* You don't pronounce the "s" at the end of Illinois.
* You become irate at people who do.
* You have no problem spelling or pronouncing "Des Plaines,"
* You measure distance in minutes.
* Your school classes were canceled because of the cold.
* Your school classes were canceled because of the heat.
* You've ever had to switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day.
* You have ridden the "L."
* Stores don't have sacks, they have bags. (DUH!)
* Your idea of a great tenderloin is when the meat is twice as big as the
bun and accompanied only by ketchup and a dill pickle slice. (YEAH!)
* You carry jumper cables in your car.
* You drink "pop."
* You can locate Illinois on the United States map.
* You refer to anything South of I-80 as "Southern Illinois."
* You realize that I-290, I-90, I-94, and I-294 are all different roads.
* You refer to any interstate highway as "the Tollway."
* You know the names of the interstates: Stevenson, Kennedy, Eisenhower, Dan Ryan, Bishop Ford.
* You refer to Lake Michigan as "The Lake."
* You refer to Chicago as "The City."
* You buy "The Trib."
* No matter where you are in the world, when you hear the term "Downtown"
you immediately assume they're talking about Downtown Chicago.
* You understand what "The Loop" is. And you know Rush Street isn't part of it.
* You have two favorite football teams: The Bears, and anyone who beats the Packers.
* You understand that you are either a NorthSider or a SouthSider...usually
(but not necessarily) dependent on your baseball preference. And both of
you feel sorry for the WestSiders...who don't have a team of their own.
* You know what goes on a Chicago Style Hot Dog.
* You know what Chicago Style Pizza REALLY is.
* You know why they call Chicago "The Windy City"
* You understand what "lake-effect" means.
* You end your sentences with an unnecessary preposition. Example: Where's
my coat at?" or "If you go to the mall I wanna go with," (Is there
something wrong with this? See next comment.)
* You know the difference between Amtrak and Metra, and know which stations they end up at.
* You can distinguish between the following area codes: 847, 630, 773, 708, 312, &815.
(Subject to amplification at any time!)
* You know what the phone number is to Empire Carpet(588-2300 E M P I R E!!)