Lake County is the northwesternmost county of Indiana, which also comprises the southeastern portion of the Chicagoland region.
Lake County is both the industrial underbelly of Chicago and the industrial hinterland of Indiana. A major population center for both, Lake County has fallen on hard times since World War II, with the steady decline in the U.S. industrial sector. Once a rich city, Gary now ranks among the country's poorest, most violent, and most blighted cities, governed by crooks and abandoned by the middle class. Outside Gary life is far better, albeit still relatively poor.
Why come to Lake County? Chicagoans will shake their heads, Hoosiers relate to it with a mixture of terror and derision. But there are some real diamonds in the rough, some great deals on hotels, and several big casinos. Fans of the industrial post-apocalyptic genre will find much to gawk at. That and the fact that all the transport heading east from Chicago passes through!
Primary administrative division