First 5 Illinois Nuclear Targets Include a Big Surprise

There are many who believe that a nuclear war will never happen because anyone with a sane mind knows it would mean destruction for all involved. That makes the big assumption that all of the leaders of nuclear powers in the world are sane. If a worst-case scenario like this were to ever occur, there are 5 targets in Illinois that experts say would like be hit first and one of them is a surprise.

I queried the databases of think tanks around the world to see what nuclear war scenarios included Illinois targets in a presumed surprise first strike. Here are the 5 that were mentioned most often. One of them was unexpected.

Naval Station Great Lakes (North Chicago)

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• The U.S. Navy's only boot camp and a major training installation.
• A significant military facility.

Scott Air Force Base (near Belleville)

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• Home to U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) and Air Mobility Command.
• Plays a critical role in global military logistics and command.

Chicago metropolitan area

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• One of the nation's largest transportation, financial, and industrial centers.
• Contains major rail, air, communications, and economic infrastructure.

The Metro East/St. Louis region

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Due to the presence of Scott Air Force Base and extensive transportation and industrial infrastructure, the Illinois side of the St. Louis metropolitan area is often included in discussions of strategically important areas.

And now, for the surprise...

Argonne National Laboratory (Lemont)

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• A major federal research laboratory.
• While primarily a civilian scientific facility, critical research infrastructure is sometimes discussed in strategic analyses.

Of all the Illinois targets that were mentioned as possible nuclear first-strike targets, Argonne National Laboratory was one I had not seen before. It makes sense when you consider all of the federal research that happens there including some likely highly-classified things we will never know about.