Everything about Chicago totally explained
Chicago is the largest
city in the state of
Illinois, the largest in the
Midwest, and, with a population of nearly 3 million people located almost entirely in
Cook County (a portion of the city's
O'Hare International Airport overlaps into
DuPage County), is the
third-most populous city in the
United States. The
Chicago metropolitan area (commonly referred to as
Chicagoland) has a population of over 9.7 million people in Illinois,
Wisconsin and
Indiana, making it also the
third largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Adjacent to
Lake Michigan, it's the largest city located on the
Great Lakes and among the world's twenty-five
largest urban areas by population. Chicago has been classified as an
alpha world city for its worldwide economic and cultural influence.
Incorporated as a city in 1837 after being founded in 1833 at the
site of a portage between the Great Lakes and the
Mississippi River watershed, it soon became a major transportation hub in
North America and quickly became the business and financial capital of the
American Midwest. Since the
Chicago World's Fair of 1893, it has been regarded as one of the ten most
influential cities in the world. Etymologically, the sound /shikaakwa/ in Miami-Illinois literally means 'striped skunk', and was a reference to wild leek, or the smell of onions.
During its first century as a city, Chicago grew at a rate that ranked among the fastest growing in the world. Within the span of forty years, the city's population grew from slightly under 30,000 to over 1 million by 1890. By the close of the 19th century, Chicago was the fifth largest city in the world, and the largest of the cities that didn't exist at the dawn of the century.
Within fifty years of the Chicago Fire, the population had tripled to over 3 million.
In February of 1856, the Chesbrough plan for the building of Chicago’s (and indeed the United States’) first comprehensive
sewerage system was approved by the Common Council; a project that necessitated the physical
raising of much of central Chicago to a new grade. Untreated sewage and industrial waste now flowed into the
Chicago River, thence into
Lake Michigan,
polluting the primary source of fresh water for the city. The city responded by tunneling two miles (3 km) out into Lake Michigan to newly built
water cribs. Nonetheless, spring rains continued to carry polluted water as far out as the water intakes. In 1900, the problem of sewage was largely resolved when Chicago undertook an innovative engineering feat. The city actually reversed the flow of the river, a process that started with the construction and improvement of the
Illinois and Michigan Canal and completed with the finishing of the
Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal) leading to the
Illinois River which joins the
Mississippi River.
After the
Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed a third of the city, including the entire
central business district, Chicago experienced rapid rebuilding and growth. During Chicago's rebuilding period, the world's
first skyscraper was constructed in 1885 using
steel-skeleton construction.
In 1893, Chicago hosted the
World's Columbian Exposition on former marshland at the present location of
Jackson Park. The Exposition drew 27.5 million visitors, and is considered among the most influential world's fairs in history. The
University of Chicago had been founded one year earlier in 1892 on the same South Side location. The term "midway" for a fair or carnival referred originally to the
Midway Plaisance, a strip of park land that still runs through the University of Chicago campus and connects
Washington and Jackson Parks.
The city was the site of
labor conflicts and unrest during this period, which included the
Haymarket affair on
May 4 1886. Concern for social problems among Chicago’s lower classes led
Jane Addams to be a co-founder of
Hull House in 1889, the first of what were called settlement houses. Programs developed there became a model for the new field of social work. The city also invested in many large, well-landscaped
municipal parks, which also included public sanitation facilities.
The 1920s brought notoriety to Chicago as
gangsters, including the notorious
Al Capone, battled each other and law enforcement on the city streets during the
Prohibition era. The 1920s also saw a major expansion in industry. The availability of jobs attracted African Americans from the South. Arriving in the tens of thousands during the
Great Migration, the cultural impact of the newcomers was immense. It was during this wave that Chicago became a center for
jazz, with
King Oliver leading the way.
In 1933, Mayor
Anton Cermak was
assassinated while in Miami with President
Franklin D. Roosevelt.
On
December 2 1942, physicist
Enrico Fermi conducted the world’s first controlled
nuclear reaction at the
University of Chicago as part of the top-secret
Manhattan Project.
Mayor
Richard J. Daley was elected in 1955, in the era of
machine politics. Starting in the 1960s, many upper- and middle-class citizens started leaving the city for the
suburbs, as was the case in many cities across the country. It took the heart out of many residential neighborhoods, leaving impoverished and disadvantaged citizens behind. Structural changes in industry caused heavy losses of jobs for lower skilled workers.
The city hosted the tumultuous
1968 Democratic National Convention, which featured physical confrontations both inside and outside the convention hall, including full-scale
police riots in city streets. Major construction projects, including the
Sears Tower (which in 1974 became the
world’s tallest building),
McCormick Place, and
O'Hare Airport, were undertaken during Richard J. Daley's tenure. When he died,
Michael Anthony Bilandic was mayor for three years. His loss in a primary election has been attributed to the city’s inability to properly plow city streets during a heavy snowstorm. In 1979,
Jane Byrne, the city’s first female mayor, was elected. She popularized the city as a
movie location and
tourist destination.
In 1983
Harold Washington became the first
African American to be elected to the office of mayor, in one of the closest mayoral elections in Chicago. After Washington won the Democratic primary, racial motivations caused Democratic alderman and ward committeemen to back the Republican candidate
Bernard Epton, who ran on the slogan
Before it’s too late, a thinly veiled
appeal to fear.
Washington’s term in office saw new attention given to poor and minority neighborhoods. His administration reduced the longtime dominance of city contracts and employment by ethnic whites.
Current mayor
Richard M. Daley, son of the late Richard J. Daley, was first elected in 1989. He has led many progressive changes to the city, including improving parks; creating incentives for sustainable development, including green roofs; and major new developments. Since the 1990s, the city has undergone a revitalization in which some lower class neighborhoods have been transformed into pricey neighborhoods as new middle class residents have settled in the city.
Geography
Topography
Chicago is located in northeastern Illinois at the southwestern tip of
Lake Michigan. Chicago's official geographic coordinates are . It sits on the
continental divide at the site of the
Chicago Portage, connecting the
Mississippi River and the
Great Lakes watersheds. The city lies beside Lake Michigan, and two rivers — the
Chicago River in downtown and the
Calumet River in the industrial far South Side — flow entirely or partially through Chicago. The
Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal connects the Chicago River with the
Des Plaines River, which runs to the west of the city.
When Chicago was founded in the 1830s, most of the early building began around the mouth of the Chicago River, as can be seen on a map of the city's original 58 blocks. According to the
U.S. Census Bureau Chicago has a total area of 234.0 square miles (606.1 km²), of which 227.1 square miles (588.3 km²) is land and 6.9 square miles (17.8 km²) (2.94%) is water.
The overall
grade of the city's central, built-up areas, is relatively consistent with the natural flatness of its overall natural geography, generally exhibiting only slight differentiation otherwise. The average land elevation land is 579 feet (176 m) above
sea level. The lowest points are along the lake shore at 577 feet (176 m), while the highest point at 735 feet (224 m) is a
landfill located in the
Hegewisch community area on the city's far south side .
Lake Michigan
Main Article: Lake Michigan
Chicago's history and economy are closely tied to its proximity to Lake Michigan. While the Chicago River historically handled much of the region's maritime cargo, today's huge
lake freighters use the city's far south
Lake Calumet Harbor. The Lake also moderates Chicago's climate, making it warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.
Lake Shore Drive runs adjacent to a large portion of Chicago's lakefront. Parks along the lakeshore include
Lincoln Park,
Grant Park,
Burnham Park and
Jackson Park; 29 public
beaches are found all along the shore. Near downtown, landfills extend into the Lake, providing space for the
Jardine Water Purification Plant,
Navy Pier, the
Museum Campus,
Soldier Field, and large portions of the
McCormick Place Convention Center. Most of the city's high-rise commercial and residential buildings can be found within a few blocks of the Lake.
Climate
The city lies within the
humid continental climate zone (Koppen
Dfa), and experiences four distinct
seasons. In July, typically the warmest month, high temperatures average 84.9 °
F (29.4 °
C) and low temperatures 65.8 °F (18.8 °C). In January, typically the coldest month, high temperatures average 31.5 °F (−0.3 °C) with low temperatures averaging 17.1 °F (−8.3 °C). According to the
National Weather Service, Chicago’s highest official temperature reading of 105 °F (41 °C) was recorded on
July 17 1995. The lowest temperature of −27 °F (−33 °C) was recorded on
January 20 1985.
Chicago’s yearly
precipitation averages about 34
inches. Summer is typically the rainiest season, with short-lived rainfall and
thunderstorms more common than prolonged rainy periods. Winter precipitation tends to be more
snow than rain. Chicago's snowiest winter on record was that of 1929–30, with of snow in total. Chicago’s highest one-day rainfall total was 6.49 inches (164 mm), on
August 14 1987.
Cityscape
ArchitectureNew England for construction of the 1893 World Columbian Exposition. Many architects including Burnham, Root, Adler and Sullivan went on to design other well known Chicago landmarks because of the Exposition.
In 1885, the first steel-framed high-rise building rose in Chicago ushering in the
skyscraper era. Today, Chicago's skyline is among the world's tallest. Downtown's historic buildings include the
Chicago Board of Trade Building in the
Loop, with others along the lakefront and the Chicago River. Once first on the
list of largest buildings in the world and still listed thirteenth, the
Merchandise Mart stands near the junction of the north and south river branches. Presently the three tallest in the city are the
Sears Tower, the
Aon Center (previously the Standard Oil Building), and the
John Hancock Center. The city's architecture includes lakefront high-rise residential towers, low-rise structures, and single-family homes.
Industrialized areas such as the
Indiana border, south of
Midway Airport, and the banks of the
Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal are clustered.
Future skyline plans entail the
supertall Waterview Tower,
Chicago Spire, and
Trump International Hotel and Tower. The 60602
zip code was named by
Forbes as the hottest zip code in the country with upscale buildings such as
The Heritage at Millennium Park (130 N. Garland) leading the way for other buildings such at Waterview Tower, The Legacy and Momo. Other new skyscraper construction may be found directly south (
South Loop) and north (
River North) of the Loop.
Every kind and scale of houses, townhouses, condominiums and apartment buildings can be found in Chicago. Large swaths of Chicago's residential areas away from the lake are characterized by
bungalows built either during the early 20th century or after World War II. Chicago is a center of the
Polish Cathedral style of church architecture.
Neighborhoods
Chicago is partitioned into four main sections: Downtown (which contains the Loop), the North Side, the South Side, and the West Side. In the late 1920s sociologists at the
University of Chicago subdivided the city into 77 distinct
community areas. The boundaries of these areas are more clearly defined than those of the
over 210 neighborhoods throughout the city, allowing for better year-by-year comparisons.
Downtown and The Loop
The downtown area, lying somewhat roughly between Division Street on the north,
Lake Michigan on the east, Roosevelt Road on the south and DesPlaines Avenue on the west, serves as the city's commercial hub. The area known as
The Loop, is a portion of downtown named for it once having been located within a circuit of
cable cars. Today the name reflects the
elevated train Loop, which connects — either directly or indirectly — to every line in the
CTA rapid transit system. Some of downtown's commercial, cultural, and financial institutions are located in the Loop.
North Side
The city's North Side (extending north of downtown along the lakefront) is the most densely populated residential section of the city. It contains public parkland and beaches stretching for miles along Lake Michigan to the city's northern border. Much of the North Side has benefited from an economic boom which began in the 1990s. For example, the
River North area, located just north of the Chicago River and the Loop, has undergone a transition from a warehouse district to an active commercial, residential, and entertainment hub, featuring the nation's largest concentration of contemporary art galleries outside of Manhattan. Just north of River North's galleries and bistros, demolition of the
CHA's
Cabrini-Green housing project began in 2003, being replaced by upscale townhomes.
South Side
The South Side (extending south of downtown along Lake Michigan) is the largest section of the city, encompassing roughly 60% of the city's land area. The section along the lake is marked with public parkland and beaches. The South Side has a higher ratio of single-family homes and also contains most of the city's industry.
Along with being the largest section of the city in terms of geography, the South Side is also home to two of the city's largest parades: the annual
Bud Billiken Day parade, which is held during the second weekend of August and celebrates children returning to school, and the
South Side Irish Parade, which is always held the Sunday prior to
Saint Patrick's Day, unless the holiday falls on a Sunday in which case the parade is held that day.
The South Side has two of Chicago's largest public parks.
Jackson Park, which hosted the
World's Columbian Exposition in 1893, is currently the site of the
Museum of Science and Industry. The park stretches along the lakefront, linking the neighborhoods of
Hyde Park and
South Shore.
Washington Park, which is connected to Jackson Park by the
Midway Plaisance, is currently being considered as the primary site of the Olympic Stadium for the
2016 Summer Olympics if Chicago wins the bid.
West Side
The West Side (extending west of downtown) is made up of neighborhoods such as
Austin,
Lawndale,
Garfield Park,
West Town, and
Humboldt Park among others. Some neighborhoods, particularly Garfield Park and Lawndale, have socio-economic problems including
urban decay and crime. Other West Side neighborhoods, especially those closer to downtown, have been experiencing a rise in property value.
Major parks on the West Side include Douglas Park, Garfield Park, and Humboldt Park.
Garfield Park Conservatory houses one of the largest collections of tropical plants of any U.S. city. Cultural attractions on the West Side include Humboldt Park's
Puerto Rican Day festival, and the
National Museum of Mexican Art in
Pilsen.
Parks
When Chicago incorporated in 1837 it chose the motto "Urbs in Horto" a
Latin phrase which translates into
English as "City in a Garden", and today the
Chicago Park District consists of 552 parks with over 7,300 acres (30 km²) of municipal parkland as well as 33 beaches, nine museums, two world-class conservatories, 16 historic lagoons and 10 bird and wildlife gardens.
Lincoln Park, the largest of these parks has over 20 million visitors each year, making it second only to
Central Park in
New York City. Nine lakefront harbors located within a number of parks along the lakefront render the
Chicago Park District the nation's largest municipal harbor system. In addition to ongoing beautification and renewal projects for existing parks, a number of new parks have been added in recent years such as
Ping Tom Memorial Park,
DuSable Park and most notably
Millennium Park. The wealth of greenspace afforded by Chicago's parks is further augmented by the
Cook County Forest Preserves, a network of open spaces containing
forest,
prairie,
wetland,
streams, and
lakes, that are set aside as natural areas which lie along the city's periphery which are also home to both the
Chicago Botanic Garden and
Brookfield Zoo.
Culture and contemporary life
The city's waterfront allure and nightlife has attracted residents and tourists alike. Over one-third of the city population is concentrated in the lakefront neighborhoods (from
Rogers Park in the north to
Hyde Park in the south). The North Side has a large
gay and lesbian community. Two North Side neighborhoods in particular, Lakeview and the Andersonville area of the Edgewater neighborhood, are home to many
LGBT businesses and organizations. The area adjacent to the North Side intersection of
Halsted and
Belmont is a gay neighborhood known to Chicagoans as "
Boys Town". The city has many upscale dining establishments as well as many ethnic restaurant districts. These include "Greektown" on South Halsted, "Little Italy" on Taylor Street, just west of Halsted, "Chinatown" on the near South Side, "Little Seoul" on and around Lawrence Avenue, a cluster of Vietnamese restaurants on Argyle Street and South Asian (Indian/Pakistani) on Devon Avenue.
Entertainment and performing arts
Chicago’s
theatre community spawned modern
improvisational theatre. Two renowned comedy troupes emerged —
The Second City and
I.O. (formerly known as ImprovOlympic). Renowned Chicago theater companies include the
Steppenwolf Theatre Company (on the city's north side), the
Goodman Theatre, and the
Victory Gardens Theater. Chicago offers Broadway-style entertainment at theatres such as
Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theatre,
LaSalle Bank Theatre,
Cadillac Palace Theatre,
Auditorium Building of Roosevelt University, and
Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place.
Polish language productions for Chicago's large Polish speaking population can be seen at the historic
Gateway Theatre in
Jefferson Park. Since 1968, the
Joseph Jefferson Awards are given annually to acknowledge excellence in theatre in the Chicago area.
Classical music offerings include the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, recognized as one of the finest orchestras in the world, which performs at
Symphony Center. In the summer, many outdoor concerts are given in
Grant Park and
Millennium Park.
Ravinia Park, located north of Chicago, is also a favorite destination for many Chicagoans, with performances occasionally given in Chicago locations such as the
Harris Theater. The
Civic Opera House is home to the
Lyric Opera of Chicago.
The
Joffrey Ballet and
Chicago Festival Ballet perform in various venues, including the
Harris Theater in
Millennium Park. Chicago is home to several other modern and jazz dance troupes, such as the
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.
Other live music genre which are part of the city's cultural heritage include
Chicago blues,
Chicago soul,
jazz, and
gospel. The city is the birthplace of
house music and is the site of an influential
hip-hop scene. In the 1980s, the city was a center for industrial,
punk and new wave. This influence continued into the
alternative rock of the 1990s. The city has been an epicenter for
rave culture since the 1980s. A flourishing independent rock music culture brought forth Chicago
indie. Annual festivals feature various acts such as
Lollapalooza, the
Intonation Music Festival and
Pitchfork Music Festival.
Many notable celebrities and entertainment figures are associated with Chicago. (For listing see
List of people from Chicago).
Tourism
Chicago attracted a combined 44.17 million people in 2006 from around the nation and abroad. Upscale shopping along the
Magnificent Mile, thousands of restaurants, as well as Chicago's eminent architecture, continue to draw tourists. The city is the United States' third-largest convention destination. Most conventions are held at
McCormick Place, just south of
Soldier Field.
Navy Pier, 3,000 feet (900 m) long, houses retail, restaurants, museums, exhibition halls, and auditoriums. Its tall
Ferris wheel is north of
Grant Park on the lakefront and is one of the most visited landmarks in the Midwest, attracting about 8 million people annually.
The historic
Chicago Cultural Center (1897), originally serving as the Chicago Public Library, now houses the city's Visitor Information Center, galleries, and exhibit halls. The ceiling of Preston Bradley Hall includes a 38-foot (11 m)
Tiffany glass dome.
Millennium Park, initially slated to be unveiled at the turn of the 21st century, and delayed for several years, sits on a deck built over a portion of the former Illinois Central rail yard. The park includes the reflective
Cloud Gate sculpture (known locally as "The Bean"). A Millennium Park restaurant outdoor transforms into an
ice rink in the winter. Two tall glass sculptures make up the
Crown Fountain. The fountain's two towers display visual effects from LED images of Chicagoans' faces, with water spouting from their lips.
Frank Gehry's detailed stainless steel band shell,
Pritzker Pavilion, hosts the classical Grant Park Music Festival concert series. Behind the pavilion's stage is the
Harris Theater for Music and Dance, an indoor venue for mid-sized performing arts companies, including Chicago Opera Theater and Music of the Baroque.
In 1998, the city officially opened the
Museum Campus, a 10-
acre (4-
ha) lakefront park surrounding three of the city's main museums: the
Adler Planetarium, the
Field Museum of Natural History, and the
Shedd Aquarium. The Museum Campus joins the southern section of
Grant Park which includes the renowned
Art Institute of Chicago.
Buckingham Fountain anchors the downtown park along the lakefront. During the summer of 2007, Grant Park hosts the public art exhibit, .
The
Oriental Institute, part of the
University of Chicago, has an extensive collection of
ancient Egyptian and
Near Eastern archaeological artifacts. Other museums and galleries in Chicago are the
Chicago History Museum,
DuSable Museum of African-American History,
Museum of Contemporary Art, the
Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, and the
Polish Museum of America.
Numerous Forest Preserves scattered around the Chicago area, along with the
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in neighboring
Northwest Indiana, provide additional recreational opportunities.
Cuisine
Chicago can lay claim to a number of regional specialties, all of which reflect the city's ethnic and
working class roots. Included among these are its nationally renowned
deep-dish pizza, although locally the Chicago thin crust is also equally popular; the
Chicago-style hot dog, typically a
Vienna Beef dog loaded with an array of fixings that often includes Chicago's own neon green pickle
relish, yellow mustard, pickled
sport peppers, tomato wedges, dill pickle spear and topped off with celery salt (ketchup on a Chicago hot dog is typically frowned upon). There are two other distinctly Chicago sandwiches that can be found at eateries throughout the area: The
Italian beef sandwich, which is thinly sliced beef slowly simmered in an
au jus served on an Italian roll with sweet peppers or spicy
giardiniera; and the
Maxwell Street Polish, which is a
kielbasa — typically from either the Vienna Beef Company or the Bobak Sausage Company — on a hot dog roll, topped with grilled onions, yellow mustard and the optional sport peppers.
Chicago's standing in the culinary world isn't limited to 'street food', however. Featuring a number of celebrity chefs — a list which includes
Charlie Trotter,
Rick Tramonto,
Jean Joho,
Grant Achatz, and
Rick Bayless, Chicago has in recent decades developed into one of the world's premiere restaurant cities.
The grand tour of Chicago cuisine culminates annually in
Grant Park at the
Taste of Chicago, a festival that runs from the final week of June through
Fourth of July weekend. 'The Taste', as it's abbreviated by locals, showcases Chicago's ethnic dining diversity as well as all the locally favorite stalwarts (see above). Booths representing myriad local eateries form the centerpiece of the city's largest festival, which draws millions each summer to sample the cuisine, while enjoying free concerts and fireworks.
Sports
Chicago was named the
Best Sports City in the
United States by
The Sporting News in 2006.
The city is home to two
Major League Baseball teams: the
Chicago Cubs of the
National League play on the city's North Side, in
Wrigley Field, while the
Chicago White Sox of the
American League play in
U.S. Cellular Field on the city's South Side. The White Sox recently won the Major League Baseball
World Series in 2005. The
Chicago Bears, one of the two remaining charter members of the
NFL, have won nine
NFL Championships. The Bears play their home games at
Soldier Field on Chicago's lakefront.
Due in large part to
Michael Jordan, the
Chicago Bulls of the
NBA are one of the most recognized
basketball teams in the world. With Jordan leading them, the Bulls took six NBA championships in eight seasons during the 1990s. The
Chicago Blackhawks of the
NHL, who began play in 1926 have won three
Stanley Cups. Both the Bulls and Blackhawks play at the
United Center on the Near West Side. The
Chicago Sky of the
WNBA, began play in 2006. The Sky's home arena is the
UIC Pavilion.
The
Chicago Fire soccer club are members of the
MLS. The Fire have won one league and four
US Open Cups since their inaugural season in 1998. In 2006, the club moved to its current home,
Toyota Park, in suburban
Bridgeview after playing its first eight seasons downtown at Soldier Field and at
Cardinal Stadium in
Naperville. The club is now the third professional soccer team to call Chicago home, the first two being the
Chicago Sting of the
NASL (and later the indoor team of the
MISL); and the
Chicago Power of the
NPSL-AISA. The Chicago Rush, of the Arena Football League, also plays in Chicago.
The
Chicago Marathon has been held every October since 1977. This event is one of five
World Marathon Majors.
Chicago was selected on
April 14 2007 to represent the
United States internationally in the
bidding for the
2016 Summer Olympics. Chicago also hosted the
1959 Pan American Games, and
Gay Games VII in 2006. Chicago was selected to host the 1904 Olympics, but they were transferred to
St. Louis to coincide with the World's Fair.
Chicago is also the starting point for the
Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac, a offshore sailboat race held each July that's the longest annual freshwater sailboat race in the world. 2008 marks the 100th running of the "Mac."
Media
North America (after
New York City and
Los Angeles). Each of the big four (CBS, ABC, NBC, and FOX)
United States television networks directly owns and operates a station in Chicago.
WGN-TV, which is owned by the
Tribune Company, is carried (with some programming differences) as "
Superstation WGN" on
cable nationwide. The city is also the home of
The Oprah Winfrey Show and
Jerry Springer, while
Chicago Public Radio produces programs such as
PRI's
This American Life and
NPR's
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!.
There are two major daily
newspapers published in Chicago: the
Chicago Tribune and the
Chicago Sun-Times, with the former having the larger circulation. There are also several regional and special-interest newspapers such as the
Chicago Reader, the
Daily Southtown, the
Chicago Defender, the
Chicago Sports Weekly, the
Daily Herald,
StreetWise,
The Chicago Free Press and the
Windy City Times.
Economy
Chicago has the third largest
gross metropolitan product in the nation — approximately
$442 billion according to 2007 estimates. The city has also been rated as having the most balanced economy in the United States, due to its high level of diversification. Chicago was named the fourth most important business center in the world in the MasterCard Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index. Additionally, the Chicago metropolitan area recorded the greatest number of new or expanded corporate facilities in the United States for six of the past seven years. In 2006, Chicago placed 10th on the
UBS list of the world's richest cities.
Chicago is a major financial center with the
second largest central business district in the U.S. The city is the headquarters of the
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (the Seventh District of the Federal Reserve). The city is also home to three major financial and
futures exchanges, including the
Chicago Stock Exchange, the
Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and the
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (the "Merc"), which includes the former
Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). Perhaps due to the influence of the
Chicago school of economics, the city also has markets trading unusual contracts such as
emissions (on the
Chicago Climate Exchange) and
equity style indices (on the
US Futures Exchange).
In addition to the exchanges, Chicago and the surrounding areas house many major brokerage firms and insurance companies, such as
Allstate and Zurich North America. The city and its surrounding metropolitan area are home to the second largest labor pool in the United States with approximately 4.25 million workers. Chicago has the largest high-technology and information-technology industry employment in the United States.
Manufacturing,
printing,
publishing, and food processing also play major roles in the city's economy. Several medical products and services companies are headquartered in the Chicago area, including
Baxter International,
Abbott Laboratories, and the Healthcare Financial Services division of
General Electric. Moreover, the construction of the
Illinois and Michigan Canal, which helped move goods from the
Great Lakes south on the
Mississippi River, and of the
railroads in the 19th century made the city a major transportation center in the United States. In the 1840s, Chicago became a major
grain port, and in the 1850s and 1860s Chicago's pork and beef industry expanded. As the major meat companies grew in Chicago many, such as
Armour and Company, created global enterprises. Though the meatpacking industry currently plays a lesser role in the city's economy,Chicago continues to be a major transportation and distribution center. Early in the 20th Century, Chicago was part of the
automobile revolution, hosting the
brass era car builder
Bugmobile, which was founded there in 1907.
Chicago is also a major convention destination. The city's main convention center is
McCormick Place. With its four interconnected buildings, it's the third largest convention center in the world. Chicago also ranks third in the U.S. (behind
Las Vegas and
Orlando) in number of conventions hosted annually. In addition, Chicago is home to eleven
Fortune 500 companies, while the metropolitan area hosts an additional 21 Fortune 500 companies. The state of Illinois is home to 66
Fortune 1000 companies. Chicago also hosts 12 Fortune Global 500 companies and 17 Financial Times 500 companies. The city claims one
Dow 30 company as well:
aerospace giant
Boeing, which moved its headquarters from
Seattle to the
Chicago Loop in 2001.
Demographics
City of Chicago
Population by year |
Census
year |
Population |
Rank |
> |
| 1840 |
4,470 |
92 |
| 1850 |
29,963 |
24 |
| 1860 |
112,172 |
9 |
| 1870 |
298,977 |
5 |
| 1880 |
503,185 |
4 |
| 1890 |
1,099,850 |
2 |
| 1900 |
1,698,575 |
2 |
| 1910 |
2,185,283 |
2 |
| 1920 |
2,701,705 |
2 |
| 1930 |
3,376,438 |
2 |
| 1940 |
3,396,808 |
2 |
| 1950 |
3,620,962 |
2 |
| 1960 |
3,550,404 |
2 |
| 1970 |
3,366,957 |
2 |
| 1980 |
3,005,072 |
2 |
| 1990 |
2,783,726 |
3 |
| 2000 |
2,896,016 |
3 |
| 2003 |
2,869,121 |
3 |
| 2006 |
2,873,790 |
3 |
A 2006 estimate puts the city's population at 2,873,790. As of the
2000 census, there were 2,896,016 people, 1,061,928 households, and 632,909 families residing within Chicago. More than half the population of the state of Illinois lives in the Chicago metropolitan area. The
population density of the city itself was 12,750.3 people per square mile (4,923.0/km²), making it one of the nation's most densely populated cities. There were 1,152,868 housing units at an average density of 5,075.8 per square mile (1,959.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 41.97%
White (31.32% White Non-Hispanic), 36.77%
African American, 4.35%
Asian, 0.06%
Pacific Islander, 0.36%
Native American, 13.58% from
other races, and 2.92% from two or more races. 26.02% of the population were
Hispanic of any race. 21.72% of the population was foreign born; of this, 56.29% came from Latin America, 23.13% from Europe, 17.96% from Asia and 2.62% from other parts of the world.
Of the 1,061,928 households, 28.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.1% were
married couples living together, 18.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.4% were non-families. Of all households, 32.6% are made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.50.
Of the city population, 26.2% are under the age of 18, 11.2% are from 18 to 24, 33.4% are from 25 to 44, 18.9% are from 45 to 64, and 10.3% are 65 years of age or older. The
median age is 32 years. For every 100 females there were 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $38,625, and the median income for a family was $46,748. Males had a median income of $35,907 versus $30,536 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $20,175. Below the
poverty line are 19.6% of the population and 16.6% of the families. Of the total population, 28.1% of those under the age of 18 and 15.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Chicago's largest white ethnic community are of
German origin. When the Great Plains opened up for settlement in the 1830s and '40s, many German immigrants stopped in Chicago to earn some money before moving on to claim a homestead. Those with skills in demand in the city could — and often did — stay. From 1850, when Germans constituted one-sixth of Chicago's population, until the turn of the century, people of German descent constituted the largest ethnic group in the city, followed by Irish, Poles, and Swedes. In 1900, 470,000 Chicagoans — one out of every four residents — had either been born in Germany or had a parent born there. By 1920 their numbers had dropped because of reduced emigration from Germany but also because it had become unpopular to acknowledge a German heritage, although 22 percent of Chicago's population still did so.
Chicago also has a large
Irish American population on its South Side. Many of the city’s politicians have come from this population, including current mayor
Richard M. Daley. Historically, and to this day, there has been particularly substantial
Irish American presence in Chicago's Fire and Police Departments.
Chicago has one of the largest concentrations of
Italian Americans in the US, with more than 500,000 living in the metropolitan area. Chicago has the third largest Italian American population in the United States, behind only
New York and
Philadelphia. Chicago's Italian community has historically been based along the
Taylor Street and
Grand Avenue corridors on the West Side of the city, there are significant Italian populations scattered throughout the city and surrounding suburbs. While the best-known Chicagoan of Italian descent is probably still
Al Capone, Italian Americans have contributed tremendously in many ways to Chicago's cultural, political, civic and economic scene.
Other prevalent
European ethnic groups include the
Poles,
Germans,
Czechs, and
Ukrainians. There is a large
African American population located mostly on Chicago’s South and West Sides. The Chicago metropolitan area has the second largest African American population, behind only
New York City. Chicago has the largest population of
Swedish Americans of any city in the U.S. with approximately 123,000. After the
Great Chicago Fire, many Swedish carpenters helped to rebuild the city, which led to the saying "the Swedes built Chicago." Swedish influence is particularly evident in
Andersonville on the far north side.
Poles in Chicago make up the largest ethnically
Polish population of any city outside of
Poland (second only to
Warsaw) making it one of the most important centers of
Polonia, a fact that the city celebrates every
Labor Day weekend at the
Taste of Polonia Festival in
Jefferson Park. The
Southwest Side is home to the largest concentration of
Gorals (
Carpathian highlanders) outside of
Europe. The southwest side is also the location of the
Polish Highlanders Alliance of North America.
The city has a large population of
Bulgarians (about 150,000),
Lithuanians, the second largest
Serbian, and the third largest
Greek population of any city in the world. Chicago has a large
Romanian American community with more than 100,000, as well as a large
Assyrian population with about 80,000. The city is the seat of the head of the
Assyrian Church of the East,
Mar Dinkha IV, the
Evangelical Covenant Church, and the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America headquarters.
Chicago has the third-largest South Asian population in the United States, especially many
Indians and
Pakistanis who live in the city. The
Devon Avenue corridor on the north side is one of the largest South Asian neighborhoods/markets in
North America. Chicago has the second-largest
Puerto Rican population in the continental United States, after New York City, and the second largest Mexican population in the United States after
Los Angeles. There are about 185,000 Arabs in Cook County with another 75,000 in the five surrounding counties. Chicago is the center of the
Palestinian and
Jordanian immigrant communities in the United States.
Law and government
Chicago is the
county seat of
Cook County. The government of the City of Chicago is divided into
executive and
legislative branches. The
Mayor of Chicago is the
chief executive, elected by general election for a term of four years. The mayor appoints commissioners and other officials who oversee the various departments. In addition to the mayor, Chicago's two other citywide elected officials are the clerk and the treasurer.
The
City Council is the legislative branch and is made up of 50 aldermen, one elected from each
ward in the city. The council enacts local ordinances and approves the city budget. Government priorities and activities are established in a budget ordinance usually adopted each November. The council takes official action through the passage of ordinances and resolutions.
During much of the last half of the 19th century, Chicago's politics were dominated by a growing
Democratic Party organization dominated by ethnic ward-heelers. During the 1880s and 1890s, Chicago had a powerful radical tradition with large and highly organized
socialist,
anarchist and labor organizations. For much of the 20th century, Chicago has been among the largest and most reliable Democratic strongholds in the United States, with Chicago's Democratic vote totals leading the state of Illinois to be "
solid blue" in
presidential elections since 1992. The citizens of Chicago have not elected a
Republican mayor since 1927, when
William Thompson was voted into office. The strength of the party in the city is partly a consequence of Illinois state politics, where the Republicans have come to represent the rural and farm concerns while the Democrats support urban issues such as Chicago's public school funding. Although Chicago includes less than 25% of the state's population, eight of Illinois' nineteen
U.S. Representatives have part of the city in their
districts.
Former Chicago Mayor
Richard J. Daley's mastery of
machine politics preserved the
Cook County Democratic Organization long after the demise of similar machines in other large U.S. cities. During much of that time, the city administration found opposition mainly from a liberal "independent" faction of the Democratic Party. The independents finally gained control of city government in 1983 with the election of
Harold Washington. Since Washington's death, Chicago has since been under the leadership of
Richard M. Daley, the son of Richard J. Daley. Because of the dominance of the Democratic Party in Chicago, the Democratic
primary vote held in the spring is generally more significant than the general elections in November.
Crime
Chicago has experienced a decline in overall crime since the 1990s. Murders in the city peaked first in 1974, with 970 murders when the city's population was over three million people (resulting in a murder rate of around 29 per 100,000), and again in 1992 with 943 murders, resulting in a murder rate of 34 per 100,000. After adopting crime-fighting techniques recommended by
Los Angeles and
New York City Police Departments in 2004, Chicago recorded 448
homicides, the lowest total since 1965 (15.65 per 100,000.) Chicago's homicide tally remained steady throughout 2005, 2006, and 2007 with 449, 452, and 435 respectively, and the overall crime rate in 2006 continued the downward trend that has taken place since the early 1990s.
Education
There are 680 public schools, 394 private schools, 83 colleges, and 88 libraries in Chicago proper.
(External Link
)
Public schools
district that contains over 600 public elementary and high schools citywide, including several selective-admission magnet schools. The school district, with an enrollment exceeding 400,000 students (2005 stat.), ranks as third largest in the U.S. CPS is currently overseen by
CEO Arne Duncan.
Private schools
The
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago operates the city's
Roman Catholic schools. Among the more well-known private schools in Chicago are the
Latin School and
Francis W. Parker School in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, as well as the
University of Chicago Laboratory Schools in Hyde Park and the
Ida Crown Jewish Academy in
West Rogers Park.
Colleges and universities
Since the 1890s, Chicago has been a world center in higher education and research. Three universities in or immediately adjoining the city,
Northwestern University, the
University of Illinois at Chicago, and the
University of Chicago, are among the top echelon ("RU/VH") of doctorate-granting research universities according to the
Carnegie Classification system.
Northwestern University, an elite private university of national prominence, is located in the adjacent northern
suburb of
Evanston. Northwestern also maintains a downtown campus, with the
Feinberg School of Medicine and
School of Law, both being located in the city's
Streeterville neighborhood.
The
University of Chicago, one of the world's most distinguished universities, is located in
Hyde Park on the city's South Side. The university is associated with 81
Nobel Prize Laureates. The university's
School of Business maintains a campus in downtown Chicago.
The
University of Illinois at Chicago, a nationally ranked public research institution, is the city's largest university.
(External Link) UIC boasts the nation's
largest medical school.
(External Link)
Lake Forest College http://lakeforest.edu is Chicago's national liberal arts college. Located 30 miles north of the city on the shores of Lake Michigan, Lake Forest is home to more than 1400 undergraduate students from nearly every state in the country and 65 nations around the world.
The
Illinois Institute of Technology main campus in
Bronzeville has renowned engineering and architecture programs and was host to world-famous modern architect
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for many years, and the IIT
Stuart School of Business and
Chicago-Kent College of Law are located downtown in the financial district.
Prominent
Catholic universities in Chicago include
Loyola University and
DePaul University. Loyola, which has campuses both on the North Side as well as downtown, and a Medical Center in the west suburban
Maywood, is the largest
Jesuit university in the country while DePaul is the largest Catholic university in the U.S.
The Chicago area has the largest concentration of seminaries and theological schools outside the
Vatican. The city is home to the
Catholic Theological Union,
Chicago Theological Seminary,
Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago,
McCormick Theological Seminary,
Meadville Lombard Theological School,
North Park Theological Seminary, the
Divinity School of the
University of Chicago, and the
Moody Bible Institute.
State funded universities in Chicago (besides UIC) include
Chicago State University and
Northeastern Illinois University. The city also has a large
community college system known as the
City Colleges of Chicago.
Founded on the principles of social justice,
Roosevelt University was named in honor of president Franklin D. Roosevelt, two weeks after his death. It houses the Theatre and Music Conservatories under the
Chicago College of Performing Arts.
Rush Medical College, now part of
Rush University, was the first institution of higher learning chartered in Illinois and one of the first medical schools to open west of the Alleghenies. The school received its charter on
March 2, 1837, two days before the city of Chicago was incorporated.
Fine and
performing arts programs in Chicago may be pursued at numerous accredited institutions, which include
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago,
The American Academy of Art and
Columbia College Chicago.
The
Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago, became affiliated with
Le Cordon Bleu of
Paris in June 2000.
Infrastructure
Health systems
Chicago is home to the
Illinois Medical District on the Near West Side. It includes
Rush University Medical Center, the
University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago, and
John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, the largest trauma-center in the city.
The
University of Chicago operates the
University of Chicago Medical Center, which was ranked the fourteenth best
hospital in the country by
U.S. News & World Report. It is the only hospital in
Illinois ever to be included in the magazine's "Honor Roll" of the best hospitals in the
United States.
The
University of Illinois College of Medicine at
UIC is the largest medical school in the United States (1300 students, including those at campuses in
Peoria,
Rockford and
Urbana-Champaign). Chicago is also home to other nationally recognized medical schools including
Rush Medical College, the
Pritzker School of Medicine of the
University of Chicago, and the
Feinberg School of Medicine of
Northwestern University. In addition, the
Chicago Medical School and
Loyola University Chicago's Stritch School of Medicine are located in the suburbs of
North Chicago and
Maywood, respectively. The
Midwestern University Chicago College of
Osteopathic Medicine is in
Downers Grove.
The
American Medical Association,
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education,
Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education,
American Osteopathic Association,
American Dental Association,
Academy of General Dentistry,
American Dietetic Association,
American College of Surgeons,
American Society for Clinical Pathology,
American College of Healthcare Executives and the
American Hospital Association are all based in Chicago.
Transportation
Chicago is a major transportation hub in the United States. It is an important component in global distribution, as it's the third largest inter-modal port in the world after
Hong Kong and
Singapore. Additionally, it's the only city in North America in which six
Class I railroads meet.
Chicago is one of the largest hubs of passenger rail service in the nation. Many
Amtrak long distance services originate from
Union Station. Such services provide connections to New York,
Seattle,
New Orleans,
San Francisco,
Los Angeles and
Washington, D.C. Amtrak also provides a number of short-haul services throughout Illinois and toward nearby
Milwaukee,
Indiana and
Detroit.
Nine
interstate highways run through Chicago and its suburbs. Segments that link to the city center are named after influential politicians, with four of them named after former U.S. Presidents. Traffic reports tend to use the names rather than interstate numbers.
The
Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) coordinates the operation of the three service boards: CTA, Metra, and Pace. The
Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) handles public transportation in Chicago and a few adjacent suburbs. The CTA operates an extensive network of buses and a
rapid transit system known locally as the
"L" (for "elevated"), with several lines designated by colors, and that also includes service to both
Midway Airport and
O'Hare Airport. The CTA's
heavy rail transit lines consist of the Red, Blue, Green, Orange, Brown, Purple, Pink, and Yellow lines. Both the Red and Blue lines offer 24 hour service which makes Chicago one of the few cities in the world to offer 24 hour rail service. A new Circle Line is also in the planning stages by the CTA.
Pace provides bus and
paratransit service in over 200 surrounding suburbs with some extensions into the city as well. Bicycles are permitted on all CTA and Metra trains during non-rush hours and on all buses 24 hours.
Metra operates commuter rail service in Chicago and its suburbs. The
Metra Electric Line shares the railway with the South Shore Line's
NICTD Northern Indiana Commuter Rail Service, providing commuter service between
South Bend and Chicago.
Chicago offers a wide array of bicycle transportation facilities, such as miles of on-street bike lanes, 10,000 bike racks, and a state-of-the-art central bicycle commuter station in Millennium Park. The city has a on-street bicycle lane network that's maintained by the Chicago Department of Transportation
Bike Program and the
Chicagoland Bicycle Federation. In addition, trails dedicated to bikes only are built throughout the city.
Chicago is served by
Midway International Airport on the south side and
O'Hare International Airport, one of the world's busiest airports,
