Why do Wisconsin folks dislike us? (Chicago, Geneva: middle school, safe, license plates)

[walley]

First ,Chicago is a state unto its self.The rest of Illinois is very ,very friendly.But as to driving on the roads that problem is just plain individuals who have no power in there lives except when they get behind the wheel anywhere USA.I go to Wisconsin All the time.They have never been anything but friendly.the same I have heard from people from every state and Countries say about The Midwest Like central ,Il.Leave any big city and go out in the country side and find out your self.

[killjoylovejoy]

I'm not sure if anyone checks this thread anymore-but as a Wisconsinite I would like to throw in my two cents.

I have lived in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin my entire life, and have parents from Chicago and a lot of family from Chicago. It's not the "Chicagoans" we hate per say, but the tourists who come from Chicago and with good reason.

If I had a dollar for every broken beer bottle or empty McDonald's bag I have found on my lawn I would be a millionaire. Tourists have thrown a myriad things all over my lawn including such things as: half-eaten food, diapers, and condoms. It's disgusting and awful-think about kids playing out there. And for that matter, kids are in danger when playing outside.

My sister was run over by a car while playing on the sidewalk in front of my house. She was sitting, pulling flowers out of the cracks when a car ran over her head. My mom started screaming, but she was already under the car. Illinois plates-as always. I watched a man get hit, flip 10 feet in the air and land on his neck, due to the carelessness of some Illinois tourist. Dead. Another one I saw was a woman and her baby carriage-both killed. They're so busy, looking for a parking spot or staring at the lake-they don't think about anything but themselves and their vacation.

At night in my house you can hear all the drunks roaming the street, wandering around. It gets hard to sleep at night with all the screaming. Tourists have torn up the fence in front of my house-my family needs to replace it because it has all but fallen down and it's an expensive thing to replace but the city won't help us with the problem. We shouldn't have to clean up the messes of these awful tourists!

I see it every day, people driving backwards down the street at 50 mph(literally) for blocks-who the hell thinks that's a good idea?! All for a parking spot. What was really horrible was when some belligerent drunk girl walked into my house-just wandered in off the street. I was afraid for my life.

I'm sorry if people from Illinois feel that they are ostracized by Wisconsinites, but you can hardly call us "ignorant" or "jealous". It's a legitimate problem. If a person isn't being degraded by cat calls, there are always enough drunks on the sidewalk to plague one with insomnia. Once again, I don't know if anyone looks at this thread anymore, but this is my opinion. It's not "fast drivers" it's reckless drivers who endanger lives-and it's far more than that.

[Steve-o]

Got any proof of these accidents you saw? Or are these just tall-tales as I suspect? And if you think no cheeseheads have come down here and caused accidents, youve got another thing coming. Id also like to point out the fact that WI has the highest DUI average in the COUNTRY! Look at yourselves before you pick out a few bad apples from IL.

[Katiana]

Not to mention Lake Geneva is a well-known drunken party place. It is no wonder these accidents happen (if indeed they did). I assume the one involving your sister is real, and I'm sorry for you and your family. And who is selling the alcohol to these people?

[nanannie]

A big AMEN to Steve-O and Katiana !!!

[killjoylovejoy]

Hmm, well, I suppose that there's some documentation of all of them, I've never sought it out though. They're not tall tales-I mean, I saw them happen, so they couldn't be hearsay. You can choose to believe me or not, I don't really care. I didn't know any of them too well, one was a neighbor of mine the other a woman from town-though I think I had friends who knew her at the time. I can't really remember since I was around 8 at the time.

I'm not saying that Wisconsinites don't have an issue with drunk driving-and I don't think I implied that in any way shape or form. I didn't even say that the Illinois tourists are drunk driving-just that they're disturbing the peace with their drunkenness. They drive recklessly more out of the carelessness that comes with any vacation, but that doesn't excuse it. It's not a few bad apples either-it's a constant stream incidents.

Besides which, Lake Geneva is only known as "drunken party place" as you put it because of damned Illinois tourists. Come to Lake Geneva in the winter-or even the fall when most of the tourists have gone home, it's pretty apparent who the partiers are lovey. True, the bars sell them the alcohol-or they buy it, but can you really blame a bar for selling alcohol? There's something called self-control which anyone imbibing alcohol should be practicing, Illinoisan, Wisconsinite or otherwise.

Your defense is faulty and thin-probably why you've chosen to use the "derogatory" name "cheesehead" but seriously? Is that some sort of major insult for you people? I'd call you a FIB, but after reading your other posts it would just be a bit redundant

[Katiana]

Well, your documentation of the accidents is pretty thin. In most states, bar servers have a responsibility to not serve obviously drunk customers.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by killjoylovejoy

Hmm, well, I suppose that there's some documentation of all of them, I've never sought it out though. They're not tall tales-I mean, I saw them happen, so they couldn't be hearsay. You can choose to believe me or not, I don't really care. I didn't know any of them too well, one was a neighbor of mine the other a woman from town-though I think I had friends who knew her at the time. I can't really remember since I was around 8 at the time.

I'm not saying that Wisconsinites don't have an issue with drunk driving-and I don't think I implied that in any way shape or form. I didn't even say that the Illinois tourists are drunk driving-just that they're disturbing the peace with their drunkenness. They drive recklessly more out of the carelessness that comes with any vacation, but that doesn't excuse it. It's not a few bad apples either-it's a constant stream incidents.

Besides which, Lake Geneva is only known as "drunken party place" as you put it because of damned Illinois tourists. Come to Lake Geneva in the winter-or even the fall when most of the tourists have gone home, it's pretty apparent who the partiers are lovey. True, the bars sell them the alcohol-or they buy it, but can you really blame a bar for selling alcohol? There's something called self-control which anyone imbibing alcohol should be practicing, Illinoisan, Wisconsinite or otherwise.

Your defense is faulty and thin-probably why you've chosen to use the "derogatory" name "cheesehead" but seriously? Is that some sort of major insult for you people? I'd call you a FIB, but after reading your other posts it would just be a bit redundant

Well, if youre not lying, then I do and would naturally feel sorry for any losses you or your family members have suffered, thats horrible.

However, the root of the problem lies in WI itself. I wouldnt be too concerned about party goers in Lake Geneva during summer, when alcoholism, DUI, and binge drinking is a HUGE problem in WI.
Drunk State of Mind | NBC 26 WGBA-TV - Green Bay/Appleton, Wisconsin News, Weather, Sports, Community Events | Local News (broken link)

[killjoylovejoy]

It's true that drinking in Wisconsin is a big problem-but it's on a very different level.I believe I chose my words quite carefully for a reason, I realize that drunk driving is a major issue in Wisconsin, but I can tell you the people in my area rarely go out to the bars despite how much they drink. Local people just go over to someone's house, drink themselves into a stupor-then perhaps drive home. Not saying that that is a great path to go-however, that's not what this thread is about. It's about why a Wisconsin person would have a prejudice against Illinoisans, and mentioning drunk driving in Wisconsin is merely digressing from the point at hand.

My issue, as stated, is with the loud drunks running through the streets, stumbling back to their hotels at 2:00 in the morning. I realize that bar tenders should not serve already drunk-but once again you'd think a person would be able to exhibit some form of self-control, and even if the bar tenders aren't serving them, there are other ways to get alcohol. It's all well and fine to blame the bar tenders, but the people themselves should be taking responsibility for the actions and they are the people I feel should be blamed.

The issue of driving is in my belief unrelated to drinking-but related to poor, self-centered mentality that tourists have. I understand-I go on vacation, and almost all tourists have that same mentality, "why not? I'm on vacation." It's your time to have fun-but you can't blame the local people for being pissed off when these tourists behave recklessly. As well, although this is not a matter of life or death, you have not addressed the constant litter. It's awful and disgusting. I don't know why people have to do that and that in of itself makes me hate tourists. Waking up to broken bottles on my lawn every morning is enough to make anyone angry.

[Steve-o]

My question is, how do you know that these people stumbling around at night are Illinoisans? You dont think that Wisconsinites travel to Lake Geneva to join in the fun? My brother was just up in Delafield (sp?), WI last weekend and got there just to find a house full of trashed, underage drinkers at the party, all from WI. He turned his car around and came right back home.