Downstate Illinois

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.

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.