Greater Chicagoland.

Text and regions map copyright 2004, WildOnions affiliates.
All rights reserved. Background map from USGS.

1. Central Chicago. Downtown neighborhoods such as the Loop and the Magnificent Mile; nearby parts of town such as the Near North, Near South, Near West.
2. The Neighborhoods. Edgewater, Uptown, Lakeview, Ravenswood, Lincoln Park, Albany Park, Logan Square, Wicker Park, Bucktown, West Town, The Pilsen, Little Village, Bronzeville, Hyde Park, Englewood, Gresham, etc.
3. Border Communities. Places just inside or just outside Chicago, on its fringes, such as Evanston, Rogers Park, Sauganash, Skokie, Edison Park, Austin, Oak Park, Garfield Ridge, Cicero, Oak Lawn, Blue Island, Calumet City, Hegewisch, etc. Airports Midway and O'Hare. Industrial parks in Chicago and Indiana.
4. The Suburbs. North Shore suburbs such as Wilmette, Winnetka, Highland Park; Northwest suburbs such as Des Plaines, Arlington Heights, Palatine; Western Suburbs such as River Forest, Berwyn, Brookfield, Hinsdale; South Suburbs such as Oak Forest and Harvey.
5. Far Suburbs. Suburbs a bit farther out such as Lake Bluff, Libertyville and Bolingbrook; commercial hubs such as Schaumburg and Naperville; forest preserves such as Timber Ridge; towns in Northwestern Indiana including Hammond, Munster, and Highland; industrial parks such as North Chicago and East Chicago.
6. Gateway Cities. Cities just at the edge of the Chicagoland spread such as Gary, Joliet, Aurora, Elgin, Crystal Lake, McHenry and Waukegan
7. Outside Ring. The mixed-use areas just beyond Chicagoland comprising agriculture, villages, some industry, and many recreational opportunities such as those found at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Starved Rock State Park, Lake Geneva in Wisconsin, and Illinois Beach State Park.
8. Far Cities. Major settlements along the thoroughfares into and out of the greater Chicagoland region, including Michigan City, Kankakee, Peru, Rockford, Elkhorn, and Kenosha.

Beyond: Nearby Places. There are many exciting regions adjacent to or within easy traveling distance of greater Chicagoland, including Door County, Milwaukee, Madison, and the Dells in Wisconsin; Bloomington-Normal, Champaign-Urbana, Springfield and the Quad Cities in Illinois and Iowa; St. Louis, Missouri; Lafayette and South Bend, Indiana; and Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids in Michigan as well as Michigan's western shoreline.