Nearly everything in Illinois used to revolve around Chicago, the largest and most lawless urban wasteland of the Great Lakes megasprawls. At the state's northeastern corner, on the shores of Lake Michigan, Chicago's blighted a skyline used to rival any city's. Now, it's a tall, standing reminder of what a ready-made housing project of millions of people looks like. It runs the gamut from once-top-rated museums and sports stadia that are now nothing more than armed camps full of refugees and anti-magic militants, restaurants and cafés that now sit abandoned or condemned (some of which have been converted to chop shops, smuggler dens, and BTL houses ... some might even serve as soup kitchens for the poor, while some are nothing more than sives and nests for what are Free Insect Spirits), and innumerable bars and nightclubs that still pay homage to the city's strong jazz and blues heritage. Seventy-five percent of the state's population live within near the Chicago Containment Zone Sprawl, which controls the bulk of the state economy in the form of relief aid and search efforts – Illinois is the third largest agricultural producer in the UCAS, most of which is still provided to State and Corporate relief efforts in Chicago. Every week, anti-BTL, pro-family groups stage protests near the old kill-zones surrounding the old Containment Zone walls, and every time they turn violent.
The sole exception to the endless flat prairies elsewhere is far to the south, where the forested Shawnee Hills rise between the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.
The Shawnee Hills have been sealed off since the passing of Halley's Comet due to a large shedim outbreak from the Indian burial mounds and the Awakened plant and animal life that can be dangerous to unsuspecting tourists.
History[]
The contrast between the quiet rural hinterlands and the buzzing urban centers could hardly be greater. That said, Illinois does hold a few places to head for, though, apart from a couple of mildly exciting college towns, most are of historic rather than current interest. First explored and settled by the French, in 1763 the area that's now Illinois was sold to the English. Granted statehood in 1818, Illinois remained a distant frontier until the mid-1830s when, after a series of uprisings, the native Sauk were subjugated and settlers began to arrive in sizable numbers. Among these were the first followers of Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon Church, who established a large colony along the Mississippi at Nauvoo. The Mormons met with suspicion and persecution and, after Smith was murdered by a lynch mob in 1844, fled west to the former State of Utah, in what is now the Ute Nation.
Other early immigrants included the young Abraham Lincoln, who practiced law from 1837 onward in Springfield, the state capital and home of a wide range of Lincolniana, including his restored home, his law offices and vari ous other period buildings and artifacts, as well as his monumental tomb. Indeed, Illinois' self-proclaimed nickname – emblazoned on its car license plates – is "Land of Lincoln," and many other central Illinois towns claim important roles in the making of the sixteenth US president.
Politics[]
Geography[]
Central Illinois[]
Interstates 55 and 57 slice south through the Corn Belt of central Illinois from Chicago. Parallel to I-55, the legendary Route 66 began its run here, cutting through the state and onto the Pacific Coast – you might try to catch a glimpse of it, as some old-time diners and other Americana still stand. One worthwhile stop, reachable by either interstate, is the state capital, Springfield, which interestingly commemorates President and former resident Abraham Lincoln. With just over a million people, the city retains the quaint, old-world charm it had, but still has the convenience of a modern sprawl.
Otherwise, if you're on your way south, the college town of Champaign-Urbana are the only rational urban stops while if you're heading west from Chicago it's well worth pausing at the delightful old river town of Galena.
Major Cities[]
Minor Cities[]
- Decatur, Illinois
- Peoria, Illinois
- Quad Cities (Illinois and Iowa)
- Rockford, Illinois
- Springfield, Illinois
Small Towns[]
- Chambana
- Bloomington/Normal, Illinois
- Carbondale, Illinois
- Charleston, Illinois
- DeKalb, Illinois
- Galena, Illinois (unofficial)
- Joliet, Illinois
- Ottawa, Illinois
- Pana, Illinois
- Taylorville, Illinois
Economy[]
Shadowtalk[]
>>>>>[And for all you riggers out there, this is a prime stop for you while in the Land of Lincoln. Tyler will set you up real nice with the latest tech.]<<<<<
-GearChick (00:38:37/04-25-66)
>>>>>[And don't worry about him bein' in bed with the megacorps or the guvmint, chummers. His family got lost in the CZ back in '55 and he's had it in for the corps and the guv ever since. Any runs on them? He'll gladly assist!]<<<<<
-Unanimous (04:45:08/04-25-66)
>>>>>[There are several quaint little towns in this State ... great hide-outs for shadowrunners, some of them. Kinda like hiding in plain sight. One place you could hide out where the corps or the state or fed government would never think to look is Taylorville. Only about 53,000 people live here and it's still got a town square and everything "small town-like". Great place to raise a family ... and chill out until the heat dies down, right under the nose of the megas!]<<<<<
-Rusty (11:24:12/04-29-66)
>>>>>[One place you DON'T want to end up in is Peoria! Not a bad place if you like hanging around half a million AVERAGE fraggers, but it's Caterpillar-Daihatsu HQ, or so it seems anyway, and there are megacorp stoolies all over the fraggin' place: S-K, Mitsuhama, Shiawase, Ares Macrotech, even some Eurocorps. Sure, they're strictly small-time here; C-D owns the fraggin' place. But word to the wise: "Don't play in Peoria unless you got some kinda in." Also, if you MUST play here, watch out for the Human Nation and the Humanis Policlub, those racist cults seemed to gravitate to Peoria like flies to drek.]<<<<<
-Po-Boy (20:24:15/05-08-66)
