Do you consider NW Indiana as part of the Chicagoland area? (Elgin: jobs, resort)

[Lookout Kid]

My mother's family is from Hammond originally (though they got the heck out years ago), and they definitely feel like they're Chicagoans. My Grandpa used to take the South Shore into the Loop for work every day. An assistant Sox coach lived down the street from them. And they would go to venues in the city for entertainnment purposes every weekend. Hammond physically borders the City of Chicago, so it's hard to claim it's less a part of Chicagoland than, say, Naperville--which is quite a bit further from the city limits.

[WildWestDude]

.....and still many think that Indiana is this far out place!

[lakecountylifer]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Of course it is. Many parts of NW Indiana are closer to Chicago and have much more in common with Chicago than Gurnee or Elgin for example.

Ummmmm lets use some common sense here... Gurnee and Elgin share a public transportation system with Chicago (Pace/RTA/Metra) whereas NW Indiana does not. Safeway (i.e. Dominicks) does not extend it's Chicagoland stores into NW Indiana and Jewel is a far second in market share to NW Indiana based Strack N Van Til (Strack banners are also Town & Country / Ultra Foods) in the grocery category. These are just two examples. So the claim that NW Indiana has more in common than Gurnee and Elgin is baseless.

I would grant that NW Indiana is part of the Chicago area and I have a fondness for Schoops hamburgers on Ridge Rd. in Munster.

[Chicago-Newbie]

Originally Posted by lakecountylifer

Ummmmm lets use some common sense here... Gurnee and Elgin share a public transportation system with Chicago (Pace/RTA/Metra) whereas NW Indiana does not.

What about the South Shore?

[lakecountylifer]

Originally Posted by Chicago-Newbie

What about the South Shore?

No offense but a quick google would have shown to you that the South Shore is an Indiana run entity seperate from Metra....

Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District

[Chicago-Newbie]

Originally Posted by lakecountylifer

No offense but a quick google would have shown to you that the South Shore is an Indiana run entity seperate from Metra....

Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District

I was aware of that, but you could argue that the South Shore is "shared" with Chicago in that it is used by Chicago commuters and runs into downtown.

edited to add: I also never said that the South Shore was part of the Metra.

[Chicago60614]

LOL, I know. Southshore is growing in ridership quite a bit, and the ONLY reason it exists is to transport people from the suburbs into the city for their lives/jobs. Just cause it happens to be Indiana instead of say Lake County or Kane County doesn't really matter. Those areas are the burbs of Chicago.

South Shore isn't part of Metra because it's in a different juristiction. Just go look at the scheudels for Metra and it shows South Shore right along with all the other lines. There are plans to extend the South Shore with more lines jutting south into the suburban areas of Lake County.

[Chicago-Newbie]

Originally Posted by Chicago60614

LOL, I know. Southshore is growing in ridership quite a bit, and the ONLY reason it exists is to transport people from the suburbs into the city for their lives/jobs. Just cause it happens to be Indiana instead of say Lake County or Kane County doesn't really matter. Those areas are the burbs of Chicago.

South Shore isn't part of Metra because it's in a different juristiction. Just go look at the scheudels for Metra and it shows South Shore right along with all the other lines. There are plans to extend the South Shore with more lines jutting south into the suburban areas of Lake County.

Right! My point exactly

[Avengerfire]

Gurnee has as much in common with Chicago as a donkey does with a horse.

Hammond is a Colt and Chicago is a thoroughbred Stallion.

[lakecountylifer]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Gurnee has as much in common with Chicago as a donkey does with a horse.

Hammond is a Colt and Chicago is a thoroughbred Stallion.

Maybe you need glasses? Gurnee has actual horses and a country side for them to roam. The Tempel Lipizzans are right next door.

Doesn't Hammond eat and/or process horse meat in those steel mills? Isn't that the famous NW Indiana smell?