What Illinois town of at least 100,000 residents has progressed the most in the last 15 to 20 years (Chicago: crime rate, wedding reception)

[IlWesleyanGuy]

I started this post to encourage praise for some of Illinois' most maligned towns. There's a thread on the Illinois forum that focuses on Rockford but somewhere along the way posts comparing Central IL, Southern IL, and Chicagoland cities begin to pop up. When I saw Joliet's name mentioned, negatively of course, I got a little offended because I've spent most of my life there and know that many views about the city are misconceptions. Joliet and most of the other larger cities have impressively progressed in the last 15 or 20 years. I want to know what others think about the progress in these towns. This was my response to one of the posts in the thread about Rockford:

I've lived in Joliet and have enjoyed the city; naturally I'm going to defend it. Sooner or later the eyes of the people of Illinois are going to be opened. No Joliet is not the most aesthetically pleasing city but it is a decent one. Everything that is said about Joliet is based on perception. Take a look at the statistics on this very site. Since we are comparing these Illinois towns, Joliet has a lower crime rate than Decatur, Springfield, Bloomington, Champaign, Rockford ect. Joliet also has a lower poverty rate than most of these towns. If you want to talk about entertainment -well there is no contest Joliet wins (Chicago is the exception). Joliet is progressing day by day. It is not the same town that it was in the late 80's/early 90's. Even the median household income in Joliet is higher than the Southern and Central Illinois towns that are mentioned. Yeah, I know it's because is in Chicagoland. OK, its also higher than Aurora and Elgin and Waukegan, near Evanston's and so on. Joliet is on the upswing contrary to what many Illinoisans believe. I can't wait until it reaches its potential. A lot of you will be surprised. People, please take the time to do your homework. A lot of you will say that you've been to the town before. That does not account for much. Live in the town and/or look at statistics. There are no better alternatives. Probably no person will respond to this post. That's fine.

OK what do you guys think about these towns. Oh yeah, I was thinking that areas such as Champaign-Urbana and Bloomington-Normal would apply.

[noid_1985]

Naperville or Aurora

[breer23]

Gotta go with B-N on this one....has changed so much since I went to ISU in the early 90's.

[JerichoHW]

Naturally I was going to say Joliet just by looking at the title, but it seems like B-N has really built up. Joliet is not half as industrial as it once was, and as I have said on previous threads it is growing at a scary rate, kinda like the Houston of IL.

[linicx]

Peoria has always been progressive. As the industrial base failed the technology base emerged.

[Mamama Mia]

We love to visit Joliet, talk about the re-birth of the city and a complete turn around of the Joliet High Schools. What a wonderful success story!
We have a favorite restaurant in Joliet, Truth, it's on Jefferson, in the Cathedral District. We have also attended weddings in two of the mansions and in Union Station.

[Maintainschaos]

I would have to say that in the past 15 or so years, Springfield's core has really gotten much better than it used to be, including things such as a new national museum (with another on its way!), revitalized parks and restored union station, a new downtown center for the arts, expanded eateries and outdoor shops...etc. [Although the obvious thing that's been missing in the past few years is a governor, but that's neither here nor there...] Springfield unfortunately hasn't seen explosive growth, but it's been growing steadily over the years at about 6% each decade. Since Springfield never really had much industry, it got lucky and wasn't as beat up as other downstate cities when industry started to pack up and leave. Medicine has really also started to burgeon in Springfield, including expansions of Springfield clinic, the Prairie Heart Institute, and multi-million dollar cancer facilities for the SIU School of Medicine. Not bad for a city of only about 120,000 people.

[JerichoHW]

Originally Posted by Mamama Mia

We love to visit Joliet, talk about the re-birth of the city and a complete turn around of the Joliet High Schools. What a wonderful success story!
We have a favorite restaurant in Joliet, Truth, it's on Jefferson, in the Cathedral District. We have also attended weddings in two of the mansions and in Union Station.

Oh I agree, however parts of the city look pretty rundown and in decay in the more established areas.

[Avengerfire]

Naperville.

[breer23]

My best memory of Joliet was attending a wedding reception at the Rialto, then off to the Harrah's for post-reception partying...

I'm still saying B-N first, though I have to admit, I can't say much about Peoria - only visited there a few times, and not at all since around 1996.