In “Where’s
Illinois?” I pondered the ways in which the Midwest is a state of mind –
and that when it comes to geography, Americans’ minds are often in a state of
confusion.
Yale history
professor and cartographer Bill Rankin looked at how 100 businesses,
nonprofits, and government agencies define the Midwest for their purposes and
combined them into one map. There are
Midwests out there that reach from the Rio Grande to the northern border of
Manitoba. Interesting.
And Illinois? Vox
contributor Danielle Kurtzleben describes Illinois as one of the “basic, unavoidably, essentially Midwestern”
states along with Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Like Buckaroo says, wherever
you go, there you are.
This article appears in Sep 25 – Oct 1, 2014.
