An area including Chicago, Illinois and it's suburbs. This is but a partial list of the (many) IT companies and institutions located in the area.

• US Robotics, headquarters located in Shaumburg, Illinois
• Bell Labs/Lucent Technology, located in Naperville, Illinois
• Motorola, thirteen offices in Arlington Heights, Illinois
• Tellabs, located in Naperville, Illinois, Lisle, Illinois, and Bolingbrook, Illinois
• Fermilab, in Batavia, Illinois

In addition to the big ones, there are hundreds of smaller startups and home businesses.

The title Silicon Prairie is not held without contention, though. Here are a few other cities that lay claim to the title.

• Lincoln, Nebraska
• Champaign/Urbana
• Kansas City, Missouri
• Perkins, Oklahoma
• Mineapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota
• Richardson, Texas
• Sioux Falls, South Dakota
• Iowa City, Iowa
• Austin, Texas