Outside of Chicago:Joilet's Rise

The Chicago Tribune reports:

Joliet grew to 144,316 people last year, edging out the affluent western suburb of Naperville, which has 142,479 people, according to census figures released this week. Aurora (170,855) and Rockford (156,596) still come in second and third to Chicago.

Joliet and Elgin were the only two Midwest towns on the list of 25 fastest growing cities in 2007, according to the census. The others are in Sunbelt states such as California, Texas and Florida.