Taken as a whole, Illinois looks like one of the better-vaccinated states. In terms or the president’s goal, the CDC lists us as having given 71.8% of our adults at least their first shot by 4 July. If we missed getting half our total population fully vaccinated by the 4th, we came close enough, 48.61%, to expect to pass 50% by Bastille Day, the 14th.
Sorted on a finer grain, the county level, however, a different picture emerges. If the USA is becoming 2 nations in respect to vaccination, Illinois is the tale of 2 states. Call the first, “greater Chicago.” It’ a cluster of 7 relatively populous counties in the Northeast corner of the state. (Chicagoans call the rest, “Downstate, “ but some dKos participants who live there object to that name.)
Greater Chicago has 66.98% of the state’s population, but more than 79% of the fully vaccinated. Of the greater-Chicago population, 50.54% is fully vaccinated. Equally, if not more, important, the weak link in that chain of seven, Kane County, has 47.45% of its population fully vaccinated.
The rest of the state is not so well protected. On average, 41.92% of its population is fully vaccinated. This 42% is, however, distributed very granularly. Sangamon County, which contains the state capital, is at 48.34% and Champaign County, which holds the University, is at 47.14. They are a little better than and nearly as good as, Kane. To drive from one to the other, though, you’d go through Macon and Platt counties, at 37.27% and 41.70% fully vaccinated, respectively. And there are a few hotspots in waiting; Alexander County, at 14.34%, is the worst.