How Illinois Voted

Illinois will show up on a map of the Electoral College as a blue state with its electoral votes going to Hillary Clinton.  A closer analysis shows a more nuanced view that mirrors the national map.  Illinois like much of the country showed a sharp urban-rural divide this cycle.  Rural areas of Illinois voted heavily for President-Elect Trump.  More urban areas and counties with universities went for Mrs. Clinton.  

If elections were determined by counties instead of the popular vote then President-Elect Trump would have carried Illinois  by a wide margin as he won 91 of the state's 102 counties.  As it is the population in the country couldn't offset the urban vote, especially coming out of Cook County and its collar environs.  According to the Chicago Tribune more than half of Mrs. Clinton's 2.9 million votes came from Cook County.

*Link:  Chicago Tribune:  "Election Analysis:  On the Edge of Illinois' Urban-Rural Divide."

Back Monday.