I don’t doubt that South Georgia/East Alabama is conservative. I’m just pointing out that there’s a misperception that Illinois is all liberal. Chicago’s center of gravity heavily distorts the balance. Get rid of Chicago (I really do wish it were so) and Illinois is red.
There is no misperception that all Illinois is liberal, but there is the very true perception that Champagne is far more liberal than FSU….and that Illinois is more liberal than South Georgia, Fla Panhandle, etc.
The fan base of Illinois, which includes TONS of Chicago libs, is fairly lib overall I would imagine.
And no, Tallahassee is not technically in the Panhandle, but it is very much part of that cultural region.