The nameChicago is derived from a French rendering of theindigenousMiami–Illinois nameŠikaakonki, the locative form of the wordšikaakwa which can mean both "skunk" and "ramps," a wild relative ofonion andgarlic known to botanists asAllium tricoccum.[22] The first known reference to the site of the city of Chicago as "Checagou" was byRobert de LaSalle around 1679 in a memoir.[23]Henri Joutel, in his journal of 1688, noted that the eponymous wild "garlic" grew profusely in the area.[24] According to his diary of late September 1687:
... when we arrived at the said place called "Chicagou" which, according to what we were able to learn of it, has taken this name because of the quantity of garlic which grows in the forests in this region.[24]
The city has hadseveral nicknames throughout its history, such as theWindy City, Chi-Town, Second City, and City of the Big Shoulders.[25]
In the mid-18th century, the area was inhabited by thePotawatomi, an indigenous tribe who had succeeded theMiami,Sauk andMeskwaki peoples in this region.[26]
In 1795, following the victory of the new United States in theNorthwest Indian War, an area that was to be part of Chicago was turned over to the U.S. for a military post by native tribes in accordance with theTreaty of Greenville. In 1803, theU.S. Army constructedFort Dearborn, which was destroyed during theWar of 1812 in theBattle of Fort Dearborn by the Potawatomi before being later rebuilt.[30]
State andMadison streets, once known as the busiest intersection in the world (1897)
On August 12, 1833, the Town of Chicago was organized with a population of about 200.[33] Within seven years it grew to more than 6,000 people. On June 15, 1835, the first public land sales began withEdmund Dick Taylor as Receiver of Public Monies. The City of Chicago was incorporated on Saturday, March 4, 1837,[34] and for several decades was the world's fastest-growing city.[35]
A flourishing economy brought residents from rural communities andimmigrants from abroad. Manufacturing and retail and finance sectors became dominant, influencing theAmerican economy.[41] TheChicago Board of Trade (established 1848) listed the first-ever standardized "exchange-traded" forward contracts, which were calledfutures contracts.[42]
In the 1850s, Chicago gained national political prominence as the home of SenatorStephen Douglas, the champion of theKansas–Nebraska Act and the "popular sovereignty" approach to the issue of the spread of slavery.[43] These issues also helped propel another Illinoisan,Abraham Lincoln, to the national stage. Lincoln was nominated in Chicago for U.S. president at the1860 Republican National Convention, which was held in a purpose-built auditorium called theWigwam. He defeated Douglas in the general election, and this set the stage for theAmerican Civil War.
To accommodaterapid population growth and demand for better sanitation, the city improved its infrastructure. In February 1856, Chicago's Common Council approvedChesbrough's plan to build the United States' first comprehensive sewerage system.[44] The projectraised much of central Chicago to a new grade with the use ofjackscrews for raising buildings.[45] While elevating Chicago, and at first improving the city's health, the untreated sewage and industrial waste now flowed into theChicago River, and subsequently intoLake Michigan, polluting the city's primary freshwater source.
The city responded by tunneling two miles (3.2 km) out into Lake Michigan to newly builtwater cribs. In 1900, the problem of sewage contamination was largely resolved when the city completed a major engineering feat. It reversed the flow of the Chicago River so that the water flowed away from Lake Michigan rather than into it. This project began with the construction and improvement of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, and was completed with theChicago Sanitary and Ship Canal that connects to theIllinois River, which flows into the Mississippi River.[46][47][48]
On October 8, 1871, theGreat Chicago Fire destroyed an area about 4 miles (6.4 km) long and 1-mile (1.6 km) wide, a large section of the city at the time. At least 300 people were killed and over 100,000 were left homeless from the fire.[49][50][51] However, much of the city, including railroads andstockyards, survived intact,[52] and from the ruins of the previous wooden structures arose more modern constructions of steel and stone. These set a precedent for worldwide construction.[53][54] During its rebuilding period, Chicago constructed the world'sfirst skyscraper in 1885, usingsteel-skeleton construction.[55][56]
The city grew significantly in size and population by incorporating many neighboring townships between 1851 and 1920, with the largest annexation happening in 1889, with five townships joining the city, including theHyde Park Township, which now comprises most of theSouth Side of Chicago and the far southeast of Chicago, and theJefferson Township, which now makes up most ofChicago's Northwest Side.[57] The desire to join the city was driven by municipal services that the city could provide its residents.
Chicago's flourishing economy attracted huge numbers of new immigrants fromEurope and migrants from theEastern United States. Of the total population in 1900, more than 77% were either foreign-born or born in the United States of foreign parentage.Germans,Irish,Poles,Swedes, andCzechs made up nearly two-thirds of the foreign-born population (by 1900, whites were 98.1% of the city's population).[58][59]
Labor conflicts followed the industrial boom and the rapid expansion of the labor pool during theGilded Age, including theHaymarket affair on May 4, 1886, and in 1894 thePullman Strike. Anarchist and socialist groups played prominent roles in creating very large and highly organized labor actions. Concern for social problems among Chicago's immigrant poor ledJane Addams andEllen Gates Starr to foundHull House in 1889.[60] Programs that were developed there became a model for the new field ofsocial work.[61]
During the 1870s and 1880s, Chicago attained national stature as the leader in the movement to improve public health. City laws and later, state laws that upgraded standards for the medical profession and fought urban epidemics ofcholera,smallpox, andyellow fever were both passed and enforced. These laws became templates for public health reform in other cities and states.[62]
The city established many large, well-landscapedmunicipal parks, which also included public sanitation facilities. The chief advocate for improving public health in Chicago wasJohn H. Rauch, M.D. Rauch established a plan for Chicago's park system in 1866. He createdLincoln Park by closing a cemetery filled with shallow graves, and in 1867, in response to an outbreak of cholera he helped establish a new Chicago Board of Health. Ten years later, he became the secretary and then the president of the first Illinois State Board of Health, which carried out most of its activities in Chicago.[63]
In the 1800s, Chicago became the nation's railroad hub, and by 1910 over 20 railroads operated passenger service out of six different downtown terminals.[64][65] In 1883, Chicago's railway managers needed a general time convention, so they developed the standardized system of North Americantime zones.[66] This system for telling time spread throughout the continent.
In 1893, Chicago hosted theWorld's Columbian Exposition on former marshland at the present location ofJackson Park. The Exposition drew 27.5 million visitors, and is considered the most influentialworld's fair in history.[67][68] TheUniversity of Chicago, formerly at another location, moved to the same South Side location in 1892. The term "midway" for a fair or carnival referred originally to theMidway Plaisance, a strip of park land that still runs through the University of Chicago campus and connects theWashington and Jackson Parks.[69][70]
20th and 21st centuries
1900 to 1939
Aerial motion film photography of Chicago in 1914 as filmed byA. Roy Knabenshue
DuringWorld War I and the 1920s there was a major expansion in industry. The availability of jobs attracted African Americans from theSouthern United States. Between 1910 and 1930, the African American population of Chicago increased dramatically, from 44,103 to 233,903.[71] ThisGreat Migration had an immense cultural impact, called theChicago Black Renaissance, part of theNew Negro Movement, in art, literature, and music.[72] Continuing racial tensions and violence in the city, such as theChicago race riot of 1919, also occurred.[73]
The ratification of the 18th amendment to the Constitution in 1919 made the production and sale (including exportation) of alcoholic beverages illegal in the United States. This ushered in the beginning of what is known as the gangster era, a time that roughly spans from 1919 until 1933 whenProhibition was repealed. The 1920s sawgangsters, includingAl Capone,Dion O'Banion,Bugs Moran andTony Accardo battle law enforcement and each other on the streets of Chicago during theProhibition era.[74] Chicago was the location of the infamousSt. Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929, when Al Capone sent men to gun down members of a rival gang, North Side, led by Bugs Moran, leaving seven rival members dead.[75]
Chicago tenants picket against rent increases (March 1920)
From 1920 to 1921,the city was affected by a series of tenant rent strikes, which led to the formation of the Chicago Tenants Protective association, passage of the Kessenger tenant laws, and of a heat ordinance that legally required flats to be kept above 68 °F during winter months by landlords.[76][77][78][79][80][81]
Chicago was the first American city to have a homosexual-rights organization. The organization, formed in 1924, was called theSociety for Human Rights. It produced the first American publication for homosexuals,Friendship and Freedom. Police and political pressure caused the organization to disband.[82]
The Great Depression brought unprecedented suffering to Chicago, in no small part due to the city's heavy reliance on heavy industry. Notably, industrial areas on the south side and neighborhoods lining both branches of the Chicago River were devastated; by 1933 over 50% of industrial jobs in the city had been lost, and unemployment rates amongst blacks and Mexicans in the city were over 40%. The Republican political machine in Chicago was utterly destroyed by the economic crisis, and every mayor since 1931 has been aDemocrat.[83]
From 1928 to 1933, the city witnessed a tax revolt, and the city was unable to meet payroll or provide relief efforts. The fiscal crisis was resolved by 1933, and at the same time, federal relief funding began to flow into Chicago.[83] Chicago was also a hotbed of labor activism, withUnemployed Councils contributing heavily in the early depression to create solidarity for the poor and demand relief; these organizations were created by socialist and communist groups. By 1935 theWorkers Alliance of America began organizing the poor, workers, the unemployed. In the spring of 1937 Republic Steel Works witnessed theMemorial Day massacre of 1937 in the neighborhood of East Side.
TheChicago Picasso (1967) inspired a new era in urban public art.
DuringWorld War II, the city of Chicago alone produced more steel than the United Kingdom every year from 1939 – 1945, and more thanNazi Germany from 1943 – 1945.[86]
The Great Migration, which had been on pause due to the Depression, resumed at an even faster pace in thesecond wave, as hundreds of thousands of blacks from the South arrived in the city to work in the steel mills, railroads, and shipping yards.[87]
On December 2, 1942, physicistEnrico Fermi conducted the world's first controllednuclear reaction at the University of Chicago as part of the top-secretManhattan Project. This led to the creation of the atomic bomb by the United States, which it used inWorld War II in 1945.[88]
MayorRichard J. Daley, a Democrat, was elected in 1955, in the era ofmachine politics. In 1956, the city conducted its last major expansion when it annexed the land under O'Hare airport, including a small portion of DuPage County.[89]
By the 1960s, white residents in several neighborhoods left the city for the suburban areas – in many American cities, a process known aswhite flight – as Blacks continued to move beyond theBlack Belt.[90] While home loan discriminatoryredlining against blacks continued, the real estate industry practiced what became known asblockbusting, completely changing the racial composition of whole neighborhoods.[91] Structural changes in industry, such as globalization and job outsourcing, caused heavy job losses for lower-skilled workers. At its peak during the 1960s, some 250,000 workers were employed in the steel industry in Chicago, but the steel crisis of the 1970s and 1980s reduced this number to just 28,000 in 2015. In 1966,Martin Luther King Jr. andAlbert Raby led theChicago Freedom Movement, which culminated in agreements between Mayor Richard J. Daley and the movement leaders.[92]
Two years later, the city hosted the tumultuous1968 Democratic National Convention, which featured physical confrontations both inside and outside the convention hall, with anti-war protesters, journalists and bystanders being beaten by police.[93] Major construction projects, including the Sears Tower (now known as theWillis Tower, which in 1974 became theworld's tallest building),University of Illinois at Chicago,McCormick Place, andO'Hare International Airport, were undertaken during Richard J. Daley's tenure.[94] In 1979,Jane Byrne, the city's first female mayor, was elected. She was notable for temporarily moving into the crime-riddenCabrini-Green housing project and for leading Chicago's school system out of a financial crisis.[95]
1980 to present
In 1983,Harold Washington became the first black mayor of Chicago. Washington's first term in office directed attention to poor and previously neglected minority neighborhoods. He was re‑elected in 1987 but died of a heart attack soon after.[96] Washington was succeeded by 6th ward alderpersonEugene Sawyer, who was elected by the Chicago City Council and served until a special election.
Richard M. Daley, son of Richard J. Daley, was elected in 1989. His accomplishments included improvements to parks and creating incentives forsustainable development, as well as closingMeigs Field in the middle of the night and destroying the runways. After successfully running for re-election five times, and becoming Chicago's longest-serving mayor, Richard M. Daley declined to run for a seventh term.[97][98]
In 1992, a construction accident near theKinzie Street Bridge produced a breach connecting the Chicago River to a tunnel below, which was part of anabandoned freight tunnel system extending throughout the downtownLoop district. Thetunnels filled with 250 million US gallons (1,000,000 m3) of water, affecting buildings throughout the district and forcing a shutdown of electrical power.[99] The area was shut down for three days and some buildings did not reopen for weeks; losses were estimated at $1.95 billion.[99]
On February 23, 2011,Rahm Emanuel, a formerWhite House Chief of Staff and member of theHouse of Representatives, won the mayoral election.[100] Emanuel was sworn in as mayor on May 16, 2011, and won re-election in 2015.[101]Lori Lightfoot, the city's first African American woman mayor and its first openly LGBTQ mayor, was elected to succeed Emanuel as mayor in 2019.[102] All three city-wide elective offices were held by women (and women of color) for the first time in Chicago history: in addition to Lightfoot, the city clerk wasAnna Valencia and the city treasurer wasMelissa Conyears-Ervin.[103]
On May 15, 2023,Brandon Johnson assumed office as the 57th mayor of Chicago.[104]
Aerial view of theChicago Loop in 2012Downtown and the North Side with beaches lining the waterfrontA satellite image of Chicago
Chicago is located in northeastern Illinois on the southwestern shores of freshwater Lake Michigan. It is the principal city in theChicago Metropolitan Area, situated in both theMidwestern United States and theGreat Lakes region. The city rests on acontinental divide at the site of the Chicago Portage, connecting the Mississippi River and the Great Lakeswatersheds. In addition to it lying beside Lake Michigan, two rivers—the Chicago River in downtown and theCalumet River in the industrial far South Side—flow either entirely or partially through the city.[105][106]
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 waterborne cargo, today's hugelake freighters use the city'sLake Calumet Harbor on the South Side. The lake also provides another positive effect: moderating Chicago's climate, making waterfront neighborhoods slightly warmer in winter and cooler in summer.[107]
When Chicago was founded in 1837, most of the early building was around the mouth of the Chicago River, as can be seen on a map of the city's original 58 blocks.[108] The overallgrade 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 is 579 ft (176.5 m)above sea level. While measurements vary somewhat,[109] the lowest points are along the lake shore at 578 ft (176.2 m), while the highest point, at 672 ft (205 m), is the morainal ridge ofBlue Island in the city's far south side.[110]
Lake Shore Drive runs adjacent to a large portion of Chicago's waterfront. Some of the parks along the waterfront includeLincoln Park,Grant Park,Burnham Park, andJackson Park. There are 24 publicbeaches across 26 miles (42 km) of the waterfront.[111] Landfill extends into portions of the lake providing space forNavy Pier,Northerly Island, theMuseum Campus, and large portions of theMcCormick Place Convention Center. Most of the city's high-rise commercial and residential buildings are close to the waterfront.
An informal name for the entireChicago metropolitan area is "Chicagoland", which generally means the city and all its suburbs, though different organizations have slightly different definitions.[112][113][114]
Major sections of the city include the central business district, calledthe Loop, and the North,South, andWest Sides.[115] The three sides of the city are represented on theFlag of Chicago by three horizontal white stripes.[116] The North Side is the city's most densely populated residential section, and many high-rises are on this side of the city along the lakefront.[117] The South Side is the city's largest section, encompassing roughly 60% of its land area. The South Side contains most of the facilities of thePort of Chicago.[118]
In the late 1920s, sociologists at the University of Chicago subdivided the city into 77 distinctcommunity areas, which can further be subdivided into over 200 informally definedneighborhoods.[119][120]
Chicago's streets were laid out in astreet grid that grew from the city's original townsite plot, which was bounded by Lake Michigan on the east, North Avenue on the north, Wood Street on the west, and 22nd Street on the south.[121] Streets following thePublic Land Survey System section lines later became arterial streets in outlying sections. As new additions to the city were platted, city ordinance required them to be laid out with eight streets to the mile in one direction and sixteen in the other direction, about one street per 200 meters in one direction and one street per 100 meters in the other direction. The grid's regularity provided an efficient means of developing new real estate property. A scattering of diagonal streets, many of them originally Native American trails, also cross the city (Elston, Milwaukee, Ogden, Lincoln, etc.). Many additional diagonal streets were recommended in thePlan of Chicago, but only the extension ofOgden Avenue was ever constructed.[122]
In 2021, Chicago was ranked the fourth-most walkable large city in the United States.[123] Many of the city's residential streets have a wide patch of grass or trees between the street and the sidewalk itself. This helps to keep pedestrians on the sidewalk further away from the street traffic. Chicago'sWestern Avenue is the longest continuous urban street in the world.[124] Other notable streets includeMichigan Avenue,State Street,95th Street,Cicero Avenue,Clark Street, andBelmont Avenue. TheCity Beautiful movement inspired Chicago's boulevards and parkways.[125]
TheChicago Building (1904–05) is a prime example of theChicago School, displaying both variations of the Chicago window.
The destruction caused by the Great Chicago Fire led to the largest building boom in the history of the nation. In 1885, the firststeel-framed high-rise building, the Home Insurance Building, rose in the city as Chicago ushered in theskyscraper era,[56] which would then be followed by many other cities around the world.[126] Today, Chicago's skyline is among the world's tallest and densest.[127]
Chicago gave its name to the Chicago School and was home to thePrairie School, two movements in architecture.[133] Multiple kinds and scales of houses, townhouses, condominiums, and apartment buildings can be found throughout Chicago. Large swaths of the city's residential areas away from the lake are characterized by brickbungalows built from the early 20th century through the end of World War II. Chicago is also a prominent center of thePolish Cathedral style ofchurch architecture. The Chicago suburb ofOak Park was home to famous architectFrank Lloyd Wright, who had designed TheRobie House located near the University of Chicago.[134][135]
A popular tourist activity is to take an architecture boat tour along the Chicago River.[136]
The city mostly lies within the typical hot-summerhumid continental climate (Köppen:Dfa), and experiences four distinct seasons.[140][141][142]Summers are hot and humid, with frequentheat waves. The July daily average temperature is 75.4 °F (24.1 °C), with afternoon temperatures peaking at 84.5 °F (29.2 °C). In a normal summer, temperatures reach at least 90 °F (32 °C) on 17 days, with lakefront locations staying cooler when winds blow off the lake.Winters are relatively cold and snowy.Blizzards do occur, such as inwinter 2011.[143] There are many sunny but cold days. The normal winter high from December through March is about 36 °F (2 °C). January and February are the coldest months. Apolar vortex in January 2019 nearly broke the city's cold record of −27 °F (−33 °C), which was set on January 20, 1985.[144][145][146] Measurable snowfall can continue through the first or second week of April.[147]
Spring andautumn are mild, short seasons, typically with low humidity.Dew point temperatures in the summer range from an average of 55.8 °F (13.2 °C) in June to 61.7 °F (16.5 °C) in July.[148] They can reach nearly 80 °F (27 °C), such as during the July 2019 heat wave. The city lies withinUSDA planthardiness zone 6a, transitioning to 5b in the suburbs.[149]
According to theNational Weather Service, Chicago's highest official temperature reading of 105 °F (41 °C) was recorded on July 24, 1934.[150]Midway Airport reached 109 °F (43 °C) one day prior and recorded aheat index of 125 °F (52 °C) during the1995 heatwave.[151] The lowest official temperature of −27 °F (−33 °C) was recorded onJanuary 20, 1985, at O'Hare Airport.[148][151] Most of the city's rainfall is brought bythunderstorms, averaging 38 a year. The region is prone tosevere thunderstorms during the spring and summer which can produce large hail, damaging winds, and occasionally tornadoes.[152] Notably, the F4Oak Lawn tornado moved through the South Side of the city on April 21, 1967, moving onto Lake Michigan as a waterspout.[153] Downtown Chicago was struck by an F3 tornado on May 6, 1876, again moving out over Lake Michigan.[154]
Like other major cities, Chicago experiences anurban heat island, making the city and its suburbs milder than surrounding rural areas, especially at night and in winter. The proximity to Lake Michigan tends to keep the Chicago lakefront somewhat cooler in summer and less brutally cold in winter than inland parts of the city and suburbs away from the lake,[155] which is sufficient to give lakefront areas such asNortherly Island ahumid subtropical (Cfa) climate using Köppen's 27 °F (−3 °C) winter isotherm (as opposed to the firmly continental climate of inland areas such asMidway andO'Hare International Airports),[156] even though those areas are still continental (Dca) under Trewartha due to winters averaging below 32 °F (0 °C).[157] Northeast winds from wintertimecyclones departing south of the region sometimes bring the citylake-effect snow.[158]
During its first hundred years, Chicago was one of the fastest-growing cities in the world. When founded in 1833, fewer than 200 people had settled on what was then the American frontier. By the time of its first census, seven years later, the population had reached over 4,000. In the forty years from 1850 to 1890, the city's population grew from slightly under 30,000 to over 1 million. By the 1890 census, Chicago was the second most populous city in the United States. By 1900, it was the fifth largest in the world behind Berlin, Paris, New York, and London,[170] and the largest city founded in the prior century. Within sixty years of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the population went from about 300,000 to over 3 million,[171] and reached its highest ever recorded population of 3.6 million for the 1950 census.
In the 1920s and 1930s, the great majority of African Americans moving to Chicago settled in a so‑called "Black Belt" on the city'sSouth Side.[172] A large number of blacks also settled on theWest Side. By 1930, two-thirds of Chicago's black population lived in sections of the city which were 90% black in racial composition.[172] Around that time, a lesser known fact about African Americans on theNorth Side is that the block of 4600 Winthrop Avenue inUptown was the only block African Americans could live or open establishments.[175][176] Chicago's South Side emerged as United States second-largest urban black concentration, following New York'sHarlem. In 1990, Chicago's South Side and the adjoining south suburbs constituted the largest black majority region in the entire United States.[172] Since the 1980s, Chicago has had a massive exodus of African Americans (primarily from the South and West sides) to its suburbs or outside its metropolitan area.[177] The above average crime and cost of living were leading reasons for the fast declining African American population in Chicago.[178][179][180]
Most of Chicago's foreign-born population were born inMexico,Poland orIndia.[181] A 2020 study estimated the total Jewish population of the Chicago metropolitan area, both religious and irreligious, at 319,500.[182]
Chicago's population declined in the latter half of the 20th century, from over 3.6 million in 1950 down to under 2.7 million by 2010. By the time of the official census count in 1990, it was overtaken byLos Angeles as the United States' second largest city.[183]
The city has seen a rise in population for the 2000 census and after a decrease in 2010, it rose again for the 2020 census.[184]
According to U.S. census estimates as of July 2019[update], Chicago's largest racial or ethnic group is non-Hispanic White at 32.8% of the population, Blacks at 30.1% and the Hispanic population at 29.0% of the population.[185][186][187][188]
Chicago has the third-largestLGBT population in the United States. In 2018, the Chicago Department of Health, estimated 7.5% of the adult population, approximately 146,000 Chicagoans, were LGBTQ.[193] In 2015, roughly 4% of the population identified as LGBT.[194][195] Since the 2013 legalization ofsame-sex marriage in Illinois, over 10,000 same-sex couples have wed inCook County, a majority of them in Chicago.[196][197]
Chicago became a "de jure"sanctuary city in 2012 when MayorRahm Emanuel and the City Council passed the Welcoming City Ordinance.[198]
According to the U.S. Census Bureau'sAmerican Community Survey data estimates for 2022, the median income for a household in the city was $70,386, and the per capita income was $45,449. Male full-time workers had a median income of $68,870 versus $60,987 for females.[199] About 17.2% of the population lived below the poverty line.[200] In 2018, Chicago ranked seventh globally for the highest number of ultra-high-net-worth residents with roughly 3,300 residents worth more than $30 million.[201]
According to the 2022 American Community Survey, the specific ancestral groups having 10,000 or more persons in Chicago were:[202][203][204]
Mexican (586,906)
German (200,726)
Irish (184,983)
Polish (129,468)
Puerto Rican (101,625)
Italian (100,915)
English (87,282)
Chinese (67,951)
Indian (48,535)
Filipino (39,048)
French (25,629)
Russian (24,707)
Swedish (21,795)
Arab (19,432)
West Indian (18,636)
Guatemalan (18,205)
Scottish (17,121)
Korean (16,224)
Ecuadorian (15,935)
Nigerian (15,064)
Greek (14,946)
Norwegian (13,391)
Colombian (13,785)
Ukrainian (12,956)
Vietnamese (12,280)
Cuban (11,765)
Czech (11,313)
Romanian (11,237)
Lithuanian (11,235)
Dutch (11,196)
Persons who did not report or classify an ancestry were 548,790.
Non-Christian faiths accounted for 7% of the religious population in 2014.Judaism has at least 261,000 adherents which is 3% of the population. A 2020 study estimated the total Jewish population of the Chicago metropolitan area, both religious and irreligious, at 319,500.[182]
Chicago has the third-largestgross metropolitan product in the United States—about $670.5 billion according to September 2017 estimates.[213] The city has also been rated as having the most balanced economy in the United States, due to its high level of diversification.[214] The Chicago metropolitan area has the third-largest science and engineering work force of any metropolitan area in the nation.[215] Chicago was the base of commercial operations for industrialistsJohn Crerar,John Whitfield Bunn,Richard Teller Crane,Marshall Field,John Farwell,Julius Rosenwald, and many other commercial visionaries who laid the foundation for Midwestern and global industry.
The city and its surrounding metropolitan area contain the third-largest labor pool in the United States with about 4.63 million workers.[218] Illinois is home to 66Fortune 1000 companies, including those in Chicago.[219] The city of Chicago also hosts 12Fortune Global 500 companies and 17Financial Times 500 companies. The city claims threeDow 30 companies:aerospace giantBoeing, which moved its headquarters fromSeattle to the Chicago Loop in 2001;[220]McDonald's; andWalgreens Boots Alliance.[221] For six consecutive years from 2013 through 2018, Chicago was ranked the nation's top metropolitan area for corporate relocations.[222] However, threeFortune 500 companies left Chicago in 2022, leaving the city with 35, still second to New York City.[223]
Late in the 19th century, Chicago was part of thebicycle craze, with the Western Wheel Company, which introducedstamping to the production process and significantly reduced costs,[226] while early in the 20th century, the city was part of the automobile revolution, hosting theBrass Era car builder Bugmobile, which was founded there in 1907.[227] Chicago was also the site of theSchwinn Bicycle Company.
Chicago is a major world convention destination. The city's main convention center is McCormick Place. With its four interconnected buildings, it is the largest convention center in the nation and third-largest in the world.[228] Chicago also ranks third in the U.S. (behindLas Vegas andOrlando) in number of conventions hosted annually.[229]
Chicago's minimum wage for non-tipped employees is one of the highest in the nation and reached $15 in 2021.[230][231]
Downtown is the center of Chicago's financial, cultural, governmental, and commercial institutions and the site of Grant Park and many of the city's skyscrapers. Many of the city's financial institutions, such as the CBOT and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, are located within a section of downtown called "The Loop", which is an eight-block by five-block area of city streets that is encircled by elevated rail tracks. The term "The Loop" is largely used by locals to refer to the entire downtown area as well. The central area includes theNear North Side, theNear South Side, and theNear West Side, as well as the Loop. These areas contribute famousskyscrapers, abundant restaurants,shopping,museums,Soldier Field, convention facilities,parkland, andbeaches.[citation needed]
The South Side neighborhood ofHyde Park is the home of former U.S. PresidentBarack Obama. It also contains the University of Chicago, ranked one of the world's top ten universities,[238] and theMuseum of Science and Industry. The 6-mile (9.7 km) longBurnham Park stretches along the waterfront of the South Side. Two of the city's largest parks are also located on this side of the city: Jackson Park, bordering the waterfront, hosted the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893, and is the site of the aforementioned museum; and slightly west sitsWashington Park. The two parks themselves are connected by a wide strip of parkland called theMidway Plaisance, running adjacent to the University of Chicago. The South Side hosts one of the city's largest parades, the annual African AmericanBud Billiken Parade and Picnic, which travels throughBronzeville to Washington Park.Ford Motor Company has anautomobile assembly plant on the South Side inHegewisch, and most of the facilities of the Port of Chicago are also on the South Side.[citation needed]
Other live-music genre which are part of the city's cultural heritage includeChicago blues,Chicago soul,jazz, andgospel. The city is the birthplace ofhouse music (a popular form of electronic dance music) andindustrial music, and is the site of an influentialhip hop scene. In the 1980s and 90s, the city was the global center for house and industrial music, two forms of music created in Chicago, as well as being popular foralternative rock,punk, andnew wave. The city has been a center forrave culture, since the 1980s. A flourishing independent rock music culture brought forth Chicagoindie.Annual festivals feature various acts, such asLollapalooza and thePitchfork Music Festival.[citation needed] Lollapalooza originated in Chicago in 1991 and at first travelled to many cities, but as of 2005 its home has been Chicago.[244] A 2007 report on the Chicago music industry by theUniversity of Chicago Cultural Policy Center ranked Chicago third among metropolitan U.S. areas in "size of music industry" and fourth among all U.S. cities in "number of concerts and performances".[245]
In 2014[update], Chicago attracted 50.17 million domestic leisure travelers, 11.09 million domestic business travelers and 1.308 million overseas visitors.[247] These visitors contributed more thanUS$13.7 billion to Chicago's economy.[247] Upscale shopping along the Magnificent Mile and State Street, thousands of restaurants, as well as Chicago's eminent architecture, continue to draw tourists. The city is the United States' third-largestconvention destination. A 2017 study byWalk Score ranked Chicago the sixth-most walkable of fifty largest cities in the United States.[248] Most conventions are held at McCormick Place, just south ofSoldier Field. Navy Pier, located just east ofStreeterville, is 3,000 ft (910 m) long and houses retail stores, restaurants, museums, exhibition halls and auditoriums. Chicago was the first city in the world to ever erect a Ferris wheel. The Willis Tower (formerly named Sears Tower) is a popular destination for tourists.[249]
Chicago lays claim to a large number of regional specialties that reflect the city's ethnic and working-class roots. Included among these are its nationally renowneddeep-dish pizza; this style is said to have originated atPizzeria Uno.[253] The Chicago-style thin crust is also popular in the city.[254] Certain Chicago pizza favorites includeLou Malnati's andGiordano's.[255]
A distinctly Chicago sandwich, theItalian beef sandwich is thinly sliced beef simmered inau jus and served on an Italian roll with sweet peppers or spicy giardiniera. A popular modification is the Combo—an Italian beef sandwich with the addition of an Italian sausage. TheMaxwell Street Polish is a grilled or deep-friedkielbasa—on a hot dog roll, topped with grilled onions, yellow mustard, and hot sport peppers.[260]
Chicken Vesuvio is roasted bone-in chicken cooked in oil and garlic next to garlicky oven-roasted potato wedges and a sprinkling of green peas. ThePuerto Rican-influencedjibarito is a sandwich made with flattened, fried green plantains instead of bread. Themother-in-law is atamale topped with chili and served on a hot dog bun.[261] The tradition of serving theGreek dishsaganaki while aflame has its origins in Chicago's Greek community.[262] The appetizer, which consists of a square of fried cheese, is doused withMetaxa andflambéed table-side.[263]Chicago-style barbecue features hardwood smokedrib tips andhot links which were traditionally cooked in an aquarium smoker, a Chicago invention.[264]Annual festivals feature various Chicago signature dishes, such asTaste of Chicago and the Chicago Food Truck Festival.[265]
One of the world's most decorated restaurants and a recipient of threeMichelin stars,Alinea is located in Chicago. Well-known chefs who have had restaurants in Chicago include:Charlie Trotter,Rick Tramonto,Grant Achatz, andRick Bayless. In 2003,Robb Report named Chicago the country's "most exceptional dining destination".[266]
Chicago literature finds its roots in the city's tradition of lucid, direct journalism, lending to a strong tradition ofsocial realism. In theEncyclopedia of Chicago,Northwestern University Professor Bill Savage describes Chicago fiction as prose which tries to "capture the essence of the city, its spaces and its people." The challenge for early writers was that Chicago was a frontier outpost that transformed into a global metropolis in the span of two generations. Narrative fiction of that time, much of it in the style of "high-flown romance" and "genteel realism", needed a new approach to describe the urban social, political, and economic conditions of Chicago.[267] Nonetheless, Chicagoans worked hard to create a literary tradition that would stand the test of time,[268] and create a "city of feeling" out of concrete, steel, vast lake, and open prairie.[269] Much notable Chicago fiction focuses on the city itself, with social criticism keeping exultation in check.
At least three short periods in thehistory of Chicago have had a lasting influence onAmerican literature.[270] These include from the time of the Great Chicago Fire to about 1900, what became known as the Chicago Literary Renaissance in the 1910s and early 1920s, and the period of theGreat Depression through the 1940s.
The city has twoMajor League Baseball (MLB) teams: theChicago Cubs of the National League play in Wrigley Field on the North Side; and theChicago White Sox of the American League play in Rate Field on the South Side. The two teams have faced each other in a World Series only once, in 1906.[274]
The Cubs are the oldest Major League Baseball team to have never changed their city;[275] they have played in Chicago since 1871.[276] They had the dubious honor of having the longest championship drought in American professional sports, failing to win a World Series between 1908 and 2016. The White Sox have played on the South Side continuously since 1901. They have won three World Series titles (1906, 1917, 2005) and six American League pennants, including the first in 1901.
Chicago Fire FC is a member ofMajor League Soccer (MLS) and plays at Soldier Field. The Fire have won one league title and fourU.S. Open Cups, since their founding in 1997. In 1994, the United States hosted a successfulFIFA World Cup with games played at Soldier Field.[281]
TheChicago Marathon has been held each year since 1977 except for 1987, when a half marathon was run in its place. The Chicago Marathon is one of sixWorld Marathon Majors.[283]
When Chicago was incorporated in 1837, it chose the mottoUrbs in Horto, aLatin phrase which means "City in a Garden". Today, theChicago Park District consists of more than 570 parks with over 8,000 acres (3,200 ha) ofmunicipal parkland. There are 31 sandbeaches, a plethora of museums, two world-class conservatories, and 50 nature areas.[286] Lincoln Park, the largest of the city's parks, covers 1,200 acres (490 ha) and has over 20 million visitors each year, making it third in the number of visitors afterCentral Park inNew York City, and theNational Mall and Memorial Parks inWashington, D.C.[287]
There is a historicboulevard system,[288] a network of wide, tree-linedboulevards which connect a number of Chicagoparks.[289] The boulevards and the parks were authorized by the Illinois legislature in 1869.[290] A number ofChicago neighborhoods emerged along these roadways in the 19th century.[289] The building of the boulevard system continued intermittently until 1942. It includes nineteen boulevards, eight parks, and sixsquares, along twenty-six miles of interconnected streets.[291] TheChicago Park Boulevard System Historic District was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 2018.[292][293]
With berths for more than 6,000 boats, the Chicago Park District operates the nation's largest municipal harbor system.[294] In addition to ongoing beautification and renewal projects for the existing parks, a number of new parks have been added in recent years, such as thePing Tom Memorial Park in Chinatown,DuSable Park on the Near North Side, and most notably, Millennium Park, which is in the northwestern corner of one of Chicago's oldest parks, Grant Park in the Chicago Loop.[citation needed]
The government of the City of Chicago is divided into executive andlegislative branches. Themayor of Chicago is the chief executive, elected by general election for a term of four years, with no term limits. The incumbent mayor isBrandon Johnson. The mayor appoints commissioners and other officials who oversee the various departments. As well as the mayor, Chicago's clerk and treasurer are also elected citywide. TheCity Council is the legislative branch and is made up of 50alderpersons, one elected from eachward in the city.[298] The council takes official action through the passage ofordinances and resolutions and approves the city budget.[299]
During much of the last half of the 19th century, Chicago's politics were dominated by a growingDemocratic Party organization. During the 1880s and 1890s, Chicago had a powerful radical tradition with large and highly organizedsocialist,anarchist andlabor organizations.[301] 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 the state of Illinois has been "solid blue" inpresidential elections since 1992. Even before then, it was not unheard of for Republican presidential candidates to win handily in downstate Illinois, only to lose statewide due to large Democratic margins in Chicago. The citizens of Chicago have not elected aRepublican mayor since 1927, whenWilliam 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 rural and farm concerns while the Democrats support urban issues such as Chicago's public school funding.[citation needed]
Chicago contains less than 25% of the state's population, but it is split between eight of Illinois' 17districts in theUnited States House of Representatives. All eight of the city's representatives are Democrats; only two Republicans have represented a significant portion of the city since 1973, for one term each:Robert P. Hanrahan from 1973 to 1975, andMichael Patrick Flanagan from 1995 to 1997.[citation needed]
Machine politics persisted in Chicago after the decline of similar machines in other large U.S. cities.[302] 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 ofHarold Washington (in office 1983–1987). From 1989 until May 16, 2011, Chicago was under the leadership of its longest-serving mayor,Richard M. Daley, the son of Richard J. Daley. Because of the dominance of the Democratic Party in Chicago, the Democraticprimary vote held in the spring is generally more significant than the general elections in November for U.S. House and Illinois State seats. The aldermanic, mayoral, and other city offices are filled through nonpartisan elections with runoffs as needed.[303]
The city is home of former United States PresidentBarack Obama and First LadyMichelle Obama; Barack Obama was formerly a state legislator representing Chicago and later a U.S. senator. The Obamas' residence is located near the University of Chicago inKenwood on the city's south side.[304]
Chicago's crime rate in 2020 was 3,926 per 100,000 people.[305] Chicago experienced major rises inviolent crime in the 1920s, in the late 1960s, and in the 2020s.[306][307] Chicago's biggestcriminal justice challenges have changed little over the last 50 years, and statistically reside with homicide,armed robbery, gang violence, andaggravated battery. Chicago has a higher murder rate than the larger cities of New York and Los Angeles. However, while it has a large absolute number of crimes due to its size, Chicago is not among the top-25 most violent cities in the United States.[308][309]
Murder rates in Chicago vary greatly depending on the neighborhood in question.[310] The neighborhoods ofEnglewood on the South Side, andAustin on the West side, for example, have homicide rates that are ten times higher than other parts of the city.[311] Chicago has an estimated population of over 100,000 active gang members from nearly 60 factions.[312][313] According to reports in 2013, "most of Chicago's violent crime comes from gangs trying to maintain control of drug-selling territories,"[314] and is specifically related to the activities of theSinaloa Cartel, which is active in several American cities.[315] Violent crime rates vary significantly by area of the city, with more economically developed areas having low rates, but other sections have much higher rates of crime.[314] In 2013, the violent crime rate was 910 per 100,000 people;[316] the murder rate was 10.4 per 100,000 – while high crime districts saw 38.9 murders, low crime districts saw 2.5 murders per 100,000.[317]
Chicago's long history of publiccorruption regularly draws the attention of federal law enforcement and federal prosecutors.[318] From 2012 to 2019, 33 Chicago alderpersons were convicted on corruption charges, roughly one third of those elected in the time period. A report from the Office of the Legislative Inspector General noted that over half of Chicago's elected alderpersons took illegal campaign contributions in 2013.[319] Most corruption cases in Chicago are prosecuted by theU.S. Attorney's office, as legaljurisdiction makes most offenses punishable as a federal crime.[320]
Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is the governing body of theschool district that contains over 600 public elementary and high schools citywide, including several selective-admission magnet schools. There are eleven selective enrollment high schools in the Chicago Public Schools, designed to meet the needs of Chicago's most academically advanced students. These schools offer a rigorous curriculum with mainly honors andAdvanced Placement (AP) courses.[321]Walter Payton College Prep High School is ranked number one in the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois.[322]
Chicago high school rankings are determined by the average test scores on state achievement tests.[323] The district, with an enrollment exceeding 400,545 students (2013–2014 20th Day Enrollment), is the third-largest in the U.S.[324] On September 10, 2012, teachers for the Chicago Teachers Union went on strike for the first time since 1987 over pay, resources, and other issues.[325] According to data compiled in 2014, Chicago's "choice system", where students who test or apply and may attend one of a number of public high schools (there are about 130), sorts students of different achievement levels into different schools (high performing, middle performing, and low performing schools).[326]
WGN began in the early days of radio and developed into a multi-platform broadcaster, including a cable television super-station.Chicago was home ofThe Oprah Winfrey Show from 1986 until 2011, and of other Harpo Production operations until 2015.
Aerial photo of theJane Byrne Interchange (2022) after reconstruction; it initially opened in the 1960s.
Chicago is a major transportation hub in the United States. It is an important component in global distribution, as it is the third-largest inter-modal port in the world afterHong Kong andSingapore.[338]
The city of Chicago has a higher than average percentage of households without a car. In 2015, 26.5 percent of Chicago households were without a car, and increased slightly to 27.5 percent in 2016. The national average was 8.7 percent in 2016. Chicago averaged 1.12 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8.[339]
Parking
Due to Chicago'swheel tax,[340] residents of Chicago who own a vehicle are required to purchase a Chicago City Vehicle Sticker.[341] In established Residential Parking Zones, only local residents can purchase Zone-specific parking stickers for themselves and guests.[342][343]
Chicago since 2009 has relinquished rights to itspublic street parking.[344] In 2008, as Chicago struggled to close a growing budget deficit, the city agreed to a 75-year, $1.16 billion deal to lease itsparking meter system to an operating company created byMorgan Stanley, calledChicago Parking Meters LLC. Daley said the "agreement is very good news for the taxpayers of Chicago because it will provide more than $1 billion in net proceeds that can be used during this very difficult economy."[345]
The rights of the parking ticket lease end in 2081, and since 2022 have already recouped over $1.5 billion in revenue forChicago Parking Meters LLC investors.[346]
Seven mainline and four auxiliaryinterstate highways (55,57,65 (only in Indiana),80 (also inIndiana),88,90 (also inIndiana),94 (also inIndiana),190,290,294, and355) run through Chicago and its suburbs. Segments that link to the city center are named after influential politicians, with three of them named after former U.S. Presidents (Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Reagan) and one named after two-time Democratic candidateAdlai Stevenson.
TheKennedy andDan Ryan Expressways are the busiest state maintained routes in the entire state of Illinois.[347]
Transit systems
Chicago Union Station, opened in 1925, is the third-busiest passenger rail terminal in the United States.
TheChicago Transit Authority (CTA) handles public transportation in the City of Chicago and a few adjacent suburbs outside of the Chicago city limits. The CTA operates an extensive network of buses and arapid transit elevated and subway system known asthe Chicago "L" or just the "L" (short for "elevated"), with lines designated by colors. These rapid transit lines also serve bothMidway and O'Hare Airports. The CTA's rail lines consist of theRed,Blue,Green,Orange,Brown,Purple,Pink, andYellow lines. Both the Red and Blue lines offer 24‑hour service which makes Chicago one of a handful of cities around the world (and one of three in the United States, the other are New York City and Philadelphia) to offer rail service 24 hours a day, every day of the year, within the city's limits.
Metra, the nation's second-most used passenger regional rail network, operates an 11-linecommuter rail service in Chicago and throughout the Chicago suburbs. TheMetra Electric Line shares its trackage with Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District'sSouth Shore Line, which provides commuter service betweenSouth Bend and Chicago.
Pace provides bus andparatransit service in over 200 surrounding suburbs with some extensions into the city as well. A 2005 study found that one quarter of commuters used public transit.[348]
In May 2019, The City of Chicago announced its Chicago's Electric Shared Scooter Pilot Program, scheduled to run from June 15 to October 15.[354] The program started on June 15 with 10 different scooter companies, including scooter sharing market leadersBird,Jump,Lime andLyft.[355] Each company was allowed to bring 250electric scooters, although both Bird and Lime claimed that they experienced a higher demand for their scooters.[356] The program ended on October 15, with nearly 800,000 rides taken.[357]
Freight rail
Chicago is the largest hub in the railroad industry.[358] All fiveClass I railroads meet in Chicago. As of 2002[update], severe freight train congestion caused trains to take as long to get through the Chicago region as it took to get there from the West Coast of the country (about 2 days).[359] According to U.S. Department of Transportation, the volume of imported and exported goods transported via rail to, from, or through Chicago is forecast to increase nearly 150 percent between 2010 and 2040.[360] CREATE, theChicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program, comprises about 70 programs, including crossovers, overpasses and underpasses, that intend to significantly improve the speed of freight movements in the Chicago area.[361]
Chicago is served byO'Hare International Airport, the world's busiest airport measured by airline operations,[362] on the far Northwest Side, andMidway International Airport on the Southwest Side. In 2005, O'Hare was the world's busiest airport by aircraft movements and the second-busiest by total passenger traffic.[363] Both O'Hare and Midway are owned and operated by the City of Chicago.Gary/Chicago International Airport andChicago Rockford International Airport, located inGary, Indiana andRockford, Illinois, respectively, can serve as alternative Chicago area airports, however they do not offer as many commercial flights as O'Hare and Midway. In recent years the state of Illinois has been leaning towardsbuilding an entirely new airport in the Illinois suburbs of Chicago.[364] The City of Chicago is the world headquarters forUnited Airlines, the world's third-largest airline.
The Port of Chicago consists of several major port facilities within the city of Chicago operated by the Illinois International Port District (formerly known as the Chicago Regional Port District). The central element of the Port District, Calumet Harbor, is maintained by theU.S. Army Corps of Engineers.[365]
Iroquois Landing Lakefront Terminal: at the mouth of the Calumet River, it includes 100 acres (0.40 km2) of warehouses and facilities on Lake Michigan with over 780,000 square meters (8,400,000 sq ft) of storage.
Lake Calumet terminal: located at the union of theGrand Calumet River andLittle Calumet River 6 miles (9.7 km) inland from Lake Michigan. Includes three transit sheds totaling over 29,000 square meters (310,000 sq ft) adjacent to over 900 linear meters (3,000 linear feet) of ship and barge berthing.
Grain (14 million bushels) and bulk liquid (800,000 barrels) storage facilities alongLake Calumet.
The Illinois International Port district also operatesForeign trade zone No. 22, which extends 60 miles (97 km) from Chicago's city limits.
Utilities
Electricity for most ofnorthern Illinois is provided byCommonwealth Edison, also known as ComEd. Their service territory bordersIroquois County to the south, theWisconsin border to the north, theIowa border to the west and theIndiana border to the east. In northern Illinois, ComEd (a division ofExelon) operates the greatest number of nuclear generating plants in any U.S. state. Because of this, ComEd reports indicate that Chicago receives about 75% of its electricity from nuclear power. Recently, the city began installing wind turbines on government buildings to promote renewable energy.[366][367][368]
Natural gas is provided by Peoples Gas, a subsidiary ofIntegrys Energy Group, which is headquartered in Chicago.
Domestic and industrial waste was once incinerated but it is nowlandfilled, mainly in theCalumet area. From 1995 to 2008, the city had ablue bag program to divert recyclable refuse from landfills.[369] Because of low participation in the blue bag programs, the city began a pilot program for blue bin recycling like other cities. This proved successful and blue bins were rolled out across the city.[370]
Two of the country's premier academic medical centers reside in Chicago, includingNorthwestern Memorial Hospital and theUniversity of Chicago Medical Center. The Chicago campus of Northwestern University includes theFeinberg School of Medicine; Northwestern Memorial Hospital, which is ranked as the best hospital in the Chicago metropolitan area byU.S. News & World Report for 2017–18;[372] theShirley Ryan AbilityLab (formerly named the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago), which is ranked the best U.S. rehabilitation hospital byU.S. News & World Report;[373] the newPrentice Women's Hospital; and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago.
^abMean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the expected highest and lowest temperature readings at any point during the year or given month) calculated based on data at said location from 1991 to 2020.
^Official records for Chicago were kept at various locations in downtown from January 1871 to December 31, 1925, University of Chicago from January 1, 1926 to June 30, 1942, Midway Airport from July 1, 1942 to January 16, 1980, and at O'Hare Airport since January 17, 1980.[162][163]
^The total for each race includes those who reported that race alone or in combination with other races. People who reported a combination of multiple races may be counted multiple times, so the sum of all percentages will exceed 100%.
^Hispanic and Latino origins are separate from race in the U.S. Census. The Census does not distinguish between Latino origins alone or in combination. This row counts Hispanics and Latinos of any race.
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^Gemignani, Tony. (2014).The pizza bible : the world's favorite pizza styles, from Neapolitan, deep-dish, wood-fired, Sicilian, calzones and focaccia to New York, New Haven, Detroit, and more (First ed.). Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed.ISBN978-1-60774-605-8.OCLC879642419.
^Fodor's (2009).Fodor's Chicago 2010. Fodor's. p. 352.ISBN978-1-4000-0860-5. RetrievedFebruary 18, 2010.Make sure to never add ketchup to your Chicago-style hot dog: a major no-no among hot dog aficionados.
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