Quote:
Originally Posted by the urban politician
In what way is the Chicago area's influence over Springfield any less than these other places?
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New York is definitely the more similar - an upstate capital and some other minor urban regions as X factors (Illinois has Metro East, recall, with a ballpark of 600,000 residents depending on how one counts it).
Boston is both the major city and the capital of Massachussets, making state and city politics inherently more intertwined since they occur steps apart from each other. And it's surrounding 6 county area (we'll call it the commuter shed, being served by commuter rail) accounts for over 70% of the state's population, in contrast to about 61% for Chicago's 6-county area (and that's including McHenry County, which is a stretch to include in any political grouping with Chicago).
And even if we assume general regional unity, ongoing debates in our national government highlight the immense difference between a 60% majority and a 70%. 60% still requires compromises and heavy lifting to get tough votes like taxes/revenues done.