Chicago is known for its numerous and varied bars, and a lively drinking culture to go along with it. But the rest of Illinois also has its fair share of drinking establishments, college campuses and residents who like to partake. Taking all of that into account, it's not super surprising to hear that Illinois is the state with the 6th-highest propensity for binge drinking in the country, according to NPR.
But what about within the state? Which areas have residents who are most likely to knock back one or two (or three or four) regularly? The website RoadSnacks took a look at different cities within Illinois and picked the 10 they think are the "drunkest."
The site used the less-than- scientific method of calculating the drunkest spots by looking at how many places there are to buy alcohol within a specific area as well as how often people talk about drinking on social media in that area. Possibly less telling, they also added in the criterion of how many divorced people live in certain locales. A description of the drinking culture of each city was included in their list.
The 10 cities tended to big mid-to-big-sized cities though Chicago does make an appearance. They are scattered throughout the whole state:
10. Schaumburg
Population: 74,276
Divorce rate: 9.7%
Liquor stores per capita: 18th in Illinois
Bars per capita: 15th in the state
Schaumburg, another Chicago suburb, is apparently full of drinkers. Or at least people who drink a lot. They have a high number of both bars and liquor stores in the state.
We saw a high number of tweets coming from Schaumburg for people going to 'parties'. Several were birthday parties for kids.
Any chance to throw a few back, right Schaumburgers?
9. Lisle
Population: 22,483
Divorce rate: 9.6%
Bars per capita: 21st in the state
Liquor stores per capita: 6th in Illinois
Lisle was ranked as one of the best places for the rich and single by Money Magazine. That means, according to the data, there are tons of drunk, rich white kids running around Lisle looking to make their mark on the community.
The divorce rate is low here. You can tell why - either no one is settled down yet (why would you - you can hook it up without having to tie the knot) or, no one divorces because of money.
Hey, if your man is drunk at the bar all the time, but he's loaded, you just look the other way, right Lisle ladies?
8. Springfield
Population: 115,982
Divorce rate: 15%
Bars per capita: 9th in the state
Drunk tweets per capita: 25th in Illinois
Springfield is the capital of Illinois, but not the capital of drunken people. That's good.
Anyone who has been to Springfield can attest to the fact that tons of people are out getting wasted here. And Twitter proves it. In fact, there were almost as many drunken tweets coming from Springfield as there were from Chicago.
"Either these people are homeless, and Illinois is heartless, or they are drunk, and Illinois is lawless. Either way, Springfield sucks."
And these are the people who can only afford a 40. Think of how the people in the bars are acting here.
7. Chicago
Population: 2,702,471
Divorce rate: 8.7%
Bars per capita: 4th in the state
Liquor stores per capita: 13th in Illinois
Okay, so obviously there are tons of bars and liquor stores in Chicago. But we're measuring places to get booze per capita, and there are certainly millions of people in Chicago who don't drink a drop.
That is until football season. Every Bears fan needs to have a beer or 12 to get through another frustrating Sunday.
Seriously though, the divorce rate in Chicago is really low. Good for you, Chicagoans. While many, many, many of you are completely wasted every night of the week, a majority of you are responsible members of the Chicago community.
6. Blue Island
Population: 23,460
Divorce rate: 11%
Bars per capita: 4th in the state
Liquor stores per capita: 28th in Illinois
Blue Island is south of Chicago, but not in south Chicago. Here, 1 in 10 residents are divorced, and when you have the 4th highest number of bars per capita, there are probably lots of desperate bleary-eyed people working on their second marriages here.
Here's to that!
Check out the five "drunkest cities" in Illinois at Reboot Illinois, plus find out which Illinois cities are the least drunk in the state.
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