You raise a good point. I happen to live in Champaign. It is like other downstate metro areas. The hospital systems are setup to be regional healthcare sites. If you don't live too far out in the sticks, you can get stabilized care before getting shipped off to a regional medical center if necessary. Gibson City has a hospital but if you need to see a specialist, you have to drive to Champaign or Bloomington..
Which part of Champaign?
I was born there. My mom went to Jr and Sr High School there. Her dad built houses around Champaign (died in 1950) and her mom continued to own an apartment building there until she died in 1984. My mom’s sister continued to live there all her adult life, and one of her daughter’s lived there all her life till she died in 2017. I have made many trips there over the years, and the last time was in 2017 shortly before my cousin died in 2017.
For five years of my childhood we lived not far from my grandmother in Champaign and often my mom would have my grandmother keep one or two of us kids at her house for awhile (my mom had 8 kids. We’d go play in the nearby West Side Park.
As a kid I never knew Chanpaign-Urbana was home to the University of Illinois. I laughed on my first visit back there as an adult when I found that out.
If I did not hate the Dim’s dominance of Illiois politics as much as they do NJ, I’d consider making a residence in Champaign. Alas, if I can, I’m considering more “red” places.