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 is 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.
Among the field's where its influence has been seen are physics where Chicago Pile-1 served as the world's
first artificial nuclear reactor and architecture where it has contributed Chicago school architecture and
it boast some of the world's tallest buildings (Sears Tower, Aon Center, and Hancock Center) and some
of the tallest skyscrapers under construction (Chicago Spire and Trump International Hotel and Tower).
The University of Chicago is a leader in many fields and has contributed its own Chicago schools
such as Chicago school economics.
Today, Chicago boasts a rich diversity of cultural offerings: teams from each of the major league sports
(Bears, Blackhawks, Bulls, Cubs, and White Sox), a financial district anchored by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange
located at the foot of LaSalle Street in the Chicago Board of Trade Building, the shopping of the Magnificent Mile,
a blossoming Theatre district, a thriving arts culture anchored by the Art Institute of Chicago and bolstered by
the modern offerings of the Millennium Park and a unique cuisine that has brought the world Chicago-style pizza.
Noted among Chicago Landmarks are Wrigley Field, and Buckingham Fountain.
The Magnificent Mile is a fitting tribute for a city that has revolutionized retail merchandising with
Aaron Montgomery Ward perfecting mail order catalogs and Marshall Field inventing the money-back guarantee,
bridal registry and being the first to use posted prices on goods.
Chicago is served by two major international airports, Chicago Midway International Airport and
O'Hare International Airport (the world's second busiest in terms of passengers) as well as the internationally
recognized Chicago 'L' system of heavy rail rapid transit.
Chicago was once the capital of the railroad industry and the nation's meatpacking was hubbed at the
Union Stock Yards.
Chicago has seen the illegal corruption of Al Capone and has a history of Chicago-style politics which goes
back to getting Abraham Lincoln nominated for to be United States President at the Wigwam and
continued through the Cook County Democratic Organization.
More recent Democrats from Cook County include the first African-American female United States Senator,
Carol Mosley-Braun, and Barack Obama.
read full wikipedia reference about Chicago, Illinois
OTHER POPULAR DESTINATIONS IN ILLINOIS
Alton
Arlington Heights
Aurora
Bloomington
Bolingbrook
Carbondale
Champaign
Chicago
Collinsville
Crystal Lake
Danville
Decatur
Deerfield
Dekalb
Des Plaines
Effingham
Elgin
Elk Grove Village
Elmhurst
Fairview Heights
Freeport
Galesburg
Gurnee
Hoffman Estates
Jacksonville
Joliet
Lansing
Libertyville
Lincolnshire
Lombard
Macomb
Marion
Metropolis
Moline
Mount Vernon
Naperville
Normal
Northbrook
O'Fallon
Oakbrook
Ottawa
Peoria
Peru
Quincy
Rockford
Rosemont
Schaumburg
Schiller Park
Skokie
Springfield
St. Charles
Sycamore
Tinley Park
Urbana
Waukegan