Northern Illinois enjoys a decades-long history of championing inclusivity and celebrating difference Galena Main Street. Picture: Illinois Office of Tourism Moments after arriving in Galena, I notice an army of rainbow-coloured flags standing sentinel across a bridge. This burst of colour contrasts with the countryside I passed while travelling here from Chicago, where swathes of cornfields dominated — the monotony interrupted only by farmhouses and the ubiquitous silo towers.
The surrounding landscape might be repetitive, but this northwestern Illinois town, with its immaculately preserved 19th-century buildings, appears to celebrate diversity, challenging the long-held belief that small-town settings equate to small-minded people..