Metro East is a region in

southern Illinois Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of the Upland South than the Mi ...

that contains eastern and northern suburbs and exurbs of

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, United States. It encompasses five

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of the Upland South than the Mi ...

counties (and parts of three others) in the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area. The region's most populated city is Belleville, with 45,000 residents. The Metro East is the second largest urban area in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

after the

Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hi ...

and, as of the 2000 census, the population of the Metro East statistical area was 599,845 residents, a figure that had risen to above 700,000 in 2010. The significant growth in the Metro East is mainly due to people in smaller outlying towns in Illinois moving to the area for better economic/job opportunities.

Geography

The Metro East is a loose collection of small and mid-sized cities sitting along the

American Bottom The American Bottom is the flood plain of the Mississippi River in the Metro-East region of Southern Illinois, extending from Alton, Illinois, south to the Kaskaskia River. It is also sometimes called "American Bottoms". The area is about , mo ...

and the bluffs of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the five counties of the region have a total area of 6,974 km² (2,692 mi²). 6,787 km² (2,620 mi²) of it is land and 186 km² (71 mi²) of it (2.74%) is water. As of the 2020 census, the most populated cities in the region included the following

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, there had been a major shift in population from the older

rust belt The Rust Belt is a region of the United States that experienced industrial decline starting in the 1950s. The U.S. manufacturing sector as a percentage of the U.S. GDP peaked in 1953 and has been in decline since, impacting certain regions an ...

industrial cities in the Mississippi River bottom, such as East St. Louis and Alton, to the more suburban

satellite cities Satellite cities or satellite towns are smaller municipalities that are adjacent to a principal city which is the core of a metropolitan area. They differ from mere suburbs, subdivisions and especially bedroom communities in that they have m ...

, such as, Belleville, Edwardsville, and O'Fallon sitting on the bluffs. This is mainly due to continued

white flight White flight or white exodus is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the United States. They refer ...

. As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 599,845 people, 229,888 households, and 160,260 families residing in the five Metro East counties. The most common language is English, although various other languages are spoken. German speakers exist in southeastern Madison, and Clinton, and southern and eastern St. Clair Counties. Spanish is spoken in the Fairmont City area, and in parts of Clinton County. The largest concentration of African-Americans is in

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, western Granite City,

East St. Louis East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

, Washington Park, Belleville,

Cahokia The Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site ( 11 MS 2) is the site of a pre-Columbian Native American city (which existed 1050–1350 CE) directly across the Mississippi River from modern St. Louis, Missouri. This historic park lies in south- ...

, Alorton and

Alton Alton may refer to: People *Alton (given name) *Alton (surname) Places Australia *Alton National Park, Queensland * Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne Canada * Alton, Ontario *Alton, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Alton, New Zealand, ...

. Secondary languages tend to be cultural or reminiscent of ancestry, and not related to the general business of the area.

List of counties

Bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemica ...

Calhoun John C. Calhoun (1782–1850) was the 7th vice president of the United States. Calhoun can also refer to: Surname * Calhoun (surname) Inhabited places in the United States *Calhoun, Georgia *Calhoun, Illinois * Calhoun, Kansas * Calhoun, Kentuc ...

* Clinton *

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

* Macoupin *

* Monroe * St. Clair

List of cities, towns, and villages

Notes: *''^'' means part of city in another county/counties *Bold indicates county seat

Clinton County

Jersey County

Madison County

St. Clair County

Colleges and universities

Kaskaskia College Kaskaskia College is a public community college in Centralia, Illinois Centralia is a city in Clinton, Jefferson, Marion, and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Illinois with the largest portion in Marion County. The city is the large ...

Lewis and Clark Community College Lewis and Clark Community College is a public community college in Godfrey, Illinois. It serves approximately 15,000 credit and non-credit students annually. The college has nine locations throughout the St. Louis Metro East, including a campu ...

*Lindenwood University-Belleville *

McKendree University McKendree University (McK) is a private university in Lebanon, Illinois. Founded in 1828 as the Lebanon Seminary, it is the oldest college or university in Illinois. McKendree enrolls approximately 2,300 undergraduates and nearly 700 graduate ...

The Principia The Principia is an educational institution for Christian Scientists located on two campuses in the St. Louis, Missouri metropolitan area of the United States. Principia School, located in Town and Country, West St. Louis County, serves stude ...

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) is a public university in Edwardsville, Illinois. SIUE was established in 1957 as an extension of Southern Illinois University Carbondale.Butler 1976, p. 18 It is the younger of the two major inst ...

Southwestern Illinois College Southwestern Illinois College is a public community college in Illinois with campuses in Belleville, Granite City, and Red Bud. It also has off-campus sites throughout the district, including Scott Air Force Base and the East St. Louis Commu ...

Transportation

State routes

U.S. routes

* U.S. Route 40 *

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlanti ...

U.S. Route 51 U.S. Route 51 or U.S. Highway 51 (US 51) is a major south-north United States highway that extends from the western suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana, to within of the Wisconsin–Michigan state line. As most of the United States Numbered Highw ...

*Historic

U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

U.S. Route 67 U.S. Route 67 is a major north–south U.S. highway which extends for 1,560 miles (2,511 km) in the Central United States. The southern terminus of the route is at the United States-Mexico border in Presidio, Texas, where it continues so ...

Interstate freeways

I-55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The h ...

I-64 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchang ...

I-70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the c ...

* I-255 *

I-270 I-270 may refer to: * Interstate 270 (disambiguation), one of several highways * Mikoyan-Gurevich I-270 The Mikoyan-Gurevich I-270 (Design Ж ("Zh") under Mikoyan-Gurevich's in-house designation sequence, USAF/DoD designation: Type 12) was a ...

Light rail

The Metro East is connected with Missouri by the Metro Link light rail train. The Metrolink includes 11 stations on the Illinois side of St Louis, from the East St. Louis Riverfront, through Belleville Illinois, and ending at Scott Air Force Base. It links the Metro East to downtown St. Louis, area universities, downtown Clayton, and the major commercial airport, Lambert St. Louis International. St. Clair County (East St. Louis, Washington Park, Fairview Heights, Swansea, O'Fallon, Cahokia, Belleville, Shiloh, and Scott AFB) shares public transit with the St. Louis metropolitan area, including bus and rail. Madison County has a public transit system that includes bus services and bikeways converted as part of a

Rail to Trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...

conversion.

Major employers

Anheuser-Busch Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC is an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been wholly owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (AB InBev), now the world's largest brewing company, which owns multiple glo ...

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...

Charter Communications Charter Communications, Inc., is an American telecommunications and mass media company with services branded as Spectrum. With over 32 million customers in 41 states, it is the second-largest cable operator in the United States by subscribers, ...

Illinois Department of Transportation The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is a state agency in charge of state-maintained public roadways of the U.S. state of Illinois. In addition, IDOT provides funding for rail, public transit and airport projects and administers fuel ...

* Korte Construction *

Monsanto The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed in ...

* National Steel * Norrenberns Trucking *

Olin Corporation Olin Corporation is an American manufacturer of ammunition, chlorine, and sodium hydroxide. The company traces its roots to two companies, both founded in 1892: Franklin W. Olin's Equitable Powder Company and the Mathieson Alkali Works. Olin che ...

Scott Air Force Base Scott Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in St. Clair County, Illinois, near Belleville and O'Fallon, east-southeast of downtown St. Louis. Scott Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the ...

U.S. Steel United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in severa ...

Wood River Refinery The Wood River Refinery is an oil refinery located in Roxana, Illinois, approximately north of St. Louis, Missouri, on the east side of the Mississippi River. The refinery is currently owned by Phillips 66 and Cenovus Energy and operated by the ...

Tourist attractions

National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows The National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows is a Catholic shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary in Belleville, Illinois, nine miles southeast of St. Louis, Missouri. The Shrine's director is the Reverend Father David Uribe, OMI. The shrine is i ...

, Centreville, near Belleville; operated by the

Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a missionary religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816, by Eugène de Mazenod, a French priest born in Aix-en-Provence in the south of France on August 1, ...

* Brooks Catsup Bottle, Collinsville *

Belle Clair Fairgrounds and Expo Center Belle may refer to: * Belle (''Beauty and the Beast'') * Belle (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Belle (surname), a list of people Brands and enterprises * Belle Air, a former airline with headquarters in Tirana, Albania ...

, Belleville *

Cahokia Mounds The Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site ( 11 MS 2) is the site of a pre-Columbian Native American city (which existed 1050–1350 CE) directly across the Mississippi River from modern St. Louis, Missouri. This historic park lies in south- ...

, Collinsville, on Madison-St. Clair County line * Confluence Crush Roller Derby, Belleville (at Belle Clair Fairgrounds) *

GCS Ballpark GCS Credit Union Ballpark is a minor league baseball facility in Sauget, Illinois, that serves as the home ballpark for the Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League. The Grizzlies' ballpark was built in time for the start of the 2002 season ...

, Sauget *

Gateway International Raceway World Wide Technology Raceway (formerly Gateway International Raceway and Gateway Motorsports Park) is a motorsport racing facility in Madison, Illinois, just east of St. Louis, Missouri, United States, close to the Gateway Arch. It features a ...

, Madison *

Eads Bridge The Eads Bridge is a combined road and railway bridge over the Mississippi River connecting the cities of St. Louis, Missouri and East St. Louis, Illinois. It is located on the St. Louis riverfront between Laclede's Landing, to the north, and t ...

, historic bridge, among East. Louis, on the East St. Louis, Illinois, and St. Louis, Missouri border, over the Mississippi River *

Pere Marquette State Park Pere Marquette State Park is an protected area in southwestern Jersey County, Illinois, United States. It is located near the city of Grafton, Illinois, at the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Illinois River. The park is located on ...

, Grafton * Raging Rivers Water Park, Grafton * The Game, Glen Carbon *

St. Clair Square St. Clair Square is a shopping mall in Fairview Heights, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1974, the mall features Macy's, Dillard's, and JCPenney as its anchor stores. It is managed by CBL & Associates Properties. The mall formerly had a Sears, ...

, Fairview Heights *

Robert Wadlow Robert Pershing Wadlow (February 22, 1918 July 15, 1940), also known as the Alton Giant and the Giant of Illinois, was an American man who was the tallest person in recorded history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. He was born and raise ...

Statue, Alton * Horseshoe Lake, Pontoon Beach, Madison, and Granite City *

Alton Square Mall Alton Square Mall is a shopping mall located in Alton, Illinois. Its anchor store is JCPenney. A second anchor structure formerly housed a Sears, and currently houses an eight screen NCG Cinemas theater, while a third anchor structure, housing ...

, Alton *

Carlyle Lake Carlyle Lake is a reservoir largely located in Clinton County, Illinois, with smaller portions of the lake within Bond and Fayette counties. It is the largest man-made lake in Illinois, and the largest lake wholly contained within the state. Hi ...

, Carlyle *

National Building Arts Center The National Building Arts Center (NBAC) is a large collection of significant architectural, structural, and industrial items saved before these elements from the built environment are demolished. It is the physical collection of the St. Louis Bui ...

, Sauget

Residents, historic figures, and contributors

Josephine Baker Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...

, East St. Louis, performer and activist * Jason Boyd, Edwardsville, AAA pitcher *

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and r ...

, Belleville, science fiction author * Jimmy Connors, East St. Louis and Belleville, tennis player *

Neal Cotts Neal James Cotts (born March 25, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, and Minnesota Twins. College car ...

, Lebanon, former MLB pitcher * Brian Daubach, Belleville, former MLB 1B/DH/outfielder *

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

, East St. Louis and Alton, jazz artist *

Lea DeLaria Lea DeLaria (born May 23, 1958) is an American comedian, actress, and jazz singer. DeLaria is credited with being the first openly gay comic to appear on American television with her 1993 appearance on ''The Arsenio Hall Show''. She is best kno ...

, Belleville, jazz singer, actress, and comedian (''Orange is the New Black'') *

Elizabeth Donald Elizabeth Donald (born 1975) is an American author and journalist, best known for writing horror and science fiction, including the ''Nocturnal Urges'' vampire mystery series and ''Blackfire'' zombie series. Life and career Elizabeth Donald was ...

, Edwardsville, horror novelist *

Dick Durbin Richard Joseph Durbin (born November 21, 1944) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Illinois, a seat he has held since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, Durbin has served as the Senate De ...

, East St. Louis, U.S. senator *

Buddy Ebsen Buddy Ebsen (born Christian Ludolf Ebsen Jr., April 2, 1908 – July 6, 2003), also known as Frank "Buddy" Ebsen, was an American actor and dancer, whose career spanned seven decades. One of his most famous roles was as Jed Clampett in the CBS ...

, Belleville, television actor *

Jay Farrar Jay Farrar (born December 26, 1966) is an American songwriter and musician currently based in St. Louis. A member of two critically acclaimed music groups, Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt, he began his solo music career in 2001. Beyond his estab ...

, Belleville, musician *

William Holden William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film ''Stalag 17'' (1953) ...

, O'Fallon, film actor *

Louis Jolliet Louis Jolliet (September 21, 1645after May 1700) was a French-Canadian explorer known for his discoveries in North America. In 1673, Jolliet and Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit Catholic priest and missionary, were the first non-Natives to explore an ...

, explorer of the Mississippi River *

Jackie Joyner-Kersee Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee (born March 3, 1962) is a retired American track and field athlete, ranked among the all-time greatest athletes in the heptathlon as well as long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals in tho ...

, East St. Louis, Olympic athlete *

Ken Kwapis Kenneth William Kwapis (born August 17, 1957) is an American film and television director, screenwriter, and author. He specialized in the single-camera sitcom in the 1990s and 2000s and has directed feature films such as '' Sesame Street Presen ...

, Belleville, film and television director and producer * Père Jacques Marquette, French discoverer *

T. J. Mathews Timothy Jay Mathews (born January 9, 1970) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or parts of eight seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, and Houston Astros. Mathews was ...

, Columbia, former MLB pitcher *

Laurie Metcalf Laura Elizabeth Metcalf (born June 16, 1955) is an American actress. Often described as a character actor, she's known for her complex and versitile roles across the stage and screen. She has received various accolades throughout her career sp ...

, Edwardsville, film and television actress (''Rosanne'', ''Uncle Buck'', ''JFK'') *

Yadier Molina Yadier Benjamín Molina (; born July 13, 1982), nicknamed "Yadi", is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher who played his entire career with the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Widely considered one of the grea ...

, Caseyville, Cardinals Baseball catcher (resides there only during baseball season, and is originally from Puerto Rico) *

Jake Odorizzi Jacob Todd Odorizzi (born March 27, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Rays, Minnesota Twins, Houston As ...

, Highland, MLB Pitcher *

Van Allen Plexico Van Allen Plexico (born January 12, 1968) is an American professor of Political Science and History, a Sports and Pop Culture podcast host and producer, and a science fiction and fantasy author. He is generally considered one of the leading fig ...

, Smithton, author and professor *

Peter Sarsgaard John Peter Sarsgaard (; born March 7, 1971) is an American actor. His first feature role was in '' Dead Man Walking'' in 1995. He then appeared in the 1998 independent films ''Another Day in Paradise'' and ''Desert Blue''. That same year, Sarsga ...

, Belleville/Scott AFB, actor (''Magnificent Seven'', ''Jarhead'', ''Green Lantern'') *

John Shimkus John Mondy Shimkus (, born February 21, 1958) is an American politician who served as a U.S. representative from 1997 to 2021, representing the 20th, 19th and 15th congressional districts of Illinois. Shimkus is a member of the Republican Part ...

, Collinsville, Congressman from

Illinois's 15th congressional district The 15th congressional district of Illinois is currently located in central Illinois. It was located in eastern and southeastern Illinois until 2022. It is currently represented by Republican Mary Miller. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index r ...

(1997–2021) *

Michael Stipe John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of alternative rock band R.E.M. He is known for his vocal quality, poetic lyrics and unique stage presence. Poss ...

, Collinsville, lead singer of the band REM * Jeff Tweedy, Belleville, lead singer of the band Wilco *

Uncle Tupelo Uncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active between 1987 and 1994. Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn formed the band after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to attend c ...

, Belleville, alternative country band *

Craig Virgin Craig Steven Virgin (born August 2, 1955) is an American distance runner. He was born in Belleville, Illinois and grew up near Lebanon, Illinois. While in high school, Virgin won 5 state championships (two in cross country and three in track) ...

, distance runner *

Robert Pershing Wadlow Robert Pershing Wadlow (February 22, 1918 July 15, 1940), also known as the Alton Giant and the Giant of Illinois, was an American man who was the tallest person in recorded history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. He was born and raise ...

, Alton, world's tallest man *

Scott Wolf Scott Richard Wolf (born June 4, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the television series ''Party of Five'' as Bailey Salinger, as Jake Hartman in ''Everwood'', as Chad Decker in ''V (2009 TV series), V'' and as Carson Drew ...

, Belleville, actor

Media in the Metro East

St. Louis area TV stations

*Note: This list is for the entire Metro East area; however, the low-powered stations may not reach the entire five-county Metro East area. WSIU, despite not being based from the St. Louis DMA, is available in Clinton, Washington, and most of St. Clair.

Champaign-Urbana/Decatur/Springfield area TV stations

*Note: This list is for Jersey County; however, the majority of these stations are not available for most Jersey County residents. These stations are more likely to be available in Greene and Macoupin counties, which border Jersey County.

Paducah/Cape Girardeau/Harrisburg area TV stations

*Note: This list is for St. Clair, and Clinton counties; however, the majority of the stations, with the exception of WSIU and WPXS and possibly KFVS, are not available for a majority of the St. Clair, and/or Clinton County residents. These stations are more likely to be available in Washington County and the Centralia area.

Daily newspapers

*Note: daily newspaper coverage depends on county. *'' Alton Telegraph'' (Madison, Jersey counties) *''

Belleville News-Democrat The ''Belleville News-Democrat'' is a daily newspaper in Belleville, Illinois. Focusing on news that is local to the area of southwestern Illinois, it has been published under various names for 150 years. As of 2009, it is published by The McCl ...

'' (region-wide) *'' Centralia Sentinel'' (Clinton and Washington counties) *''

Southern Illinoisan ''The Southern Illinoisan'' is a daily newspaper based in Carbondale, Illinois, known locally as "The Southern." As of October 2014, it has a daily circulation of 21,270, and a Sunday circulation of 26,958. It is one of the major regional newsp ...

'' (mainly in Washington County, rarely found elsewhere in the Metro East) *''

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a major regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the ''Belleville News-De ...

'' (region-wide) *''

Edwardsville Intelligencer The ''Edwardsville Intelligencer'' is an American daily newspaper in Illinois based in Edwardsville. The paper is circulated in Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, and nearby rural areas. The newspaper was founded in 1862. In 1960, longtime owner and ...

'' (Madison County)

Radio stations

*Note: stations listed are licensed and have offices in Metro East counties only. Stations that can be heard in the Metro East but not listed have offices outside the Metro East counties. See also
Radio stations in Illinois

The Metro East in film

*Note, the following is a partial list of films shot, often partially, sometimes with significant production, within the Metro East. All data can be rechecked via the Internet Movie Database. "Uncredited" means a Metro East location was not credited within the database, but was clearly shot on Metro East soil upon watching the film itself. *'' In the Heat of the Night'' - feature-length film, shot in Belleville, Illinois ( 1968 Oscar winner for Best Picture of 1967) *''

Things Are Tough All Over ''Things are Tough All Over'' is a 1982 American action comedy film directed by Thomas K. Avildsen and starring Tommy Chong and Cheech Marin as two aging hippies, and additionally as Arab businessmen Mr. Slyman and Prince Habib. Plot Cheech an ...

'' (uncredited) - feature-length film, shot on the East St. Louis riverfront (1982) *''

King of the Hill ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired its original non-syndicated run from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, and centers on the Hills, an Am ...

'' - feature-length film, shot in Alton, Illinois (1993) *'' A Will of their Own'' - feature-length TV film, shot in Belleville, Illinois (1998) *''

The Big Brass Ring ''The Big Brass Ring'' is a 1999 drama film, starring William Hurt, Nigel Hawthorne, Irene Jacob, Jefferson Mays and Miranda Richardson (who was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her performance). The film's script was heavily rewritten by ...

'' - feature-length film, shot in Alton, Illinois (1999) *'' Steel City'' - feature-length film, shot in Alton, East Alton, Godfrey, and Jerseyville, Illinois (2006) *'' The Lucky Ones'' - feature-length film, Shot in Edwardsville, Illinois (2008) *'' The Coverup'' - feature-length film, shot in Alton, Illinois (2008) *'' Kingshighway'' - feature-length film, shot in Fairview Heights, Illinois (2010) *''

Joint Body ''Joint Body'' is a 2011 American crime thriller film written and directed by Brian Jun and starring Mark Pellegrino and Alicia Witt. The film is about a convict who is abandoned by his ex-wife and prevented from seeing his young daughter. As a pa ...

'' - feature-length film, shot in various locations throughout the Metro East (2011)

Metro East in fiction

Laurell K. Hamilton Laurell Kaye Hamilton (born February 19, 1963) is an American fantasy and romance writer. She is best known as the author of two series of stories. Her The New York Times Best Seller list, ''New York Times''-bestselling ''Anita Blake: Vampire H ...

has used the Metro East as a setting in several books from the

Anita Blake Anita Blake is the title and viewpoint character of the '' Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter'' series by Laurell K. Hamilton. The series takes place in a parallel world in which supernatural characters like vampires and werewolves exist alongside reg ...

and

Merry Gentry Meredith "Merry" Gentry is the protagonist of an eponymous fantasy series by US writer Laurell K. Hamilton, best known for her other fantasy series ''Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter''. Since 2000, she has been alternating between the two series, pub ...

series. In the Merry Gentry series, fairies of the

Unseelie Court Seelie is a term for fairies in Scottish folklore, appearing in the form of seely wights or The Seelie Court. The Northumbria#Language, Northern and Middle English word (also , , ), and the Scots language, Scots form , mean "happy", "lucky" or "bl ...

have made their home in

Monk's Mound Monks Mound is the largest Pre-Columbian earthwork in the Americas and the largest pyramid north of Mesoamerica. The beginning of its construction dates from 900–955 CE. Located at the Cahokia Mounds UNESCO World Heritage Site near Collinsvil ...

. Robert J. Randisi set one of his Joe Keough mysteries, ''East of the Arch'' (2002), in the Metro East communities of East St. Louis and Fairview Heights.

Awards

The 2010 issue of ''

Family Circle ''Family Circle'' was an American magazine that covered such topics as homemaking, recipes, and health. It was published from 1932 until the end of 2019. Originally distributed at supermarkets, it was one of the " Seven Sisters," a group of se ...

'' magazine named Edwardsville third in their "Top 10 Best Towns for Families"."10 Best Towns for Families: 2010"
, ''

'', Retrieved on 2010-08-07.

Area codes

Area code 217 Area codes 217 and 447 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for much of the central part of the U.S. state of Illinois. The numbering plan area (NPA) includes the state capital, Springfield, and Champaign, Urba ...

: extreme northeast part of Metro East * Area code 618: the majority of the Metro East is in this area code.

References

External links

Illinois Department of Employment Security - Metro East: 1965 to Today By: Dennis Hoffman
{{coord, 38, 40, N, 90, 0, W, region:US-IL_scale:500000, display=title Regions of Illinois Regions of Greater St. Louis