The Letter investigates correlations between substituent charges and electrostatic properties of C atoms in the ring, as well as between the charges and Hammett constants. It appeared that the substituent charges are uncorrelated with the mentioned data sets. A new variable, however, composed of charges of substituents added to charges of the C-ipso atoms, proved to be highly correlated with these data sets. On that basis it has been found that notion of substituent active region, which comprises the substituent itself and the ring ipso carbon atom, recently introduced while investigating a group of p-substituted benzoic acids, also plays a part in the group of monosubstituted benzenes. (C) 2007 Published by Elsevier B.V.