The Golden Corridor is the area around the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (Interstate 90), formerly known as the Northwest Tollway, in the Chicago metropolitan area. Its name refers to the "gold" mine of economic profit for communities in the area. Several Fortune 500 company headquarters, office parks, industrial parks, exhibition and entertainment centers, medical facilities, hotels, shopping centers, and restaurants are in the Golden Corridor. With the exception of the O'Hare area of Chicago, all the communities in this region are part of a larger region known as the "Northwest Suburbs".

Cities and villages

Cities and villages in the Golden Corridor include: • Chicago (O'Hare community area) • Rosemont • Park Ridge • Des Plaines • Norridge • Harwood Heights • Mount Prospect • Arlington Heights • Elk Grove Village • Franklin Park • Bensenville • Wood Dale • Itasca • Roselle • Schaumburg • Prospect Heights • Hoffman Estates • Rolling Meadows • Palatine • South Barrington • Streamwood • Hanover Park • Bartlett • South Elgin • Elgin • East Dundee • West Dundee • Sleepy Hollow • Gilberts • Carpentersville • Algonquin • Lake in the Hills • Huntley • Hampshire • Pingree Grove • Marengo

Major companies

Several important companies are headquartered in or have a significant presence in the corridor. They include:

Educational institutions

A variety of higher educational institutions are in the Golden Corridor, ranging from branch locations to community colleges to four-year colleges.

Shopping centers

Ranging from regional indoor malls to chic lifestyle centers, "the Golden Corridor" is a bustling center of retail activity. Major shopping centers include:

Entertainment and exhibition centers

From major arenas to convention centers to theaters to gambling centers, the Golden Corridor is a thriving entertainment center. Major facilities include:

Healthcare facilities

Within five miles (8 km) of the Northwest Tollway are a variety of major hospitals, including:

Hotels and restaurants

Nearly every national hotel and restaurant chain can be found along the corridor, as well as numerous independently owned and local chains. The highest concentration of hotels can be found in the Schaumburg/Arlington Heights and Rosemont/O'Hare areas, with secondary concentrations in Hoffman Estates, Elgin, and Itasca.

Transportation infrastructure

Air transport

Mass transit

Limited access highways

Highways and roads

Local east-west highways that serve the region include Stearns Road, U.S. Route 20 (Lake Street), Illinois Route 19 (Irving Park Road), Thorndale Avenue, Biesterfield Road, Devon Avenue, Illinois Route 72 (Higgins Road and Touhy Avenue), Schaumburg Road, Illinois Route 58 (Golf Road), Illinois Route 62 (Algonquin Road), Kirchoff Road, Dempster Street, Oakton Street, Euclid Avenue, Central Avenue, U.S. Route 14 (Northwest Highway/Ronald Reagan Highway), U.S. Route 12 (Rand Road), Palatine Road, Illinois Route 68 (Dundee Road), Huntley Road, and Big Timber Road. Local north-south highways that serve the region include Illinois Route 47, Randall Road, Illinois Route 31, Illinois Route 25 (Dundee Avenue), Beverly Road, Illinois Route 59 (Sutton Road), Bartlett Road, Barrington Road, Springinsguth Road, Ela Road, Roselle Road, Plum Grove Road, Quentin Road, Meacham Road, Arlington Heights Road, Illinois Route 83 (Elmhurst Road and Busse Road), York Road, Mount Prospect Road, Wolf Road, U.S. Route 45 (River Road and Lee Street/Mannheim Road), and Illinois Route 171 (Cumberland Avenue).