California

A regularly recurring issue in California politics is whether the state should continue to aggressively expand its freeway network or concentrate on improving mass transit networks in urban areas. </gallery>. The rapidly growing population of the state is straining all of its transportation networks.
. Both Greyhound and Amtrak provide intercity bus service.
. Nearly all counties operate bus lines, and many cities operate their own bus and light rail lines as well.
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San Diego has Trolley light rail and Coaster commuter rail services. When creating references please refer to the Wikipedia Cite Sources guidelines. Altamont Commuter Express (ACE) connects Tracy, Livermore and other edge cities with Silicon Valley.
. Metrolink commuter rail serves much of Southern California, and Caltrain commuter rail connects San Jose to San Francisco.
. San Jose and Sacramento have only light rail. Related topics.

San Francisco and Los Angeles both have rapid rail/subway networks, in addition to light rail. Museums. Intercity rail travel is provided by Amtrak. Related topics. The Port of Oakland handles most of the ocean containers passing through Northern California. and international transportation hub by working to expand O'Hare International Airport. Additionally, a new airport has been proposed for Peotone, Illinois, and the city is working toward expanding its ties with the Gary/Chicago International Airport in Gary, Indiana. The giant seaport complex formed by the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach in Southern California is the largest in the country and responsible for handling about a fourth of all container cargo traffic in the United States. In the 21st century, Chicago is working toward maintaining its status as a U.S.

California also has several excellent seaports. The land is to be converted into a lakeside park. There are about a dozen important commercial airports and many more general aviation airports throughout the state's 58 counties. Daley in a nighttime coup, was a relatively small airstrip but unique because of its proximity to Chicago's downtown, and as an airstrip for private planes it was one of the busiest in the world. As for air travel, San Francisco International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport are major hubs for trans-Pacific and transcontinental traffic. Meigs Field, which was closed by Mayor Richard M. only by New York City for severe traffic congestion. In the 20th century, Chicago held on to its status as a transportation hub with the building of three airports: O'Hare International Airport, Midway Airport, and Meigs Field.

Most Californians usually resort to the roads for their commutes, errands, and vacations, which is why California's cities have a reputation equalled in the U.S. All of the Class I railroads in existence in the United States maintain (often multiple) terminals in and around Chicago, and the city is served by a large number of smaller railroads that both interconnect the larger railroads and connect to locations not served by the larger railroads. California's vast terrain is connected by an extensive system of freeways, expressways, and highways, all maintained by Caltrans and patrolled by the California Highway Patrol. Chicago is still the railroad hub of the United States. One thing they all have in common is a state mandate to teach fourth grade students about the history of California, including the role of the early missions; most schools implement this by requiring students complete a multiple medium project. This network allowed Chicago to become the center of the meat packing industry. In poor regions, literacy rates may fall below 70%. By 1856, Chicago was the railroad hub of America and by the end of the decade more than 100 trains were coming and going each day.

In some regions, administrative costs divert a significant amount of educational monies from instructional purposes. In the 1850s the railroads started growing from Chicago faster than anywhere else in the world. The quality of the local schools depends strongly on the local tax base, and the size of the local administration. Even today Chicago's importance in global distribution remains as it is the third largest inter-modal port in the world after Hong Kong and Singapore. The primary schools are of varying effectiveness. Chicago then became one of the largest grain and lumber ports in the world, with grain going to more established populations and lumber being sent to the forest-starved prairies where new settlers needed to build. Mandatory full-time instruction begins at age 6. Louis, and south to New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico.

Elementary schools teach pure skills, history and social studies, with optional half-day kindergartens beginning at age 5. The Illinois and Michigan Canal, completed in 1848, allowed for transport around the world with connecting waterways through Chicago all the way to New York and the Atlantic, west to St. In many districts, junior high schools or middle schools teach electives with a strong skills-based curriculum, for ages from 11 to 13. Much of this status stems from its geographic proximity during a time when the United States was growing quickly in population and area. They accept students from roughly age 14 to 18, with mandatory education ceasing at age 16. Chicago can be considered one of the prime transportation hubs in America. Secondary education consists of high schools that teach elective courses in trades, languages and liberal arts with tracks for gifted, college-bound and industrial arts students. Related topics.

Near Los Angeles, there are numerous art and film institutes, including the prestigious Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the CalArts Institute. [2] (http://www.uic.edu/depts/mcam/aboutcom.html/). For example, Southern California, with one of the highest densities of post-secondary institutions in the world, has a very large base of classically trained vocalists that compete in large choir festivals. The University of Illinois at Chicago claims to be the largest medical school in the United States (1300 students, including those at campuses in Peoria, Rockford and Urbana-Champaign). This leads to many unique entertainment and educational opportunities for residents. It is also home to the sprawling Illinois Medical District on the Near West Side as well as the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association, the American Dental Association, and the American College of Surgeons. California has hundreds of private colleges and universities, including many religious and special-purpose institutions. The city is first among the major dental and medical training centers in the United States.

Preeminent private institutions include Stanford University, the University of Southern California (USC), and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) (which administers the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA). The United States has the largest health care system in the world, and Chicago is arguably the capital of that system. The system serves a student population of over 2.9 million. Related topics. It is composed of 109 colleges organized into 72 districts. Until about 1850, men outnumbered women and this male-dominated subculture encouraged gambling and drinking, as well as activities such as billiards and horse racing. It also provides lower division general-education courses, whose credit units are transferable to the CSU and UC systems. While the complete truth of the story is sometimes doubted, it is important as an early Chicago legend and does reflect the early days of sports in the city. Early Chicago had only the most primitive of sports.

It awards certificates and associate degrees. As soon as the fight began, police moved in and arrested every criminal and escorted them to the city borders. The California Community Colleges system provides vocational education, remedial education, and continuing education programs. During the city's boomtown days local authorities staged a dogfight, knowing that it would attract some of the more unsavory characters on the town's crime scene. Lower-division course credits are frequently transferable to the University of California. In the early history of the city, sports were at the heart of some founding legends. It is intended to accept most college-bound high-school students, while carrying out some research, especially in applied sciences. It is one of the few cities in the United States with two professional baseball teams (Cubs, White Sox) plus professional football (Bears), soccer (Fire), basketball (Bulls), and two professional hockey teams (the Blackhawks and the minor-league Wolves).

With over 400,000 students, the CSU system is the largest university system in the United States. Chicago is also identified with many sports teams. The California State University system provides education for teachers, the trades, agriculture and industry. Related topics. The University of California also administers federal laboratories for the Federal Department of Energy: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Moody, a 19th Century evangelist who held a Sunday School and founded a church there. An eleventh campus, in Merced, is scheduled to open in 2005.[1] (http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses/welcome.html) The UC system is intended to accept students from the top 12.5% of college-bound students, and provide most graduate studies and research. Chicago is home to the Moody Bible Institute, named after Dwight L.

A tenth campus, in San Francisco, teaches only law. Historically, Chicago is remembered for machine politics ("Vote early and vote often" and "A city run of the Daleys, by the Daleys, for the Daleys" are two phrases associated with Chicago politics), meat packing (as mentioned in the nicknames section and made infamous by Upton Sinclair's The Jungle), and gangster violence during Prohibition (some key figures are linked to Chicago, such as Al Capone and John Dillinger). A ninth campus, in San Francisco, teaches only graduate health-sciences students. At the same time, Sandburg, who was a lifelong Socialist, published other less well-known poems criticising Chicago's disparities in wealth. The eight general campuses are in Berkeley, Los Angeles, Davis, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, Irvine, Riverside, and San Diego. These poems are representative of Chicago's spirit. The preeminent state university is the 9-campus University of California, which employs more Nobel Prize winners than any other institution in the world and is considered one of the finest public higher-education systems in the country. Carl Sandburg, a Pulitzer Prize–winning poet and Abraham Lincoln biographer, gave the city one of its best-known nicknames, "City of Big Shoulders", in his Chicago Poems (1916).

California's educational system is supported by a unique constitutional amendment that requires 40% of state revenues to be spent on education. Chicago also has a great literary tradition. Main article: List of colleges and universities in California. Many world-famous actors and comedians are from Chicago or have studied there, particularly at Northwestern University. 1 Belvedere, California - Marin County - $113,595
2 Rancho Santa Fe, California - San Diego County - $113,132
3 Atherton, California - San Mateo County - $112,408
4 Rolling Hills, California - Los Angeles County - $111,031
5 Woodside, California - San Mateo County - $104,667
6 Portola Valley, California - San Mateo County - $99,621
7 Newport Coast, California - Orange County - $98,770
8 Hillsborough, California - San Mateo County - $98,643
9 Diablo, California - Contra Costa County - $95,419
10 Fairbanks Ranch, California - San Diego County - $94,150
11 Hidden Hills, California - Los Angeles County - $94,096
12 Los Altos Hills, California - Santa Clara County - $92,840
13 Tiburon, California - Marin County - $85,966
14 Sausalito, California - Marin County - $81,040
15 Monte Sereno, California - Santa Clara County - $76,577
16 Indian Wells, California - Riverside County $76,187
17 Malibu, California - Los Angeles County - $74,336
18 Del Monte Forest, California - Monterey County - $70,609
19 Piedmont, California - Alameda County - $70,539
20 Montecito, California - Santa Barbara County - $70,077
21 Palos Verdes Estates, California - Los Angeles County - $69,040
22 Emerald Lake Hills, California - San Mateo County - $68,966
23 Loyola, California - Santa Clara County - $68,730
24 Blackhawk-Camino Tassajara, California - Contra Costa County - $66,972
25 Los Altos, California - Santa Clara County - $66,776
See complete list of California places. It is home to The Second City and ImprovOlympic, two of the largest comedy troupes in the world. The following list is ranked by per capita income:. Chicago is a well-known theater capital and is the mecca for improvizational comedy.

Thanks to the state's powerful economy, certain California cities are among the wealthiest on the planet, as evidenced by large numbers of extravagant mansions, sports cars, and beautiful people. In addition, Chicago schools have developed in various studies, such as the famed Chicago school of architecture and the Chicago schools of economic theory, literary criticism and urban sociology, the latter three founded at the University of Chicago. The state of California has many cities, and the majority of them are within one of the large metropolitan areas below. Another local specialty is "cheese fries", French fries covered in cheese. The three largest Protestant denominations in California are: Baptist (30% of total state population), Methodist (10%), and Lutheran (6%). The Italian Beef typically includes cheese, peppers, and onions. The religious affiliations of the people of California are as follows:. Chicago has a homegrown riposte to the "po' boy" of New Orleans and the equivalent "hoagie" of Philadelphia in the Italian beef sandwich.

Religion. In the field of popular cuisine, Chicago style Pizza provides the antithesis to New York styles and hot dogs, being synonymous with deep-dish and stuffed pizza in addition to being linked to a robustly complex Chicago style Hot Dog (often called "the garbage dog") that challenges the relative simplicity of a New York coney dog. Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, California ranks:. In the field of music, Chicago is well-known for its Chicago blues, but it is also the birthplace of the House style of music, whose history is related to the development and fostering of the techno electronic style of music in nearby Detroit. Rankings. For its youth as compared to Eastern cities, Chicago has made many significant pop-cultural contributions. California has the second-largest Asian population (percentage-wise) of any state, Hawaii having the largest. Related topics.

Because of high levels of immigration from Latin America, especially Mexico, and higher birth rates among the Hispanic population, Hispanics are predicted to become a majority around 2040. Additionally Chicago is considered to be the Prime Global Advertising Service Center by the GaWC. Hispanics make up almost one-third of the population; in order, other groups are Asian Americans, African Americans and American Indian. Chicago is considered to command the third-largest market in North America (after New York City and Los Angeles - although Mexico City is larger, its market does not hold such importance) and as such has many different forms of media and outlets to support its status. It is the third minority-majority state, after Hawaii and New Mexico. Non-Hispanic Whites are still the largest group, but are no longer a majority of the population due to high levels of immigration in recent years. They inspired the creation of the City Colleges of Chicago. California lacks a majority ethnic group. Stanley Brown in 1899.

California's population is:. Community colleges were pioneered by locals William Rainey Harper and J. Race and Sex. Columbia College, Roosevelt University and The School of the Art Institute are major schools geared towards urban studies, fine arts and performance arts. California is the most populous state in the U.S., and contains about 12% of the U.S.'s population. Major research universities such as the Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of Illinois at Chicago call Chicago home. Census Bureau reports California's 2000 population as 33,871,648, and estimates its 2003 population as 35,484,453. Loyola is one of the largest institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities.

The U.S. Two of the most honored institutions of the Roman Catholic Church are DePaul University in Lincoln Park and Loyola University in Rogers Park and Edgewater. Population. Chicago holds a distinguished place in the United States for higher education as the home of such schools as the University of Chicago in Hyde Park and Northwestern University in Evanston. See also: California unemployment statistics. Main article: Colleges and universities of Chicago. Recent (Spring 2005) economic data (http://uclaforecast.com) indicates that economic growth has resumed in California, although still slightly below the national annualized forecast of 3.9%.
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The high-technology sectors in Northern California, specifically Silicon Valley, in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, are currently emerging from economic depression caused by the dot.com bust, which caused the loss of over 250,000 jobs in Northern California alone. Related topics. While some coastal cities include some of the wealthiest per-capita areas in the U.S., notably San Francisco and Marin County, the non-agricultural central counties have some of the highest poverty rates in the U.S. 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. Most farm managers are highly educated, most with at least master's degrees. Below the poverty line are 19.6% of the population and 16.6% of the families. The Central Valley has the most extreme contrasts of income, with migrant farm workers making less than minimum wage, contrasted with farmers who frequently manage multimillion-dollar farms. The per capita income for the city is $20,175.

Per capita income varies widely by geographic region and profession. Males have a median income of $35,907 versus $30,536 for females. Per capita personal income is $33,415 as of 2003, ranking 12^th in the nation. The median income for a household in the city is $38,625, and the median income for a family is $42,724. This is followed by aerospace; entertainment, primarily television by dollar volume, although many movies are still made in California; and light manufacturing including computer hardware and software, and the mining of borax. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 91.1 males. The predominant industry, more than twice as large as the next largest, is agriculture, (including fruit, vegetables, dairy, and wine). For every 100 females there are 94.2 males.

If California was considered as an independent self-sufficient economy, it would be ranked the 6th, ahead of France. The median age is 32 years. state, and every country in the world (by Purchasing Power Parity) save for the other combined 49 United States, China, Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom. 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 state's GDP, which at $1.4 trillion USD (as of 2003), is greater than that of every other U.S. The average household size is 2.67 and the average family size is 3.50. California is responsible for 14% of the United States' gross domestic product (GDP). Of all households, 32.6% are made up of individuals and 8.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older.

Many California endemics have become endangered, as urbanization, logging, overgrazing, and the introduction of exotic species have encroached on their habitat. There are 1,061,928 households, of which 28.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.1% are married couples living together, 18.9% have a female householder with no husband present, and 40.4% are non-families. California's great abundance of species of California lilac (Ceanothus) is an example of adaptive radiation. It is also considered to be the second-largest Serbian city in the world after Belgrade (which has a population of two million). Many other endemics originated through differentiation or adaptive radiation, whereby multiple species develop from a common ancestor to take advantage of diverse ecological conditions. Daley. Chicago has the largest ethnically Polish population outside of Polish capital of Warsaw, making it one of the most important Polonia centers. California endemics include relict species that have died out elsewhere, including the redwoods and the Catalina Ironwood (Lyonothamnus floribundus). Many of Chicago's politicians have come from this massive Irish population, including the current mayor, Richard M.

California has a rather high percentage of endemic species. The main ethnic groups in Chicago are Irish, German, Italian and Polish. Chicago has a very large Irish-American population on its South Side. The state of California is part of the Nearctic ecozone, and spans a number of terrestrial ecoregions, and is perhaps the most ecologically diverse state in the United States. Chicago's unique culture arises from it being a melting pot, with nearly even percentages of Whites and African-Americans and a sizeable Hispanic minority. California's diverse geography, geology, soils and climate have generated a tremendous diversity of plant and animal life. Of the population, 26.02% are Hispanic or Latino of any race. Ecologically, California is one of the richest and most diverse parts of the world, and includes some of the most endangered ecological communities. The racial makeup of the city is 41.97% White, 36.77% Black or African American, 0.36% Native American, 4.35% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 13.58% from other races, and 2.92% from two or more races.

Main article: Ecology of California. There are 1,152,868 housing units at an average density of 1,959.8/km² (5,075.8/mi²). The low deserts east of the southern California mountains, including the Imperial and Coachella valleys and the lower Colorado River, are part of the Sonoran Desert, with hot summers and mild winters; the higher elevation deserts of eastern California, including the Mojave Desert, Owens Valley, and the Modoc Plateau, are part of the Great Basin region, with hot summers and cold winters. The population density is 4,923.0/km² (12,750.3/mi²). California's desert climate regions lie east of the high Sierra Nevada and southern California's Transverse Ranges and Peninsular Ranges. This encompasses about one-fifth of the entire population of the state of Illinois and 1% of the population of the United States. On the east side of the mountains is a drier "rain shadow". As of the census² of 2000, there are 2,896,016 people, 1,061,928 households, and 632,909 families residing in the city of Chicago proper.

The high mountains, including the Sierra Nevada, have a mountain climate with snow in winter and moderate heat in summer. People living in the Chicago area are called "Chicagoans.". The Central Valley has a Mediterranean climate, but with greater temperature extremes than the coastal areas; parts of the valley are often filled with thick fog, similar to that found in the coastal valleys. Main article: Demographics of Chicago. Northwestern California has a temperate climate with rainfall of 15-40 inches (38-102 cm) per year.
. Westerly winds from the ocean also bring moisture, and the northern parts of the state generally receive higher rainfall than the south. California's mountain ranges influence the climate as well; moisture-laden air from the west cools as it ascends the mountains, dropping moisture; some of the rainiest parts of the state are west-facing mountain slopes. Related topics.

As one moves away from the coast, the climate becomes more continental, with hotter summers and colder winters. Today Chicago is considered to be a Prime Accountancy, Advertising and Legal Service Centers by the GaWC. The influence of the ocean generally moderates temperature extremes, creating cooler summers and warmer winters, and the cold oceanic California Current offshore often creates summer fog near the coast. From this were established the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), and the modern systems we use today for futures and commodity trading. Most of the state has a Mediterranean climate, with rainy winters and dry summers. Later, people as far away as New York City began buying contracts by telegraph on the goods that would be stored in Chicago in the future. Different regions of California have very different climates, depending on their latitude, elevation, and proximity to the coast. Grain was stored in Chicago, and people began buying contracts on it.

Other volcanoes include Lassen Peak, which erupted from 1914 and 1921, and Mount Shasta. Massive amounts of goods passed through Chicago from places in the Mississippi Valley such as St. Louis, Missouri. California is also home to several volcanoes, some active such as Mammoth Mountain. A number of events led to this, along with Chicago's transportation systems and geographic proximity to the rest of the country. Notable movies in which the possible destruction of much of California by an earthquake includes the titles Earthquake, A View to a Kill, Escape from L.A. and Superman. Modern-day futures and commodity trading markets were pioneered in Chicago. The fact that this scenario is completely implausible from a geologic standpoint does not lessen its acceptance in public conventional wisdom, or its exploitation by the producers of science fiction and fantasy media. As the major meat companies grew in Chicago many, such as Armour, created global enterprises and communicated with divisions spread across the globe via telegraph.

Popular legend has it that, eventually, a huge earthquake will result in the splitting of coastal California from the continent, either to sink into the ocean or form a new landmass. Today, we consider industries such as steel, oil, and banking to be the great global market segments, but in the 1860s Chicago's pork and beef industry represented the first global industry. While more powerful earthquakes in the United States have occurred in Alaska and along the Mississippi River, California earthquakes are notable in their frequency and location in highly populated areas. The efficiency of Chicago's meat packing industry and its disassembly plants inspired others such as Henry Ford when he developed Model-T assembly lines. California is famous for its earthquakes due partly to the presence of the San Andreas Fault. More operating months meant hundreds of thousands of new man-hours in which people could work. To the northeast of the Mojave lies Death Valley, which contains the lowest, hottest point in North America. Before this time, meat production and distribution facilities, otherwise known as disassembly plants, had to shut down in the hot summer months.

The south-central desert is called the Mojave. During the 1860s two factors helped this development: First, the Civil War increased the demand for food products, and Chicago's transportation network ensured that goods could be delivered quickly to soldiers all over the northern United States; second, meat packing plants began to utilize ice. In the south lie the Transverse Ranges and a large salt lake, the Salton Sea. By 1862 Chicago had displaced Cincinnati, Ohio, as "Porkopolis". To the west is Clear Lake, California's largest freshwater lake by area. Swift and Philip Armour helped the area to become the largest producer of meat products in the world at the time. To the east of the Sierra are Owens Valley and Mono Lake, an essential seabird habitat. Great entrepreneurs such as Gustavus F.

Also located in the Sierra are the world famous Yosemite National Park and a deep freshwater lake, Lake Tahoe, the largest lake in the state by volume. In the 1850s and 1860s Chicago's pork and beef industry exploded. In the center and east of the state are the Sierra Nevada, containing the highest peak in the continental U.S., Mount Whitney, at 14,505 feet (4421 m). Carl Sandburg described Chicago as a "stacker of wheat", and some would argue that the grain elevators were Chicago's first skyscrapers. With dredging, several of these rivers have become sufficiently large and deep that several inland cities, notably Stockton, California, are seaports. In 1848 Chicago built its first grain elevator, and in 1858 there were twelve grain elevators dotting the skyline. Mountain-fed rivers, dams, and canals provide water to irrigate the Central Valley. In the 1840s Chicago became the largest grain port in the world, shipping food from the Mississippi Valley region which was also growing into the largest food-producing region in the world.

Down the center of the state lies the Central Valley, a huge, fertile valley bounded by the coastal mountain ranges in the west, the granite Sierra Nevada to the east, the volcanic Cascade Range in the north and the Tehachapi Mountains in the south. Additionally, the building of the Illinois and Michigan Canal helped move goods south down the Mississippi River. California has extremely varied geography. With that, many railroads started to be built from Chicago to other parts of the country, further aiding the growth of the city. However, the capital, Sacramento is in the Central Valley. Situated on the Great Lakes and with so many new people settling the area, Chicago became an ideal location for shipping and receiving goods. Most major cities cling to the cool, pleasant seacoast along the Pacific, notably San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, Santa Ana/Orange County, and San Diego. Before it was incorporated as a town in 1833 the primary industry was the fur trade. Chicago's early explosive growth led many land speculators and enterprising individuals to the area.

With an area of 410,000 km² it is the third largest state in the U.S. In fact Chicago's gross metropolitan product would rank 18th in the world if it were a nation-state at approximately 380 billion dollars. The state has striking natural features, including an expansive central valley, high mountains, and hot dry deserts. Today Chicago remains the United States' second financial center with the nation's second largest central business district and third largest gross metropolitan product. California borders the Pacific Ocean, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, and the Mexican state of Baja California. Chicago has been a center for commerce in the United States for most of its modern history. Main article: Geography of California. Main article: Economy of Chicago.

See also: List of California Governors, US Congressional Delegations from California, List of California counties, List of California ballot propositions. The coldest temperature ever recorded officially in Chicago is -27°F (-33°C) on January 11, 1982, with unofficial reports of -30°F.
. Bush received a majority of votes in more than half the counties, but still lost California by 9%. The highest official temperature ever recorded is 105°F (42°C) on July 17, 1995 during the Chicago Heat Wave. In 2004, George W. The highest temperature ever recorded in Chicago is an unofficial 109°F (44°C) on July 24, 1935. While California is among the most Democratic and liberal states in the nation, there are areas of California which are politically very conservative, notably Orange and San Diego counties. For example, in Chicago it has snowed in September (1942), been 90°F (33°C) in March (1982), and had a day where the high and low temperatures differed by more than 65°F (31°C) in one day (February 8, 1900).

House of Representatives. Chicago has four clearly defined seasons, although in certain years some seasons may overextend their welcome and linger into months they do not traditionally occupy. 33 Democrats and 20 Republicans represent the state in the U.S. Sudden changes of weather, large daily temperature ranges, and unpredictable precipitation patterns are all staples of Chicago weather. Senators from California are Democrats Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer. Chicago has a climate typical of the Midwest. The two U.S. Main article: Climate of Chicago.

California has the most Congressmen and Presidential Electors of any state.
. Electoral College. Related topics. It has 55 electoral votes in the U.S. A list of the color aerial views of the urban area of Chicago. At the national level, California is represented by two senators and 53 representatives. Chicago is also recognized around the world for its magnificent skyline, and is globally ranked fourth based on number of buildings and floors.[1] (http://www.emporis.com/en/bu/sk/st/sr/).

California's legal system is explicitly based on English common law but carries a few features from Spanish civil law. The Chicago Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) consists of Cook County and five surrounding Illinois counties as well as the Chicago–Gary–Kenosha Consolidated Statistical Area (CSA), which is made up of nine counties, two of them in northwestern Indiana and one in southeastern Wisconsin. California judges are always appointed by the Governor but must be regularly reconfirmed by the electorate. Connecting the Chicago River with the Des Plaines is the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. California's giant judiciary is supervised by the seven Justices of the Supreme Court of California. The city lies beside Lake Michigan and two rivers, the Chicago in Downtown Chicago and the Calumet in the industrial Far South Side, entirely or partially flow through Chicago. The capital moved to Sacramento for good on February 25, 1854, except for a four-month temporary move in 1862 to San Francisco due to severe flooding in Sacramento. The city has been built on relatively flat land; the average height of land is 579 feet (176 metres) above sea level.

The capital moved to Sacramento temporarily in 1852 when construction on a State House could not be completed in time in Vallejo. The total area is 2.94% water. In California's early history, the capital was located in Monterey (1775-1849), San Jose (1849-1851), Vallejo (1852-1853), Benicia (1853-1854), and San Francisco (1862). Census Bureau, Chicago has a total area of 606.1 km² (234.0 mi²), of which 588.3 km² (227.1 mi²) is land and 17.8 km² (6.9 mi²) is water. The state's capital is Sacramento. According to the U.S. Schwarzenegger replaced Governor Gray Davis (1999-2003) who was removed from office by the October 2003 California recall election. When the city we know today was initially founded in the 1830s the land was swampy and most of the early building began around the mouth of the Chicago River.

Frazier). Chicago is located in northeastern Illinois at the southwestern tip of Lake Michigan. Schwarzenegger was only the second person in the history of the United States to be put into office by a recall of a sitting Governor (the first was the 1921 recall of North Dakota Governor Lynn J. Main article: Geography of Chicago. The current Governor is the Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose current term lasts through January 2007.
. In the Senate, there are 25 Democrats and 15 Republicans. Related topics.

For the 2005-2006 session, there are 48 Democrats and 32 Republicans in the Assembly. The city is the county seat of Cook County. The Senators from the even-numbered districts are elected in the intervening even-numbered years, in the gubernatorial election cycle. The council takes official action through the passage of ordinances and resolutions. The Senators representing the odd-numbered districts are elected in years evenly divisible by four, i.e., presidential election years. Government priorities and activities are established in a budget ordinance usually adopted each November. The terms of the Senators are staggered so that half the membership is elected every two years. The council enacts local ordinances and approves the city budget.

Senators serve four year terms and Assembly members two. The City Council is the legislative branch and is made up of 50 aldermen, one elected from each ward in the city. The California State Legislature consists of a 40 member Senate and 80 member Assembly. In addition to the mayor, Chicago's two other citywide elected officials are the clerk and the treasurer. The Governor of California and the other state constitutional officers serve four-year terms and may be reelected only once. Daley. The State also allows direct participation of the electorate by referendum, recall, and ratification. The current mayor is Richard M.

California is governed as a republic, with three branches of government, the executive branch consisting of the Governor of California and the other elected constitutional officers, the legislative branch consisting of the Assembly and Senate, and the judicial branch consisting of the Supreme Court of California and lower courts. The mayor appoints commissioners and other officials who oversee the various departments. Main article: California government and politics. The mayor is the chief executive, elected by general election for a term of four years. The state is liberal-leaning, technologically and culturally savvy, and a world center of engineering businesses, the film and television industry and, as mentioned above, American agricultural production. The government of the City of Chicago is divided into executive and legislative branches. From 1965 to the present, this population completely changed and became one of the most diverse in the world. Main article: Law and government of Chicago.

In the period from 1900 to 1965 the population grew from fewer than one million to become the most populous state in the Union, sending the most electors to the Electoral College to elect the President. Related topics. Citrus, oranges in particular, were widely grown, and the foundation was laid for the state's prodigious agricultural production of today. Today, the Chinatown near 35th and Cermak is a tourist draw, and Devon avenue is a lively Indian neighborhood based on Indians and Pakistanis working as professionals in Chicago. Out West, residents were discovering that California was extremely well suited to fruit cultivation and agriculture in general. Prior to World War I and the dispersal and persecution of German-Americans consequent on war hysteria, Lincoln Avenue was a major German-speaking area. The connection of the far Pacific West to the eastern population centers came in 1869 with the completion of the first transcontinental railroad. Lively ethnic neighborhoods have long been a Chicago feature.

During the American Civil War, popular support was divided 70% for the South and 30% for the North, and although California officially entered on the side of the North, many troops went east to fight with the Confederacy. In a reversal of the pattern of the 1960s which is an emulation of modern Paris, the very wealthy once again dominate the city center, with new residential housing in the Loop (even the financial district), River North (formerly the Near North Side) and south of the Loop, while the poor have been migrating to the older ring of suburbs of Chicago. In 1850, the state was admitted to the Union. At the same time, pathologies remain including homelessness and crime. But after gold was discovered, the population burgeoned with Americans and a few Europeans in the great California gold rush. Chicago's population declines and lack of new construction, characteristic of the town during the 1960s and 1970s, have been reversed by a considerable amount of mostly private investment which make its center today quite lively, with a number of museums, a first rate symphony and opera company, and many live theaters. In 1848, the Spanish-speaking population of distant upper California numbered around 4,000. In August 1968, the Democratic National Convention in Chicago was disrupted, at first by peaceful, if noisy, protests and then by what an ex-governor of Illinois characterized as a "police riot" when overworked Chicago police charged demonstrators on Michigan avenue.

portion, Alta (upper) California, was to become the state of California. On December 2, 1942, the world's first controlled nuclear reaction was conducted at the University of Chicago as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. The western part of the U.S. Instead, the River flowed into the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, and eventually into the Mississippi River. The Mexican portion, Baja (lower) California was later divided into the states of Baja California and Baja California Sur. The Chicago River's direction of flow was reversed in 1900 to prevent sewage from running into Lake Michigan, the city's water source. Following the Mexican-American War, the region was divided between Mexico and the United States. Today, Chicago remains a town of still-strong unions as a result of a tradition of labor militancy.

Sloat of the United States Navy sailed into San Francisco Bay and claimed California for the United States. The 1880s and 1890s were a time when many Chicagoans made their fortune, but the ordinary person's lot was fairly grim, with poor housing, disease and long hours the norm. Two noted events of this period were the Haymarket Riot, which started in a way that is still under debate and the Pullman Strike of 1894, started when railcar magnate George Pullman turned workers out of their company housing when they were no longer needed. The Republic came to a sudden end when Commodore John D. Chicago's resurgence onto the world scene was capped by the World Columbian Exposition (1893 Chicago World's Fair). In 1846, at the outset of the Mexican-American War, a California Republic was founded and the Bear Flag was flown that featured a golden bear and a star. The first skyscraper was constructed in 1885 using novel steel-skeleton construction. Upon Mexican independence from Spain, the chain of missions became the property of the Mexican government, and they were quickly dissolved and abandoned. In the following years, Chicago rebuilt itself and its architecture became influential throughout the world.

Beginning in the late 1700s, Spanish missionaries set up tiny settlements on enormous grants of land in the vast territory north of Baja California. In 1871, most of the city burned in the Great Chicago Fire. The first to explore the entire coast and claim possession of it was Francis Drake in 1579. The 1860 Republican National Convention in Chicago nominated home-state candidate Abraham Lincoln. The first European to explore parts of the coast was the Portuguese Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo in 1542. In 1855, the level of the city was raised four to seven feet, with individual buildings jacked up and fill brought in to raise streets above the swamp. Main article: History of California. Chicago also became home to nationwide retailers such as Montgomery Ward and Sears, Roebuck and Company that offered catalog shopping using these connections.

(For further discussion, see: Origin of the name California.). Chicago would go on to become the transportation hub of the United States with its road, rail, and water (and later air) connections. The name comes from Las sergas de Espladián (Adventures of Spladian), a 16th century novel, by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo, where there is an island paradise called California. The first rail line to Chicago, the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad, was also completed in 1848. In these early times, the boundaries of the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific coast were only partially explored and California was shown on early maps as an island. The opening of the Illinois and Michigan Canal in 1848 allowed shipping from the Great Lakes through Chicago to the Mississippi River and so to the Gulf of Mexico. The entire region originally known as California was composed of the Mexican peninsula now known as Baja California and the land in the current states of California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Arizona and Wyoming, known as Alta California. On March 4, 1837, Chicago was granted a city charter by the state.

The vast majority of the population lives within 50 miles (80 km) of the Pacific Ocean. California dominates American culture and economy, contributing significant advances in technology and legal reform, in addition to paying significantly more to the federal system than it receives in benefits. On August 12, 1833, the Town of Chicago was incorporated with a population of 350. Southern California is highly populated, while the larger northern California is less densely populated. It was destroyed in the Fort Dearborn Massacre during the War of 1812, but was rebuilt in 1816 and remained in use until 1837. postal abbreviation is CA, and its Associated Press abbreviation is Calif.. In 1803, Fort Dearborn was built. California's U.S. In 1795, the Chicago area was ceded by the Native Americans in the Treaty of Greenville to the United States for use as a military post.

The state's official nickname of "The Golden State" is often thought to be a reference to California’s 1849 gold rush but is in fact reference to the native grasses that turn a golden color during the dry season. In the 1770s the first non-native settler, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, a Haitian of African descent, settled on the banks of the Chicago River. California is both physically and demographically diverse. The area now known as Chicago was primarily inhabited by Potawatomis. It is the most populous and third largest state in the U.S., has a population roughly the size of Canada and it is the sixth largest economy in the world. Main article: History of Chicago. California is a state located in the western United States, bordering the Pacific Ocean. Its unique cuisine, skyscrapers and sports teams are also the most recognized symbols of the city.

Walnut Creek (San Francisco Bay Area). Chicago is known for its cultural and ethnic diversity and frontier and political history. Ventura (Greater Los Angeles). With several colloquial nicknames, Chicago is ranked by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network as one of the ten alpha world cities. Torrance (Greater Los Angeles). A former frontier town in existence for over 175 years, Chicago is located in the midwest state of Illinois along the western shores of Lake Michigan. Thousand Oaks (Greater Los Angeles). Chicago and Chicagoland, when combined with the greater Milwaukee region, is often considered a megacity or megalopolis with a population that nears approximately 12 million people.

Temecula (equidistant between Inland Empire and San Diego Area). The city itself covers 606.1 km² (234.0 mi²) but when combined with its suburbs and eight collar counties, forming the greater metropolitan area known as Chicagoland, it encompasses more than 5,000 mi² with a population that nears approximately 10 million people. Sunnyvale (Silicon Valley). Classified as a world class city, it is the fourth largest in North America and the seventh largest in Western Hemisphere. Simi Valley (Greater Los Angeles). Chicago, Illinois — officially the City of Chicago and colloquially known as Chicago, the Second City and the Windy City — is the third largest city of the United States after New York City and Los Angeles and is the largest inland city of the nation. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 2,896,016 people. Santa Clarita (Greater Los Angeles).
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Santa Clara (Silicon Valley). Miller ISBN 0684801949. Santa Ana (Orange County). City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making of America by Donald L. Pasadena (Greater Los Angeles). The Encyclopedia of Chicago (online version) (http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/). Palo Alto (Silicon Valley). The Encyclopedia of Chicago ISBN 0226310159.

Ontario (Inland Empire). City of Chicago Homepage (http://www.cityofchicago.org/). Newport Beach (Orange County). Travel guide to Chicago, Illinois from Wikitravel. Irvine (Orange County). Photos of Chicago - Terra Galleria (http://www.terragalleria.com/america/mid-west/illinois/). Huntington Beach (Orange County). Spertus Institute - Museum dedicated solely to Judaica.

Glendale (Greater Los Angeles). The Pacific Northwest–themed Oceanarium features dolphins, whales, and other animals from the region, as well as a panoramic view of Lake Michigan. Fremont (San Francisco Bay Area). Located on the Museum Campus, the Shedd Aquarium is home to a large collection of marine life from throughout the world. Concord (San Francisco Bay Area). Lake Shore Dr., +1 312-939-2438. Chula Vista (San Diego Area). Shedd Aquarium, 1200 S.

Burbank (Greater Los Angeles). Museum of Science and Industry. Berkeley (San Francisco Bay Area). Museum of Holography. Anaheim (Orange County). Oriental Institute, part of the University of Chicago, one of the best collections of ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern archeology in the world. Important suburbs (within or near the above urbanized areas)