In the South Suburbs of Chicago, I am seeing the difference between Blue States and Red States

[Drale]

We have the exact same weather as Lake County in NW Indiana were my Girlfriend lives. Indiana claims they can't keep up with the blowing snow and have closed I-80/94 and I-65 and are warning people to stay off all other roads and police are threatening 2500 dollar fines to anyone caught on a closed road. Here in Illinois the roads are not perfect but they are passable and even the side streets are plowed. Many businesses are closed because of the extreme cold but not because the roads are not cleared like in Indiana. This is what happens when a state actually puts money towards things that can help the average person like snow plows. Is Illinois perfect? Hell no but I'll take the craziness of Illinois over any Red State any day of the week.

[Laelth]

1. k&r for government of, by, and FOR the people. n/t

-Laelth

[mikeysnot]

2. This is common in IN

they get the lake effect snow, drove through it many of times in MI and IN. Heavy, wet sticky and it blows all over, so even if they plow, come back in 5 minutes and it is covered up.

I followed a plow going 30 miles an hour from Kalamazoo to the IN border for three hours. It sucked but we got home safe.

[loudsue]

3. And all those open roads allow for commerce and jobs. Money flows. Red states, not so much.

They close the roads and don't keep 'em plowed, ALL the businesses along those roads lose money. Less money, less taxes to pay to keep the roads open.

Republicans, and "conservatives" in general, are REALLY BAD FOR BUSINESS. For all their rhetoric, what it comes down to is that they are for GLOBAL business that hurts humans, instead of PRO business that creates intra- and inter-state commerce, and the generation of TAX REVENUES.

The only reason republicans are against taxes is because it creates jobs and commerce for the USA.

[Drale]

4. Yeap all kinds of businesses are closed because of it

My Girlfriend works at Target and they are closed, and her mom works at KFC and they are closed as well. The K-mart, grocery stores and all the fast food places are closed as well. So much profit and so much tax revenue lost because they are greed M'Fer's.

[Dawgs]

5. I don't understand. Indiana isn't in the South? n/t

[hack89]

6. There are a lot of closed highways in Illinois

Including entire counties:

Champaign Co ALL PRIMARY ROADS ARE CLOSED, except US-45 South of Rantoul.

Vermilion Co ALL PRIMARY ROADS ARE CLOSED, except IL-1 and US-150.

Douglas Co ALL PRIMARY ROADS ARE CLOSED.

Edgar Co ALL PRIMARY ROADS ARE CLOSED, except IL-1 south of Paris and IL-133 from Paris to IL-149.

http://www.dot.il.gov/road/closures.txt

[former9thward]

7. This is ridiculous.

I lived in the Chicago south suburbs (Lansing) for many years. IN weather and snowfall was ALWAYS worse than the south suburbs. Their lake effect is much worse. The Chicago south suburbs are to the south and west of Chicago. That is the OPPOSITE direction than the prevailing wind patterns in that area. When wind does come from the north IN is getting the full effect from Lake Michigan. The south suburbs being west of the lake do not.

[frazzled]

8. As an IL resident (but original Hoosier)

I totally agree with the benefits of living in a blue state. (After I left Indiana at age 18 I've lived only in blue states: New York, Minnesota, Massachusetts, and Illinois).

But let me say one thing in defense of closing I-65. We drive frequently between Chicago and Indianapolis, and 7 times out of ten we hit crazy improbable weather in northern Indiana (for some reason, especially around the Roselawn/Rensselaer area). Ever see the Hitchcock movie North by Northwest? You know, when Cary Grant is running around in the cornfields dodging a crop duster trying to kill him? Well, it's that kind of open plain where the weather seems to just come whipping across with nothing to stop it. It seems to get ungodly storms, and tornados, all the time, and it is soooo unprotected. I can imagine that it's hard to keep the roads clear enough there for any length of time, and there are frequent whiteouts when there are blizzards (a lot like the area closer to Syracuse in upstate NY). We've had many a white-knuckle drive through that region.

That said, Indiana probably does not invest enough in its snow removal. But even Illinois can be deceiving, depending on where you live. Our streets in downtown Chicago are great, but drive down to Hyde Park (where my son and daughter-in-law live) and it's pretty rough. Consult your alderman if your neighborhood is not well plowed.

[JeffHead]

9. This has nothing to do with snow but, I've noticed something similar.

Overall Illinois maintains their roads a lot better than Indiana does. Take for instance the shoulders. In Illinois I see the street cleaners vacuuming up the shredded semi tires and other debris all the time. They don't even have to put a welcome to Indiana sign at the border. All you have to do is look along side the road and you can tell when you cross it because of all the trash. Doesn't the federal government pay to maintain highways with revenue from the gas tax? My next question is what is Indiana doing with the money? Judging from all the trash and potholes on I-65 they sure don't use a whole lot of it fixing them.