Chicago metropolitan area | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chicago–Naperville, IL–IN–WI Combined Statistical Area | ||
 .jpg)    From top, left to right:Chicago skyline from Lakefront Trail atNortherly Island during sunrise, view ofGold Coast, aerial viewEvanston, DowntownNaperville, view of DowntownAurora | ||
 Map of Chicago–Naperville, IL–IN–WICSA
| ||
| Country |  United States | |
| States |  Illinois Indiana Wisconsin | |
| Core city |  Chicago | |
| Satellite cities | ||
| Area | ||
| • Metro | 10,856 sq mi (28,120 km2) | |
| Highest elevation | 673 ft (205 m) | |
| Lowest elevation | 579 ft (176 m) | |
| Population | ||
| • Density | 886/sq mi (342/km2) | |
| • Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) (2022) | 9,441,957[2] (3rd) | |
| • Combined Statistical Area (CSA) (2022) | 9,806,184[3] (4th) | |
| Demonym | Chicagolander | |
| GDP | ||
| • Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) | $894.862 billion (2023) | |
| • Combined Statistical Area (CSA) | $919.229 billion (2023) | |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (CST) | |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) | |
| Area codes | 219,224/847,262,312/872,331/630,574,464/708,773/872 and779/815 | |
TheChicago metropolitan area, also calledChicagoland, is the largestmetropolitan statistical area in theU.S. state ofIllinois and in theMidwest. Encompassing 10,286 square mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area contains theCity of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs, satellite cities, andhinterland, spanning 13counties across northeastIllinois and northwestIndiana. The MSA had a 2020 census population of 9,618,502, and the combined statistical area, which spans 19 counties and extends into southeastWisconsin, had a population of nearly 10 million.[5][6] The Chicago area is thethird-largest metropolitan area in the United States, the fourth-largest inNorth America (after Mexico City, New York City, and Los Angeles), and the largest in theGreat Lakes megalopolis. Its urban area is the50th-largest in the world.
According to the2020 census, Chicagoland's population is approaching 10 million. The metropolitan area has seen a substantial increase ofLatin American residents on top of its already large Latino population, and theAsian American population also increased. The metro area has a large number ofWhite,Black,Latino,Asian, andArab American residents, and also hasNative American residents. The Chicago metropolitan area has about 3 percent of the U.S. population.
Chicagoland has one of the world's largest and most diversified economies. With more than six million full and part-time employees, the Chicago metropolitan area is a key factor of the Illinois economy. The state has an annual GDP of over $1 trillion,[7] and the Chicago metropolitan area generated an annualgross regional product (GRP) of approximately $700 billion in 2018.[8] The region is home to more than 400 major corporate headquarters, including 31 in theFortune 500,[9] such as McDonald's, United, and Blue Cross Blue Shield. With many companies having project engagements in Chicago, the area ranked as the nation's top metropolitan area for corporation relocations and expansions for nine consecutive years, the most consecutive years for any region in the country.[10] This metric however only measures project engagements, not real GDP or job growth, areas in which Chicago has substantially underperformed many other major metropolitan areas throughout the country over the past decade.[11][12] There have been numerous high-profile companies — including several Fortune 500 firms — that have departed the city in recent years, such asBoeing,Caterpillar,TTX,CitadelSecurities andTyson, primarily due to unfavorable tax and regulatory conditions, as well as concerns related to crime and overall quality of life.[13][14] According toMcDonald's CEOChris Kempczinski these factors have significantly hindered the company's ability to recruit talent for corporate roles at its Chicago headquarters.[15]
The Chicago area is home to a number of the nation's leadingresearch universities, including theUniversity of Chicago,Northwestern University, theUniversity of Illinois at Chicago,DePaul University,Loyola University, and theIllinois Institute of Technology (IIT). The University of Chicago and Northwestern University are consistently ranked as two of the world's best universities.
There are many transportation options around the region. Chicagoland has three separate rail networks: theChicago Transit Authority (CTA),Metra, and theSouth Shore Line. The CTA operates elevated and subway lines that run primarily in the city,Downtown Chicago, and some suburbs. The CTA operates some of its rail lines 24 hours a day, every day of the year, nonstop, making Chicago one of only three cities in the world (alongside New York City and Copenhagen) to offer 24-hour nonstop rail service everyday throughout their city limits. The Metracommuter rail network runs numerous lines between Downtown Chicago and suburban/satellite cities, with one line stretching toKenosha, Wisconsin. Theinterurban South Shore Line runs between Downtown Chicago and the northwest Indiana portion of the metropolitan area. In addition,Amtrak'sUnion Station in Downtown Chicago is one of its largest hubs, with numerous lines radiating to and from it.
CTA bus routes serve the city proper, with some service into the suburbs.Pace bus routes serve the suburbs, with some service into the city. In addition, numerous CTA bus routes operate 24 hours a day, nonstop.
The Chicagometropolitan statistical area (MSA) was originally designated by the United States Census Bureau in 1950. It comprised theIllinois counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake and Will, along with Lake County inIndiana. As surrounding counties saw an increase in their population densities and the number of their residents employed within Cook County, they met Census criteria to be added to the MSA. The Chicago MSA, now defined by the U.S.Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as theChicago–Naperville–Elgin, IL–IN–WI Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the third-largest MSA by population in the United States. The 2022 census estimate for the population of the MSA was 9,441,957.[16]
The Chicago MSA is further subdivided into four metropolitan divisions. A breakdown of the county constituents and 2021 estimated populations of the four metropolitan divisions of the MSA are as follows:[16]
Chicago–Naperville–Elgin, IL–IN–WI Metropolitan Statistical Area (9,509,934)
The OMB also defines a slightly larger region as acombined statistical area (CSA). TheChicago–Naperville, IL–IN–WI Combined Statistical Area combines the followingcore-based statistical areas, listed with their 2021 estimated populations. The combined statistical area as a whole had a population of 9,806,184 as of 2022.[16]
The Chicagourban agglomeration, according to theUnited NationsWorld Urbanization Prospects report (2023 revision), lists a population of 8,937,000.[17] The term "urban agglomeration" refers to the population contained within the contours of a contiguous territory inhabited aturban density levels. It usually incorporates the population in a city, plus that in the contiguous urban, or built-up area.
Chicagoland is an informal name for the Chicago metropolitan area. The termChicagoland has no official definition, and the region is often considered to include areas beyond the corresponding MSA, as well as portions of the greater CSA.[citation needed]
Colonel Robert R. McCormick, editor and publisher of theChicago Tribune, usually gets credit for placing the term in common use.[19][20] McCormick's conception of Chicagoland stretched all the way to nearby parts of four states (Indiana,Wisconsin,Michigan, andIowa).[19] The first usage was in theTribune's July 27, 1926, front page headline, "Chicagoland's Shrines: A Tour of Discoveries", for an article by reporterJames O'Donnell Bennett.[21] He stated that Chicagoland comprised everything in a 200-mile (320 km) radius in every direction and reported on many different places in the area. TheTribune was the dominant newspaper in a vast area stretching to the west of the city, and thathinterland was closely tied to the metropolis by rail lines and commercial links.[22]
Today, theChicago Tribune's usage includes the city of Chicago, the rest ofCook County, eight nearby Illinois counties (Lake,McHenry,DuPage,Kane,Kendall,Grundy,Will, andKankakee), and the two Indiana counties of Lake andPorter.[23] Illinois Department of Tourism literature usesChicagoland for suburbs in Cook, Lake, DuPage, Kane, and Will counties,[24] treating the city separately. TheChicagoland Chamber of Commerce defines it as all of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties.[25]
In addition, company marketing programs such as Construction Data Company's[26] "Chicago and Vicinity" region and theChicago Automobile Trade Association's"Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana" advertising campaign are directed at the MSA itself, as well as LaSalle,Winnebago (Rockford),Boone, andOgle counties in Illinois, in addition toJasper,Newton, andLa Porte counties in Indiana andKenosha,Racine, andWalworth counties in Wisconsin, and even as far northeast asBerrien County, Michigan. The region is part of theGreat Lakes Megalopolis, containing an estimated 55 million people.[27]
The term "collar counties" is acolloquialism for the five counties (DuPage, Kane, Lake,McHenry, and Will) of Illinois that border Chicago's Cook County. After Cook County, they are also the next five most populous counties in the state. According to theEncyclopedia of Chicago, there is no specifically known origin of the phrase, but it has been commonly used among policy makers, urban planners, and in the media. However, it also notes that as growth has spread beyond these counties, it may have lost some of its usefulness.[28]
Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) is an Illinois state agency responsible for transportation infrastructure, land use, and long-term economic development planning for the areas under its jurisdiction within Illinois.[29] The planning area has a population of over 8 million, which includes the following locations in Illinois:[30]
The city of Chicago lies in the Chicago Plain, a flat and broad area characterized by little topographical relief. The few low hills are sand ridges. North of the Chicago Plain, steep bluffs and ravines run alongside Lake Michigan.
Along the southern shore of the Chicago Plain, sand dunes run alongside the lake. The tallest dunes reach up to near 200 feet (61 m) and are found inIndiana Dunes National Park. Surrounding the low plain are bands ofmoraines in the south and west suburbs. These areas are higher and hillier than the Chicago Plain. Acontinental divide, separating theMississippi River watershed from that of theGreat Lakes andSaint Lawrence River, runs through the Chicago area.
A 2012 survey of the urban trees and forests in the seven county Illinois section of the Chicago area found that 21% of the land is covered by the tree and shrub canopy, made up of about 157,142,000 trees. The five most common tree species arebuckthorn,green ash,boxelder,black cherry, andAmerican elm. These resources perform important functions in carbon storage, water recycling, and energy saving.[31][32]
As of 2022, the metropolitan area had a population of 9,442,159. The population density was 1,312.3 per square mile.The racial makeup was 50.1% Non-Hispanic White, 23.4% were Hispanic, 15.5% were Non-Hispanic African Americans, 7.2% were Asian, 0.1% were Non-Hispanic Native American, 0.4% identified as “some other race,” and 3.2% were non-Hispanic multiracial.[33]
According to 2023 estimates from theAmerican Community Survey, the largest ancestries in the Chicago metro area wereMexican (18.3%),African (17.7%),German (12.6%),Irish (9.9%),Polish (7.8%),Italian (6.2%),English (4.8%),Indian (2.7%),Puerto Rican (2.2%),Filipino (1.7%),Swedish (1.5%), andChinese (1.5%).[34][35][36][37]
| Ancestry | Number in 2023 (Alone)[38][39] | Number as of 2023 | % Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mexican | — | 1,702,582 | 18.4% |
| Black or African American (Including Afro-Caribbean & Sub-Saharan African) | 1,454,774 | 1,640,932 | 17.7% |
| German | 258,719 | 1,171,467 | 12.6% |
| Irish | 228,668 | 920,413 | 9.9% |
| Polish | 308,727 | 721,538 | 7.8% |
| Italian | 171,860 | 573,170 | 6.2% |
| English | 111,705 | 448,481 | 4.8% |
| Indian | 233,793 | 248,606 | 2.7% |
| American (Mostlyold-stock white Americans of British descent) | 160,656 | 224,204 | 2.4% |
| Puerto Rican | — | 206,682 | 2.2% |
| Filipino | 121,749 | 157,730 | 1.7% |
| Swedish | 26,644 | 143,476 | 1.5% |
| Chinese | 113,354 | 137,286 | 1.5% |
| French | 10,665 | 106,879 | 1.2% |
| Dutch | 28,209 | 96,060 | 1.0% |
| Arab | 66,215 | 94,913 | 1.0% |
| Scottish | 16,268 | 89,240 | 1.0% |
| Greek | 37,976 | 85,501 | 0.9% |
| Norwegian | 21,289 | 85,404 | 0.9% |
| Russian | 28,348 | 78,252 | 0.8% |
| Czech | 19,212 | 72,058 | 0.8% |
| Ukrainian | 47,806 | 69,266 | 0.7% |
| Indigenous Latin American | 38,200 | 64,863 | 0.7% |
| Korean | 49,779 | 62,325 | 0.7% |
| Lithuanian | 24,763 | 59,359 | 0.6% |
| Pakistani | 41,457 | 47,078 | 0.5% |
| Nigerian | 31,833 | 41,263 | 0.4% |
| Guatemalan | — | 40,847 | 0.4% |
| Ecuadorian | — | 38,590 | 0.4% |
| Hungarian | 10,626 | 37,658 | 0.4% |
| Colombian | — | 37,451 | 0.4% |
| Croatian | 11,316 | 36,601 | 0.4% |
| Scotch-Irish | 8,216 | 32,606 | 0.4% |
| Romanian | 20,218 | 31,904 | 0.3% |
| Japanese | 14,823 | 31,055 | 0.3% |
| Vietnamese | 24,447 | 31,007 | 0.3% |
The suburbs, surrounded by easily annexed flat ground, have been expanding at a tremendous rate since the early 1960s. Aurora, Elgin, Joliet, and Naperville are noteworthy for being four of the fewboomburbs outside theSun Belt,West Coast andMountain States regions, andexurban Kendall County ranked as the fastest-growing county (among counties with a population greater than 10,000) in the United States between 2000 and 2007.[43]
Settlement patterns in the Chicago metropolitan area tend to follow those in the city proper: the northern and northwestern suburbs are generally affluent andupper-middle class, while the southern suburbs (sometimes known asChicago Southland) have somewhat lower median incomes and a cost of living, with the exception being the southwest suburbs which contain many upper-middle class areas. Another exception to this is theWest Side, which has a somewhat lower median income, but the western suburbs contain many affluent and upper-middle class areas. According to the 2000 Census, DuPage County as a whole had the highest median household income of any county in theMidwestern United States, although there are individual cities and towns in other surrounding counties in the metro that have even higher median incomes.
According to 2022 estimates from the U.S. Census, poverty rates of the largest counties from least poverty to most are as follows: McHenry 4.0%, Dupage 6.7%, Will 6.9%, Kane 7.8%, Lake 8.0%, and Cook 13.6%.[44] However, Cook County, which contains luxury high rises and expensive houses in sections of the city and expensive houses along the waterfront in theNorth Shore area, would also have the highest percentage of expensive homes in the region.
In an in-depth historical analysis, Keating (2004, 2005) examined the origins of 233 settlements that by 1900 had become suburbs or city neighborhoods of the Chicago metropolitan area. The settlements began as farm centers (41%), industrial towns (30%), residential railroad suburbs (15%), and recreational/institutional centers (13%). Although relations between the different settlement types were at times contentious, there also was cooperation in such undertakings as the construction of high schools.[citation needed]
As the Chicago metropolitan area has grown, more counties have been partly or totally assimilated with the taking of each decennial census.
| Census Area | Area Type | 2020 census | 2010 census | 2000 census | 1990 census | 1980 Census | 1970 census | 1960 census | 1950 census |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI | Metropolitan | 9,618,502 | 9,461,105 | 9,098,316 | 8,065,633 | 7,869,542 | 7,612,314 | 6,794,461 | 5,495,364 |
| Cook County, Illinois | Metropolitan | 5,275,541 | 5,194,675 | 5,376,741 | 5,105,067 | 5,253,655 | 5,492,369 | 5,129,725 | 4,508,792 |
| DeKalb County, Illinois | Metropolitan | 100,420 | 105,160 | 88,969 | 77,932 | 74,624 | 71,654 | 51,714 | 40,781 |
| DuPage County, Illinois | Metropolitan | 932,877 | 916,924 | 904,161 | 781,666 | 658,835 | 491,882 | 313,459 | 154,599 |
| Grundy County, Illinois | Metropolitan | 52,533 | 50,063 | 37,535 | 32,337 | 30,582 | 26,535 | 22,350 | 19,217 |
| Kane County, Illinois | Metropolitan | 516,522 | 515,269 | 404,119 | 317,471 | 278,405 | 251,005 | 208,246 | 150,388 |
| Kendall County, Illinois | Metropolitan | 131,869 | 114,736 | 54,544 | 39,413 | 37,202 | 26,374 | 17,540 | 12,115 |
| McHenry County, Illinois | Metropolitan | 310,229 | 308,760 | 260,077 | 183,241 | 147,897 | 111,555 | 84,210 | 50,656 |
| Will County, Illinois | Metropolitan | 696,355 | 677,560 | 502,266 | 357,313 | 324,460 | 249,498 | 191,617 | 134,336 |
| Jasper County, Indiana | Metropolitan | 32,918 | 33,478 | 30,043 | 24,960 | 26,138 | 20,429 | 18,842 | 17,031 |
| Lake County, Indiana | Metropolitan | 498,700 | 496,005 | 484,564 | 475,594 | 522,965 | 546,253 | 513,269 | 368,152 |
| Newton County, Indiana | Metropolitan | 13,830 | 14,244 | 14,566 | 13,551 | 14,844 | 11,606 | 11,502 | 11,006 |
| Porter County, Indiana | Metropolitan | 173,215 | 164,343 | 146,798 | 128,932 | 119,816 | 87,114 | 60,279 | 40,076 |
| Lake County, Illinois | Metropolitan | 714,342 | 703,462 | 644,356 | 516,418 | 440,372 | 382,638 | 293,656 | 179,097 |
| Kenosha County, Wisconsin | Metropolitan | 169,151 | 166,426 | 149,577 | 128,181 | 123,137 | 117,917 | 100,615 | 75,238 |
| Kankakee County, Illinois | Combined | 107,502 | 113,449 | 103,833 | 96,255 | 102,926 | 97,250 | 92,063 | 73,524 |
| LaSalle County, Illinois | Combined | 109,658 | 113,924 | 111,509 | 106,913 | 112,003 | 111,409 | 110,800 | 100,610 |
| Bureau County, Illinois | Combined | 33,244 | 34,978 | 35,503 | 35,688 | 39,114 | 38,541 | 37,594 | 37,711 |
| Putnam County, Illinois | Combined | 5,637 | 6,006 | 6,086 | 5,730 | 6,085 | 5,007 | 4,570 | 4,746 |
| LaPorte County, Indiana | Combined | 112,417 | 111,467 | 110,106 | 107,066 | 108,632 | 105,342 | 95,111 | 76,808 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI | Combined | 9,986,960 | 9,686,021 | 9,312,255 | 8,385,397 | 8,264,490 | 8,089,421 | 7,204,198 | 5,911,816 |
Counties highlighted in gray were not included in the MSA for that census.The CSA totals in blue are the totals of all the counties listed above, regardless of whether they were included in the Chicago Combined Statistical Area at the time.[45]
Within the boundary of the 16-county Chicago Combined Statistical Area lies the Chicagourban area, as well as 26 smaller urban areas.[46] Some of the urban areas below may partially cross into other statistical areas. Only those situated primarily within the Chicago combined statistical area are listed here.
| Urban area | Population (2020 census) | Land area (sq mi) | Land area (km2) | Density (population / sq mi) | Density (population / km2) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago, IL–IN | 8,671,746 | 2,337.89 | 6,055.09 | 3,709.2 | 1,432.1 |
| Round Lake Beach–McHenry–Grayslake, IL–WI | 261,835 | 127.61 | 330.52 | 2,051.8 | 792.2 |
| Kenosha, WI | 125,865 | 56.17 | 145.48 | 2,240.8 | 865.2 |
| Michigan City–La Porte, IN–MI | 71,367 | 49.16 | 127.32 | 1,451.7 | 560.5 |
| Kankakee, IL | 66,530 | 31.66 | 82.00 | 2,101.4 | 811.3 |
| DeKalb, IL | 64,736 | 25.63 | 66.39 | 2,525.6 | 975.1 |
| Valparaiso–Shorewood Forest, IN | 51,867 | 33.64 | 87.12 | 1,542.0 | 595.4 |
| Peru–LaSalle, IL | 29,763 | 21.45 | 55.56 | 1,387.4 | 535.7 |
| Woodstock, IL | 25,298 | 9.31 | 24.10 | 2,718.7 | 1,049.7 |
| Ottawa, IL | 20,122 | 9.99 | 25.87 | 2,014.2 | 777.7 |
| Streator, IL | 16,209 | 8.12 | 21.04 | 1,995.3 | 770.4 |
| Coal City–Braidwood, IL | 15,837 | 10.29 | 26.65 | 1,539.4 | 594.4 |
| Morris, IL | 15,740 | 8.64 | 22.37 | 1,822.2 | 703.5 |
| Lowell, IN | 10,747 | 5.28 | 13.66 | 2,037.2 | 786.6 |
| Manteno, IL | 10,437 | 6.01 | 15.56 | 1,736.8 | 670.6 |
| Harvard, IL | 9,376 | 4.36 | 11.30 | 2,148.7 | 829.6 |
| Princeton, IL | 7,979 | 6.20 | 16.06 | 1,287.1 | 497.0 |
| Marengo, IL | 7,509 | 3.81 | 9.86 | 1,971.5 | 761.2 |
| Lake Holiday, IL | 7,313 | 4.30 | 11.14 | 1,700.5 | 656.6 |
| Mendota, IL | 6,918 | 2.85 | 7.38 | 2,426.2 | 936.8 |
| Wilmington, IL | 6,388 | 3.95 | 10.23 | 1,617.3 | 624.5 |
| McHenry Northwest–Wonder Lake, IL | 5,758 | 2.35 | 6.08 | 2,453.6 | 947.4 |
| Hampshire, IL | 5,699 | 2.72 | 7.06 | 2,091.4 | 807.5 |
| Rensselaer, IN | 5,509 | 3.23 | 8.37 | 1,703.9 | 657.9 |
| Genoa, IL | 5,484 | 2.20 | 5.69 | 2,498.0 | 964.5 |
| Westville, IN | 5,189 | 2.10 | 5.45 | 2,466.0 | 952.1 |
| Marseilles, IL | 4,660 | 2.39 | 6.19 | 1,948.4 | 752.3 |
The Chicago metropolitan area is home to the corporate headquarters of 57Fortune 1000 companies, includingAbbVie Inc.,Allstate,Kraft Heinz,McDonald's,Mondelez International,Motorola,United Airlines,Walgreens, andmore. The Chicago area also headquarters a wide variety of global financial institutions includingDiscover Financial Services,Morningstar, Inc.,CNA Financial, and more. Chicago is home to the largestfutures exchange in the world, theChicago Mercantile Exchange. In March 2008, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange announced its acquisition of NYMEX Holdings Inc, the parent company of theNew York Mercantile Exchange and Commodity Exchange. CME'S acquisition of NYMEX was completed in August 2008.
A key piece of infrastructure for several generations was theUnion Stock Yards of Chicago, which from 1865 until 1971 penned and slaughtered millions of cattle and hogs into standardized cuts ofbeef andpork. This prompted poetCarl Sandburg to describe Chicago as the "Hog Butcher for the World".[47]
The Chicago area, meanwhile, began to produce significant quantities of telecommunications gear, electronics, steel, crude oil derivatives, automobiles, and industrial capital goods.
By the early 2000s, Illinois' economy had moved toward a dependence on high-value-added services, such as financial trading,higher education,logistics, and health care. In some cases, these services clustered around institutions that hearkened back to Illinois's earlier economies. For example, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, a trading exchange for globalderivatives, had begun its life as an agriculturalfutures market.
In 2007, the area ranked first among U.S. metro areas in the number of new and expanded corporate facilities.[48] It ranked third in 2008, behind theHouston–Sugar Land–Baytown andDallas–Fort Worth metropolitan areas,[49] and ranked second behind theNew York metropolitan area in 2009.[50]
The Wall Street Journal summarized the Chicago area's economy in November 2006 with the comment that "Chicago has survived by repeatedly reinventing itself."[51]
Chicago has been at the center of the United States' railroad network since the 19th century. Almost allClass I railroads serve the area, the most in North America.[52]
I-41 runs concurrently with I-94 from the northern terminus of the Tri-State Tollway toMilwaukee.
I-55 is the Adlai Stevenson Expressway.
I-57 is unofficially the "West Leg" of the Dan Ryan Expressway.
I-65 has no name, whether official or unofficial.
I-80 is officially called the Borman Expressway (cosigned with I-94), Kingery Expressway (cosigned with I-94 for 3 miles), Tri-State Tollway (cosigned with I-294 for 4 miles) and is unofficially called the Moline Expressway west of I-294.
I-88 is the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway (formerly East-West Tollway)
I-90 is locally known as Jane Addams Tollway (formerly Northwest Tollway),John F. Kennedy Expresway (cosigned with I-94),Dan Ryan Expressway (cosigned with I-94), and Chicago Skyway Toll Bridge.
I-94 is Tri-State Tollway in Lake County, Edens Spur, Edens Expy, John F. Kennedy Expy (cosigned with I-90), Dan Ryan Expy (cosigned with I-90), Bishop Ford Freeway (formerly Calumet Expressway), Kingery Expy (cosigned with I-80) and Borman Expy (cosigned with I-80).
I-190 is the John F. Kennedy Expy spur heading intoChicago-O'Hare Int'l Airport.
I-290 is the Dwight D. Eisenhower Expressway.
I-294 is the Tri-State Tollway.
I-355 is the Veterans Memorial Tollway (formerly North-South Tollway).In addition to theChicago Loop, the metro area is home to a few important subregional corridors of commercial activities. Among them are:
The Chicagoland metro has long been aDemocratic stronghold due to the Democratic strength concentrated inCook County, more specifically in the city ofChicago and its many diverse suburbs. TheCollar counties that border Cook County have historically leaned towards theRepublican Party, but in recent election cycles they have increasingly shifted to the left.
McHenry County is the reddest collar county, as it is the only county out of the five collar counties that has continued to routinely elect Republicans statewide, having voted for the Republican candidate for president in the last four out of fiveUnited States presidential elections.[53]Dekalb County, which is the westernmost county in the metro, is a Democratic leaning county, especially because of the demographically diverse city ofDekalb being home toNIU.Kankakee County andGrundy County, which are located to the south and southwest ofWill County respectively, are the most Republican counties included in metro, particularly due to being more exurban and rural.
| Year | Democratic | Republican | Third parties |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 61.9%2,325,189 | 36.5%1,336,204 | 2.5%93,943 |
| 2020 | 66.1%2,691,170 | 32.1%1,306,077 | 1.8%72,586 |
| 2016 | 64.4%2,400,444 | 29.5%1,099,170 | 6.1%226,879 |
| 2012 | 64.0%2,139,672 | 34.6%1,156,797 | 1.4%48,478 |
| 2008 | 67.6%2,460,746 | 31.1%1,134,317 | 1.3%47,069 |
| 2004 | 60.3%2,055,714 | 39.0%1,331,401 | 0.7%23,076 |
| 2000 | 59.2%1,789,820 | 38.1%1,151,288 | 2.7%83,554 |
Listing of the professional sports teams in the Chicago metropolitan area
Major league professional teams:
Other professional teams:
TheChicagoland Speedway oval track has hostedNASCAR Cup Series andIndyCar Series races.TheChicago Marathon is one of theWorld Marathon Majors.TheWestern Open andBMW Championship arePGA Tour tournaments that have been held primarily at golf courses near Chicago.
NCAA Division I College Sports Teams:
The two main newspapers are theChicago Tribune and theChicago Sun-Times. Local television channels broadcasting to the Chicago market includeWBBM-TV 2 (CBS),WMAQ-TV 5 (NBC),WLS-TV 7 (ABC),WGN-TV 9 (CW),WTTW 11 (PBS),MeTV 23,WCIU 26 (Ind),WFLD 32 (FOX),WCPX-TV 38 (Ion),WSNS-TV 44 (Telemundo),WPWR-TV 50 (MyNetworkTV), andWJYS-TV 62 (The Way). Radio stations serving the area include:WBBM (AM),WBEZ,WGN (AM),WMBI,WLS (AM), andWSCR.
Elementary and secondary education within the Chicago metropolitan area is provided by dozens of different school districts, of which by far the largest is theChicago Public Schools with 400,000 students.[56] Numerous private and religious school systems are also found in the region, as well as a growing number ofcharter schools. Racial inequalities in education in the region remain widespread, often breaking along district boundaries;[57] for instance, educational prospects vary widely for students in the Chicago Public Schools compared to those in some neighboring suburban schools.[58]
Historically, the Chicago metropolitan area has been at the center of a number of national educational movements, from the free-flowingWinnetka Plan to the regimentedTaylorism of theGary Plan.[59] In higher education,University of Chicago founderWilliam Rainey Harper was a leading early advocate of thejunior college movement;Joliet Junior College is the nation's oldest continuously operating junior college today.[60] Later U of C presidentRobert Maynard Hutchins was central to theGreat Books movement, and programs ofdialogic education arising from that legacy can be found today at the U of C, atShimer College,[61] and in theCity Colleges of Chicago andOakton College in the Northwest suburbs.[62]
From 1947 until 1988, the Illinois portion of the Chicago metro area was served by a singlearea code, 312, which abutted the 815 area code. In 1988 the 708 area code was introduced and the 312 area code became exclusive to the city of Chicago.
It became common to call suburbanites "708'ers", in reference to their area code.
The 708 area code was partitioned in 1996 into three area codes, serving different portions of the metro area: 630, 708, and 847.
At the same time that the 708 area code was running out of phone numbers, the 312 area code in Chicago was also exhausting its supply of available numbers. As a result, the city of Chicago was divided into two area codes, 312 and 773. Rather than divide the city by a north–south area code, the central business district retained the 312 area code, while the remainder of the city took the new 773 code.
In 2002, the 847 area code was supplemented with the overlay area code 224. In February 2007, the 815 area code (serving outlying portions of the metro area) was supplemented with the overlay area code 779. In October 2007, the overlay area code 331 was implemented to supplement the 630 area with additional numbers.
Plans are in place for overlay codes in the 708, 773, and 312 regions as those area codes become exhausted in the future.
Chicago city proper only
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