Chicago


 * This article is about the city in the state of . For other uses, see .

Chicago ( or  ; shi-kah-go, or shi-kaw-go), is the largest city in the state of  and the largest in the. With a population of nearly 3 million people, the city is the in the. It is the anchor of the, commonly called , which has a population of over 9.7 million people in Illinois, and , making it the  in the U.S. Rich in history and renowned for its architecture, the city is classified as an. The City of Chicago is almost entirely located in, with a small portion overlapping into , while the metropolitan area extends over several counties.

Located at the between the  and the, Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837. It rapidly became a major transportation hub, a center of railroad transportation, as well as the business, financial, and cultural capital of the. Since the, it has been regarded as one of the ten most influential in the world.

History


The name Chicago is the rendering of the  name shikaakwa, meaning “”. Etymologically, the sound /shikaakwa/ in Miami-Illinois literally meant "striped skunk", and referred to wild leek, or the smell of onions, metaphorically. It was initially applied to the river, and came to denote the site of the present city later. The sound "Chicago" is the result of a French mis-transcription of the original sound.

Chicago in its first century was one of the fastest growing. Within the span of only forty years, its population grew from slightly under 30,000 to over 1 million by 1890. In the next forty years the population tripled to over 3 million. By the close of the 19th century, Chicago was the fifth largest city in the world -- and the largest of the cities that didn't exist at the dawn of the century.

During the mid-18th century the Chicago area was inhabited primarily by s, who took the place of the and  people. The first settler in Chicago, an, arrived in the 1770s, married a Potawatomi woman, and founded the area’s first. In 1803 the United States Army built, which was destroyed in 1812 in the. The, , and Potawatomi later ceded the land to the United States in the of 1816. On, the Town of Chicago was organized with a population of 350, and within seven years it grew to a population of over 4,000. The City of Chicago was incorporated on.

Starting in 1848, the city became an important transportation center between the eastern and western. Chicago’s first railway,, opened. The allowed steamboats and sailing ships on the  to connect through Chicago to the. A flourishing economy brought many new residents from rural communities and, , , and numerous other. The city’s manufacturing and retail sectors dominated the Midwest and greatly influenced the American economy, with the dominating the meat packing trade.

Beginning in 1855, Chicago constructed the first comprehensive system in the U.S., requiring the level of downtown streets to be raised as much as 10 feet (3 m). However, the untreated sewage and industrial waste flowed from the into,  the primary source of fresh water for the city. The city responded by tunneling two miles (3 km) out into Lake Michigan to newly built s. Nonetheless, spring rains continued to carry polluted water as far out as the water intakes. In 1900, the problem of sewage was largely resolved when Chicago undertook an innovative engineering feat. The city actually reversed the flow of the river with the construction of the leading to the  which joins the.

After the of 1871 destroyed a third of the city, including the entire, Chicago experienced rapid rebuilding and growth. During Chicago's rebuilding period, the world's was constructed in 1885 using  construction.

In 1893, Chicago hosted the on former marshland at the present location of. The Exposition drew 27.5 million visitors, and is considered among the most influential world's fairs in history. The had been founded one year earlier in 1892 on the same location. The term "midway" for a fair or carnival referred originally to the, a strip of park land that still runs through the University of Chicago campus and connects and Jackson Parks.

The city was the site of and unrest during this period, which included the  on. Concern for social problems among Chicago’s lower classes led to be a co-founder of  in 1889, the first of what were called settlement houses. Programs developed there became a model for the new field of social work. The city also invested in many large, well-landscaped, which also included public sanitation facilities.

The 1920s brought notoriety to Chicago as, including the notorious , battled each other and law enforcement on the city streets during the  era. The 1920s also saw a major expansion in industry. The availability of jobs attracted African Americans from the South. They arrived by the tens of thousands in the.

In 1933, Mayor was  while in with President.

On, physicist  conducted the world’s first controlled  at the  as part of the top-secret.

Mayor was elected in 1955, in the era of so-called. Starting in the 1960s, many upper- and middle-class citizens started leaving the city for the s, as was the case in many cities across the country, leaving impoverished neighborhoods in their wake. (Since the 1990s, the city has undergone a revitalization where some lower class neighborhoods were transformed into pricey neighborhoods.) The city hosted the tumultuous, which featured physical confrontations both inside and outside the convention hall, including full-scale s in city streets. Major construction projects, including the (which in 1974 became the ),, and , were undertaken during Richard J. Daley's tenure. When he died, was mayor for three years. His loss in a primary election has been attributed to the city’s inability to properly plow city streets during a heavy snowstorm. In 1979,, the city’s first female mayor, was elected. She popularized the city as a and  destination.

In 1983 became the first  to be elected to the office of mayor, in one of the closest mayoral elections in Chicago. After Washington won the Democratic primary, racial motivations caused Democratic alderman and ward committeemen to back the Republican candidate, who ran on the slogan Before it’s too late, a thinly veiled. Washington’s term in office saw new attention given to poor and minority neighborhoods. His administration reduced the longtime dominance of city contracts and employment by ethnic whites. Under Mayor Washington's administration in 1986 Chicago also enacted one of the nation's most tenant-friendly landlord-tenant ordinances, the Chicago Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance.

Current mayor, son of the late Richard J. Daley, was first elected in 1989. New projects during the younger Daley’s administration have made Chicago larger, more environmentally friendly, and more accessible.

Topography
Chicago is a city, located in northeastern Illinois at the southwestern tip of. Chicago's official geographic coordinates are 41.88333°N, -87.65°W. It sits on the at the site of the, connecting the  and the. The city lies beside Lake Michigan, and two rivers&mdash;the in downtown and the  in the industrial far South Side&mdash;flow entirely or partially through Chicago. The connects the Chicago River with the, which runs to the west of the city.

When Chicago was founded in the 1830s, most of the early building began around the mouth of the Chicago River, as can be seen on a map of the city's original 58 blocks. According to the, which analyzes the city using 77 official , Chicago has a total area of 234.0 square miles (606.1 ), of which 227.1 square miles (588.3 km²) is land and 6.9 square miles (17.8 km²) is water. The total area is 2.94% water.

The city is built on quite flat land. The verage land elevation land is 579 (176 m) above. The lowest points are along the lake shore at 577 feet (176 m), while the highest point at 735 feet (224 m) is a located in the  community area on the city's far south side (41.655°N, -87.57889°W).

Lake Michigan
The history of Chicago is closely tied to that of. Since before Chicago was founded, ships were bringing people and supplies from all points on the compass. Lake Michigan is the third largest of the s, with a maximum depth of 925 ft and a size slightly greater than the country of. The average depth off Chicago’s shore averages 15–35 feet. To reach greater depths, one must travel several miles out in the lake, or head north to. The lake bottom off Chicago’s shore is littered with s, ranging from s and s to car ferries and even airplanes. is a popular recreation for local residents, as are lakefront cruises. s were discovered in in 1988, and soon spread, impacting the ecosystem.

Climate
The city lies within the zone, and experiences four distinct s. In July, the warmest month, high temperatures average 84.9 ° (29.4 °) and low temperatures 65.8 °F (18.8 °C). In January, the coldest month, high temperatures average 31.5 °F (−0.3 °C) with low temperatures averaging 17.1 °F (−8.3 °C). According to the, Chicago’s highest official temperature reading of 105 °F (41 °C) was recorded on. The lowest temperature of −27 °F (−33 °C) degrees was recorded on.

Chicago’s yearly averages about 34 es. Summer is the rainiest season, with short-lived rainfall and s more common than prolonged rainy periods. Winter is the driest season, with most of the precipitation falling as. The snowiest winter ever recorded in Chicago was 1929–30, with 114.2 inches of snow in total. Chicago’s highest one-day rain total was 6.49 inches (164 mm), on.

Architecture


The outcome of the Great Chicago Fire led to the largest building boom in the history of the nation. Perhaps the most outstanding of these events was the relocation of many of the nation's most prominent architects to the city from for construction of the 1893 World Columbian Exposition. Many architects including Burnham, Root, Adler and Sullivan went on to design other well known Chicago landmarks because of the Exposition.

In 1885, the first steel-framed high-rise building rose in Chicago ushering in the era. Today, Chicago's skyline is among the world's tallest. Downtown's historic buildings include the in the, with others along the lakefront and the Chicago River. Once first on the and still listed sixth, the  stands near the junction of the north and south river branches. The three tallest in the city are the (tallest in the U.S.), the, and the. The city's architecture includes lakefront high-rise residential towers, low-rise structures, and single-family homes. areas such as the border, south of, and the banks of the  are clustered.

Future skyline plans entail the, , and. The 60602 was named by  as the hottest zip code in the country with upscale buildings such as  (130 N. Garland) leading the way for other buildings such at Waterview Tower, The Legacy and Momo. Other new skyscraper construction may be found directly south and north  of the Loop.

Every kind and scale of houses, townhouses, condominiums and apartment buildings can be found in Chicago. Large swaths of Chicago's residential areas away from the lake are characterized by s built either during the early 20th century or after World War II. Chicago was a center of the of church architecture.

Parks line ; a few of the more notable include, , and. and in  are to the south. Interspersed are 31, the , several bird sanctuaries, Convention Center, , , the , and the.

Neighborhoods
Regionally, Chicago can be divided by the river and its branches into three main sections: the North Side, the, and the West Side. In the late 1920s the city was subdivided into 77 by sociologists at the University of Chicago. The boundaries of the community areas are better defined than those of the, allowing for better year-by-year comparisons.

The Loop
The Loop, named for a circuit of cable cars and later for the where practically all branches of the  train system lead, is the main commercial and cultural center, and includes the city's tallest buildings. It is generally not considered to be part of any of the "sides" of the city.

North Side
The city's North Side is densely populated, and is the more commercially active section of the city.

Much of the North Side reaped the benefits of an economic boom which began in the 1990s. For example, the River North area, just north of the Chicago River and the Loop, has undergone a transition from an abandoned warehouse district to an active commercial, residential, and entertainment hub, featuring the city's largest concentration of contemporary art galleries. Just west of River North's galleries and bistros, demolition of the 's housing project began in  2003. High-priced townhouses contrast with the gray, low-income high-rises along Halsted near.

South Side
The South Side encompasses roughly 60% of the city's land area, however, with a higher ratio of single-family homes and large sections zoned for industry, it is less densely populated than the North Side.

Along with being the largest section of the city in terms of geography, it also is the home to two of the cities largest parades: the annual parade, which is held during the second weekend of August and celebrates children returning to school, and the, which held the weekend of St.Patrick's Day.

The South Side has two of Chicago's largest public parks:, which hosted the in 1893 is the location of the , which occupies the only remaining building from the fair. Jackson Park stretches along the lakefront, linking the neighborhoods of  and. Connecting Jackson Park via the mile-long is, which is currently being considered as the primary site of the  should Chicago win its bid to host the games.

West Side
The West Side is made up of neighborhoods such as, , , , and. Some neighborhoods, particularly Garfield Park and Lawndale, have socio-economic problems including and crime.

The West Side lanscape includes Douglas Park, Garfield Park, and Humboldt Park. houses one of the largest collections of tropical plants of any major U.S. city. Other attractions on the West Side include the, Humboldt Park's festival, and the  in Pilsen.

The West Side is serviced by the 's, , and.

Culture and contemporary life
The city's waterfront allure and nightlife has attracted residents and tourists alike. Over one-third of the city population is concentrated in the lakefront neighborhoods (from in the north to  in the south). The North Side has a large. Two neighborhoods in particular, Lakeview and Andersonville (in Edgewater), are home to many businesses and organizations. The area adjacent to the intersection of and  is a gay neighborhood known to Chicagoans as "." The city has many upscale dining establishments as well as many ethnic restaurant districts. These include "Greektown" on South Halsted, "Little Italy" on Taylor Street, just west of Halsted, "Chinatown" on the near South Side, "Little Seoul" on and around Lawrence Avenue, a cluster of Vietnamese restaurants on Argyle Street and South Asian (Indian/Pakistani) on Devon Avenue.

Entertainment and performing arts


Chicago’s community spawned modern. Two renowned comedy troupes emerged&mdash; and (formerly known as ImprovOlympic). Renowned Chicago theater companies include the (on the city's north side), the, and the. Chicago offers Broadway-style entertainment at theatres such as, , , of Roosevelt University, and  Water Tower Place.

Classical music offerings include the, recognized as one of the finest orchestras in the world, which performs at. In the summer, many outdoor concerts are given in and. The, located 25 mi north of Chicago, is also a favorite destination for many Chicagoans, with performances occasionally given in Chicago locations such as the. The is home to the.

The and  perform in various venues, including the  in. Chicago is home to several other modern and jazz dance troupes, such as the.

Other live music genre which are part of the city's cultural heritage include, , , and. The city is the birthplace of and is the site of an influential. In the 1980s, the city was a center for industrial, and new wave. This influence continued into the of the 1990s. The city has been an epicenter for culture since the 1980s. A flourishing independent rock music culture brought forth Chicago. Annual festivals feature various acts such as, the and.

Tourism
Chicago attracted 44.17 million people in 2006 from around the nation. Upscale shopping along the, thousands of restaurants, as well as Chicago's eminent architecture, continue to draw tourists. The city is the United States' third-largest convention destination. Most conventions are held at, just south of.

, 3,000 feet (900 m) long, houses retail, restaurants, museums, exhibition halls, and auditoriums. Its 150 ft tall is north of  on the lakefront and is one of the most visited landmarks in the Midwest, attracting about 8 million people annually.



The historic (1897), originally serving as the Chicago Public Library, now houses the city's Visitor Information Center, galleries, and exhibit halls. The ceiling of Preston Bradley Hall includes a 38-foot (11 m) dome.

, initially slated to be unveiled at the turn of the 21st century, and delayed for several years, sits on a deck built over a portion of the former Illinois Central rail yard. The park includes the reflective  sculpture (known locally as "The Bean"). A Millennium Park restaurant outdoor transforms into an in the winter. Two tall glass sculptures make up the. The fountain's two towers display visual effects from LED images of Chicagoans' faces, with water spouting from their lips. 's detailed stainless steel band shell, Pritzker Pavilion, hosts the classical Grant Park Music Festival concert series. Behind the pavilion's stage is the, an indoor venue for mid-sized performing arts companies, including Chicago Opera Theater and Music of the Baroque.

In 1998, the city officially opened the, a 10- (4-) lakefront park surrounding three of the city's main museums: the , the , and the. The Museum Campus joins the southern section of which includes the renowned. anchors the downtown park along the lakefront. During the summer of 2007, Grant Park hosts the public art exhibit, Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet.

The, part of the , has an extensive collection of ian and ern archaeological artifacts. Other museums and galleries in Chicago are the, , , the.

Cuisine
Chicago can lay claim to a number of regional specialties, all of which reflect the city's ethnic and roots. Included among these are the nationally renowned -- although locally the Chicago thin crust is also equally popular; the, typically a  dog loaded with an array of fixings that often includes Chicago's own neon green pickle relish, yellow mustard, pickled , tomato wedges, dill pickle spear and topped off with celery salt (ketchup on a Chicago hot dog is typically frowned upon). There are two other distinctly Chicago sandwiches that can be found at eateries throughout the area: The  sandwich, which is thinly sliced beef slowly simmered in an  served on an Italian roll with sweet peppers or spicy ; and the, which is a  -- typically from either the Vienna Beef Company or the Bobak Sausage Company -- on a hot dog roll, topped with grilled onions, yellow mustard and the optional sport peppers.

Chicago's standing in the culinary world is not limited to 'street food', however. Featuring a number of celebrity chefs -- a list which includes, , , , and , Chicago has in recent decades developed into one of America's premiere restaurant cities.

The grand tour of Chicago cuisine culminates annually in at the, a festival that runs from the final week of June through  weekend. 'The Taste', as it is abbreviated by locals, showcases Chicago's ethnic dining diversity as well as all the locally favorite stalwarts (see above). Booths representing myriad local eateries form the centerpiece of the city's largest festival, which draws millions each summer to sample the cuisine, while enjoying free concerts and fireworks.

Sports
Chicago was named the best sports city in the United States by The Sporting News in 2006. As of 2007 Chicago was also the only North American city to have had champion teams in all five major sports, the big four plus soccer, which is currently the only other team sport with average attendances over 10,000 spectators.

The of the  play in the second-oldest major league stadium and are famous as "lovable losers". They have not won the World Series since 1908. They won the National League Central Division championship in 2007, but lost in the NLDS. The of the  won the  championship in 2005, their first since 1917. The football team is one of two charter NFL teams still in existence. The Bears have won nine total, the last occurring in. The of the  are one of the most recognized basketball teams in the world, thanks to the heroics of a player often cited as the best ever,, who led the team to six NBA championships in eight seasons in the 1990s. The of the  began play in 2006 and play on Chicago's near west side. The of the  began playing in 1926 as a member of the  and have won three Stanley Cups. The soccer club are members of  and are one of the league's most successful and best-supported since its founding in 1997, winning one league and four s in that time span. The has been held every October since 1977. This event is one of five.

Chicago was selected on  to represent the  internationally for the  for the. Chicago also hosted the, and in 2006. Chicago was selected to host the 1904 Olympics, but they were transferred to to coincide with the World's Fair.

Media


Chicago is the third-largest media market in (after  and ). Each of the big four directly owns and operates stations in Chicago. , which is owned by the, is carried (with some programming differences) as " WGN" on nationwide. The city is also the home of ' and, while produces programs such as 's ' and 's .

There are two major daily published in Chicago: the ' and the ', with the former having the larger circulation. There are also several regional and special-interest newspapers such as the ', the ', the ', the ', the ', ', and the .

Economy
Chicago has the third largest in the nation&mdash;approximately $442 billion according to 2007 estimates. The city has also been rated as having the most balanced economy in the United States, due to its high level of diversification. Chicago was named the fourth most important business center in the world in the MasterCard Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index. Additionally, the Chicago metropolitan area recorded the greatest number of new or expanded corporate facilities in the United States for five of the past six years. The Company relocated its corporate headquarters from  to Chicago in 2001.

Chicago is a major financial center with the in the U.S. The city is the headquarters of the  (the Seventh District of the Federal Reserve). The city is also home to four major financial and futures exchanges, including the, the (CBOT), the  (CBOE), and the  (the "Merc"). The state of Illinois is home to 66 companies. Chicago and the surrounding areas also house many major brokerage firms and insurance companies, such as and Zürich North America. In addition, despite Chicago commonly being perceived as a rust-belt city, a study indicated that Chicago has the largest high-technology and information-technology industry employment in the United States.

Manufacturing (which includes chemicals, metal, machinery, and consumer electronics), and, and food processing also play major roles in the city's economy. Nevertheless, much of the manufacturing occurs outside the city limits, especially since. Several medical products and services companies are headquartered in the Chicago area, including, , and the Healthcare Financial Services division of. Moreover, the construction of the, which helped move goods from the south on the , and of the s in the 19th century made the city a major transportation center in the United States. In the 1840s, Chicago became a major port, and in the 1850s and 1860s Chicago's pork and beef industry expanded. As the major meat companies grew in Chicago many, such as, created global enterprises. Though the meatpacking industry currently plays a lesser role in the city's economy, Chicago continues to be a major transportation and distribution center.

The city is also a major convention destination; Chicago is third in the U.S. behind and  as far as the number of conventions hosted annually. In addition, Chicago is home to eleven companies, while the metropolitan area hosts an additional 21 Fortune 500 companies. Chicago also hosts 12 Fortune Global 500 companies and 17 Financial Times 500 companies. The city claims one company,  giant, which moved its headquarters from  to the Loop in 2001. The city and its surrounding metropolitan area are also home to the second largest labor pool in the United States with approximately 4.25 million workers. In 2006, Chicago placed 10th on the list of the world's richest cities.

Demographics
Residents of Chicago are referred to as Chicagoans.

A 2006 estimate puts the city's population at 2,873,790. As of the, there were 2,896,016 people, 1,061,928 households, and 632,909 families residing within Chicago. More than half the population of the state of Illinois lives in the Chicago metropolitan area. The of the city itself was 12,750.3 people per square mile (4,923.0/km²). There were 1,152,868 housing units at an average density of 5,075.8 per square mile (1,959.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 36.39%, 31.32% , 26.02% or (of any race), 4.33%  and , 1.64% from two or more races, 0.15% , and 0.15% from. With over 12,700 people per square mile, Chicago is one of the nation's most densely populated cities.

Of the 1,061,928 households, 28.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.1% were living together, 18.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.4% were non-families. Of all households, 32.6% are made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.50.

Of the city population, 26.2% are under the age of 18, 11.2% are from 18 to 24, 33.4% are from 25 to 44, 18.9% are from 45 to 64, and 10.3% are 65 years of age or older. The age is 32 years. For every 100 females there were 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $38,625, and the median income for a family was $46,748. Males had a median income of $35,907 versus $30,536 for females. The for the city was $20,175. Below the are 19.6% of the population and 16.6% of the families. Of the total population, 28.1% of those under the age of 18 and 15.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Chicago's largest ethnic community are of. When the Great Plains opened up for settlement in the 1830s and '40s, many German immigrants stopped in Chicago to earn some money before moving on to claim a homestead. Those with skills in demand in the city could—and often did—stay. From 1850, when Germans constituted one-sixth of Chicago's population, until the turn of the century, people of German descent constituted the largest ethnic group in the city, followed by Irish, Poles, and Swedes. In 1900, 470,000 Chicagoans—one out of every four residents—had either been born in Germany or had a parent born there. By 1920 their numbers had dropped because of reduced emigration from Germany but also because it had become unpopular to acknowledge a German heritage, although 22 percent of Chicago's population still did so. Chicago also has a large population on its South Side.Many of the city’s politicians have come from this population, including current mayor .Many of the Fire Bregade and Police Departments are also very strongly. There is also a common population present, some of whom were associated with mobsters and gangsters. Other are the,  as mentioned earlier,. The majority of are also located on Chicago’s South and West Sides. The Chicago metropolitan area also has the second largest African American population, behind only. Chicago has the largest population of s of any city in the U.S. with approximately 123,000. After the, many Swedish carpenters helped to rebuild the city, which led to the saying "the Swedes built Chicago". Swedish influence is particularly evident in on the far north side.

make up the largest ethnically population outside of Warsaw,  making it one of the most important centers of, a fact that the city celebrates every  weekend at the  Festival in. The is home to the largest concentration of s ( highlanders) outside of ; it is the location of the. Chicago has one of the largest concentrations of s in the US, with 500,000 living in the metropolitan area. The city has a large population of (about 150,000),, , the second largest  ,- and the third largest  population of any city in the world. Chicago has a large community with more than 100,000, as well as a large  population with about 80,000. The city is the seat of the head of the, , the , and the headquarters.

Chicago has the third-largest South Asian population in the United States. The corridor on the north side is one of the largest South Asian neighborhoods/markets in. Chicago has the second-largest population in the continental United States. and the second largest Mexican population in the United States after. There are about 185,000 Arabs in Cook County with another 75,000 in the five surrounding counties. Chicago is the center of the and  immigrant communities in the United States.

Law and government


Chicago is the of. The government of the City of Chicago is divided into and  branches. The is the, elected by general election for a term of four years. The mayor appoints commissioners and other officials who oversee the various departments. In addition to the mayor, Chicago's two other citywide elected officials are the clerk and the treasurer.

The is the legislative branch and is made up of 50 aldermen, one elected from each  in the city. The council enacts local ordinances and approves the city budget. Government priorities and activities are established in a budget ordinance usually adopted each November. The council takes official action through the passage of ordinances and resolutions.

During much of the last half of the 19th century, Chicago's politics were dominated by a growing organization dominated by ethnic ward-heelers. During the 1880s and 1890s, Chicago had a powerful radical tradition with large and highly organized, and labor organizations. For much of the 20th century, Chicago has been among the largest and most reliable Democratic strongholds in the United States, with Chicago's Democratic vote totals leading the state of Illinois to be "" in since 1992. The citizens of Chicago have not elected a mayor since 1927, when  was voted into office. The strength of the party in the city is partly a consequence of Illinois state politics, where the Republicans have come to represent the rural and farm concerns while the Democrats support urban issues such as Chicago's public school funding. Although Chicago includes less than 25% of the state's population, eight of Illinois' nineteen have part of the city in their.

Former Chicago Mayor 's mastery of preserved the  long after the demise of similar machines in other large U.S. cities. During much of that time, the city administration found opposition mainly from a liberal "independent" faction of the Democratic Party. The independents finally gained control of city government in 1983 with the election of. Since Washington's death, Chicago has since been under the leadership of, the son of Richard J. Daley. Because of the dominance of the Democratic Party in Chicago, the Democratic vote held in the spring is generally more significant than the general elections in November.

Crime
Chicago has experienced a decline in overall crime since the 1990s. Murders in the city peaked first in 1974, with 970 murders when the city's population was over three million people (resulting in a murder rate of around 29 per 100,000), and again in 1992 with 943 murders, resulting in a murder rate of 34 per 100,000. After adopting crime-fighting techniques recommended by and  s in 2004, Chicago recorded 448 s, the lowest total since 1965 (15.65 per 100,000.) Chicago's homicide tally remained steady throughout 2005 and 2006 with 449 and 452, respectively, and the overall crime rate in 2006 continued the downward trend that has taken place since the early 1990s.

Public schools
The (CPS) is the  that controls over 600 public elementary and high schools in Chicago. The school district, with more than 400,000 students enrolled, is led by. The CPS also includes several selective-admission magnet schools.

Like many urban U.S. school districts, Chicago Public Schools suffered many problems throughout the latter half of the 20th century, including overcrowding, under-funding, mismanagement and a high dropout rate. In 1987, then U.S. Secretary of Education named the Chicago Public Schools as the "worst in the nation." Several initiatives have since been undertaken to improve the system's performance. Reforms have included a system of s, s, and efforts to end. The most notable and public of these reforms has been a concerted effort at aggressively closing down underperforming schools while at the same time renovating and improving successful ones or building new ones.

Private schools
The operates the city's  schools, among which are two Jesuit schools,  and. Among the more well-known private schools in Chicago are the and  in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, as well as the  in Hyde Park and the  in.

Colleges and universities


Since the 1890s, Chicago has been a world center in higher education and research. One of the world's top research universities is located in Chicago: the in  on the south side of the city. Another University of national prominence;, is in the northern suburb of. The maintains a campus in downtown Chicago, and Northwestern University's  and  are located in, a neighborhood in the Near North Side community area of Chicago. universities are located in Chicago, such as (the largest Catholic university in the U.S.), and, which has one campus in the North Side and one in the downtown area, as well as a Medical Center in the western suburb of Maywood. Loyola University Chicago is the largest Jesuit Catholic university in the country. The main campus in  has renowned engineering and architecture programs and was host to world-famous modern architect  for many years, and the IIT  and  are located downtown in the financial district.



The is the city's largest university and features the nation's. and are other state universities in Chicago. The city also has a large system known as the.

Founded on the principles of social justice, was named in honor of president Franklin D. Roosevelt, two weeks after his death.

, now part of, was the first institution of higher learning chartered in Illinois and one of the first medical schools to open west of the Alleghenies. In fact, Rush Medical College received its charter on March 2, 1837, two days before the city of Chicago was incorporated.

The world class is well-known for  programs. The is known for its applied arts programs. The is known for its  and  programs. is known for its performing arts and communications programs and is known for its interior design program.

Health systems
Chicago is home to the on the Near West Side. It includes, the , and , the largest trauma-center in the city. The operates the, which was ranked the fourteenth best  in the country by . It is the only hospital in ever to be included in the magazine's "Honor Roll" of the best hospitals in the.

The at  is the largest medical school in the United States (1300 students, including those at campuses in,  and ). Chicago is also home to other nationally recognized medical schools including, the of the , and the  of. In addition, the and 's Stritch School of Medicine are located in the suburbs of  and, respectively. The Chicago College of  is in.

The, , , , , , , and the  are all based in the city.

Transportation


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 after and. Additionally, it is the only city in North America in which six s meet.

Chicago is one of the largest hubs of passenger rail service in the nation. Many long distance services originate from. Such services provide connections to New York,, , , and  Amtrak also provides a number of short-haul services throughout Illinois and toward nearby.

Nine run through Chicago and its suburbs. Segments that link to the city center are named after influential politicians, with four of them named after former US Presidents. Traffic reports tend to use the names rather than interstate numbers.

The (RTA) coordinates the operation of the three service boards: CTA, Metra, and Pace. The (CTA) handles public transportation in Chicago and a few adjacent suburbs. The CTA operates an extensive network of buses and a system known locally as the  (for "elevated"), with several lines, including service to Midway and O'Hare airports. provides bus and service in over 200 surrounding suburbs with some extensions into the city. Bicycles are permitted on all CTA and Metra trains during non-rush hours and on all buses 24 hours. operates commuter rail service in Chicago and its suburbs. The shares the railway with the South Shore Line's  Northern Indiana Commuter Rail Service, providing commuter service between  and Chicago.

Chicago offers a wide array of bicycle transportation facilities, such as miles of on-street bike lanes, 10,000 bike racks, and a state-of-the-art central bicycle commuter station in Millennium Park. The city has a 100 mi on-street bicycle lane network that is maintained by the Chicago Department of Transportation and the. In addition, trails dedicated to bikes only are built throughout the city.



Chicago is served by on the south side and, one of the world's busiest airports, on the far northwest side. In 2005, O'Hare was the world's busiest airport by aircraft movements and the second busiest by total passenger traffic (due to government enforced flight caps). Both O'Hare and Midway are owned and operated by the City of Chicago. , located in nearby, serves as the third Chicago area airport, although it currently lacks scheduled passenger service. , formerly Greater Rockford Airport, serves as a regional base for United Parcel Service cargo flights, some passenger flights, and occasionally as a reliever to O'Hare, usually in times of bad weather. Chicago is the world headquarters for, world's second-largest airline by revenue-passenger-kilometers. Midway airport serves as a 'focus city' for, the world's largest low-cost airline.

A small airport,, was located on the Lake Michigan waterfront adjacent to Grant Park and downtown. There were long-term scheduled flights to Springfield as well as some service to other cities. At 1:30 a.m. on, the airport runways were unexpectedly destroyed by order of the Mayor, who had sought closure of the airport and development of the land. This resulted in a fine to the city by the Federal Aviation Administration for closure of the airport without sufficient notice, but the airport was eventually demolished.

Utilities


Electricity for most of northern Illinois is provided by, also known as ComEd. Their service territory borders to the south, the  border to the north, the  border to the west and the  border to the east. In northern Illinois, ComEd (a division of ) operates the greatest number of nuclear generating plants in any US state. Because of this, ComEd reports indicate that Chicago receives about 75% of its electricity from. Recently, the city started the installation of wind turbines on government buildings with the aim to promote the use of renewable energy.

Domestic and industrial waste was once incinerated but it is now ed, mainly in the. Since 1995, the city has had a program to divert certain refuse from landfills.

Sister cities
Chicago has twenty-seven : Many of them, like Chicago, are the of their country, or are the main city of a country that has sent many immigrants to Chicago over the years.