn't like living in Springfield at all. Traffic and crime were bad and being a state capital, it's very political.

I've visited Edwardsville several times. They can have a surprising amount of traffic at times---Collinsville and other nearby towns contribute to that, I'm sure---but it's a nice area. And St. Louis is near.

East St. Louis?

A 2007 study in the journal Homicide Studies noted that "East St. Louis has consistently experienced a high violent crime rate and continues to report a substantial number of annual homicides."[36] In 2013, the per capita homicide rate in East St. Louis was about 18 times the national average,[37] and had the highest homicide rate of any city in the United States.[38]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_S...Illinois#Crime

I'd like to see the Gateway Geyser---it's across from the arch, shoots water to the same 630 feet high, same as the arch.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcol..._Memorial_Park

Cairo?

Cairo's turbulent history of race relations is marked by the 1909 spectacle lynching of black resident William James.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairo,_Illinois

Also: Charles Dickens visited Cairo in 1842, and was unimpressed.[4] The city would serve as his prototype for the nightmare City of Eden in his novel Martin Chuzzlewit.[4]

Then later:

The Cairo riot of 1967 was one of 159 race riots that swept cities in the United States during the "Long Hot Summer of 1967". This riot began on July 17, 1967, and persisted through three days of riots and protests.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial...airo,_Illinois

Crime? According to this site US Average is almost 1700 but Cairo is almost 7800.

Cairo, IL Crime and Crime Rate - USA.comâ„¢

IIRC these towns were important because of river commerce. Later, railroads and OTR truckers made their economy bust.

And a lot of people think Illinois wasn't a slave state, but some of that existed when it was a territory and some was allowed after statehood. Cairo is actually farther south than the confederate capital, Richmond VA.

[Cool Arrow]

Southern Illinois is more similar to Kentucky than Chicago, it's hardcore MAGAland. The closest to anything liberal is probably some university town like Carbondale. Politics aside, many of the towns in Southern Illinois are ghost towns which have long seen their best days. Looks like almost all young people high tail it out of there the second they get the chance.

[jasperhobbs]

Originally Posted by Cool Arrow

Southern Illinois is more similar to Kentucky than Chicago, it's hardcore MAGAland. The closest to anything liberal is probably some university town like Carbondale. Politics aside, many of the towns in Southern Illinois are ghost towns which have long seen their best days. Looks like almost all young people high tail it out of there the second they get the chance.

Most rural areas everywhere are the same as young people go off to college and move where the opportunities are.

[SciFiNerd1]

Is Jacksonville, IL considered a part of Southern Illinois due to being not too far from Alton? I applied for a good job there so I am wondering if anyone has anything to say about Jacksonville. I don't see any threads about Jacksonville.