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Chicago, Illinois

Nickname: "The Windy City"
Motto: "Urbs In Horto (Latin: "City in a Garden")"
Official website: http://egov.cityofchicago.org/
Location


Location in Chicagoland

Government
Country
State
Counties
United States
Illinois
Cook and DuPage
Mayor Richard M. Daley (D)
Geographical characteristics
Area
Total 606.1 km²
Land 588.3 km²
Water 17.8 km²
Population
Total (2004) 2,862,244
Metro area 9,391,515
Density 4,923.0/km²
Latitude {{{latitude}}}
Longitude {{{longitude}}}
Coordinates 41°54′00″ N
87°39′00″ W
Elevation m
Time zone UTC (UTC-6)
Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)

Chicago, known as the "Second City" and the "Windy City", is the third-largest city in population in the United States, following New York City and Los Angeles. Chicago is located in the Midwestern state of Illinois along the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. When combined with its suburbs and nine surrounding counties in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana, the greater metropolitan area known as Chicagoland encompasses a population of nearly 10 million people.

Growing from a frontier town of the Old Northwest in 1833 to one of the world's premier cities, Chicago is ranked as one of 10 "Alpha" (most influential) world cities by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group & Network. Chicago was the site of the world's first skyscraper, and today is the financial, transportation, and cultural capital of the Midwest. Chicago also leads the country in the number of conventions held in the city annually. The city has long been known around the world as a financial, industrial, and transportation center and for its ethnic diversity. Chicago's skyscrapers, local cuisine, political traditions, and sports teams are some of the most recognized symbols of the city. A variety of colloquial nicknames reflect Chicago's unique character.

A resident of Chicago is referred to as a Chicagoan. There is some ambiguity regarding the suburbs - some residents call themselves "Chicagoans" and identify with the central city, while others rarely deal with or visit the central city. About one-third of central-city Chicagoans are Caucasian, another third African American, around a quarter Hispanic and one-tenth Asian, with small amounts of other races filling in the remainder. Chicago also has several dozen distinct neighborhoods to match the ethnic diversity; the city is divided into 77 official community areas.

History

During the mid-1700s, the Chicago area was inhabited primarily by Potawatomis, who took the place of the Miami and Sauk and Fox. The first non-native settler in Chicago was Jean-Baptiste Pointe du Sable, a Haitian of African descent, who arrived in the 1770s, and whose heritage was much talked about after 1950. In 1803, the U.S. Army built Fort Dearborn; in 1812 it was destroyed in the Fort Dearborn Massacre .

Incorporation and growth

Chicago, looking North from State and Washington Streets

On August 12, 1833, the Town of Chicago organized with a population of 350. Within seven years a flood of new arrivals from New England and other points east gave the town a population of over 4,000. Chicago incorporated on March 4, 1837 when the State of Illinois granted Chicago a city charter. Thus began the next step in what would become massive early growth. Many factors contributed to that growth but early on the most important aspects could be attributed to Chicago's geographic proximity in a expanding nation. The city was the logical transportation link between eastern and western United States, using the Great Lakes and the river systems, and (after 1850) the railroads. The opening of the Illinois and Michigan Canal in 1848 allowed shipping from the Great Lakes through Chicago to the Mississippi River. The first rail line to Chicago, the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad, was completed the same year. These projects foreshadowed Chicago's eventual development into the transportation hub of the United States.

The Home Insurance Building in Chicago, the world's first skyscraper.

The geography of Chicago presented early citizens with many problems, including transportation and sewage. These problems were rectified by several large public works projects.

By 1890, Chicago was the second largest city in the United States, after New York City. Chicago grew to 1.1 million people in less than sixty years.

The 1860 Republican National Convention in Chicago nominated home-state candidate Abraham Lincoln for U.S. president, and was the first of twenty-five in the city.

Great Chicago Fire

In 1871, most of the city burned in the Great Chicago Fire. By this time the city had a population of over 300,000. Due to the fire much of the city needed to be rebuilt; this gave city planners a clean slate to fix the problems of the past. In the following years, Chicago architecture would become influential throughout the world. The first skyscraper in the world was constructed in 1885 using novel steel skeleton construction.

20th century

State Street circa 1907

Lake Michigan — the primary source of fresh water for the city — was already highly polluted from the rapidly growing industries in and around Chicago, a new way of procuring clean water was needed. The city embarked on a large tunnel excavation project and began building tunnels below Lake Michigan to newly built water cribs. The water cribs were two miles (three kilometers) off the shore of Lake Michigan. The cribs failed to bring enough clean water because spring rains would wash the polluted water from the Chicago River into them. In 1900 this problem was solved by reversing the direction of the River's flow with the construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal leading to the Illinois River.

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.

Mayor Richard J. Daley was elected in 1955, in the era of so-called machine politics. During Daley's tenure (he died in office in 1976), the 1968 Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago, four major expressways were built, the Sears Tower became the world's tallest building and O'Hare Airport (which later became the world's busiest airport) was constructed. In 1983, Harold Washington became the first black mayor of Chicago. Richard M. Daley, son of Richard J. Daley, became mayor in 1989.

Geography

USGS Landsat Image Chicago River from Michigan Ave.

Chicago is located in northeastern Illinois at the southwestern tip of Lake Michigan. When Chicago was founded in the 1830s most of the early building began around the mouth of the Chicago River. According to the U.S. 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 total area is 2.94% water. The city has been built on relatively flat land; the average height of land is 579 feet (176 meters) above sea level. The city lies beside Lake Michigan and two rivers, the Chicago in downtown and the Calumet in the industrial far South Side, entirely or partially flow through Chicago. The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal connects the Chicago River with the Des Plaines River, which runs to the west of the city.

Climate

Chicago is known as a city of climate extremes. While winters can often be bitterly cold, extreme summer heat waves are not uncommon. Chicago has a continental climate typical of the U.S. Midwest, with hot summers and cold winters, subject to possible extremes in both seasons. Lake Michigan can have a moderating effect for neighborhoods close to the shoreline, keeping them cooler in summer and slightly warmer in winter; but also producing a 'lake effect' of snowfall in winter. Average high and low temperatures for July are 84 °F/63 °F, and for January it is 29 °F/13 °F. Weather typical of each season can sometimes arrive unusually early or late, for example, the highest recorded temperature in March was 84 °F and the lowest in September was 37 °F. Summers have been known to bring different elements in a one day period; ranging from bright sunny mornings, to partly-cloudy and rainy early afternoons, to bright sunny late afternoons, to comfortable evenings.

Chicago in winter

Chicago's yearly precipitation averages about 36 inches (914 mm). Summer is the rainiest season, with short-lived rainfall and thunderstorms more common than prolonged rainy periods[1]. The highest temperature ever reached in Chicago was 104 °F.

Winter in Chicago is a variable and fickle season. Temperatures and snowfall can vary widely in the span of one to two weeks, and extended periods of temperatures below 32 °F (0 °C) are not uncommon in January and February. Temperatures can sometimes drop below 0 °F (-18 °C) overnight and then rise by the next morning. This frigid weather doesn't normally last more than 1-3 days at a time. Although rare, the temperature can climb to 50 °F (10 °C) or higher in winter.

Whether Chicago is actually windier than other cities is in dispute, but the wind nevertheless has a strong hold on popular imagination. There's even a nickname for the city's legendary gusts: "The Hawk." Lou Rawls brought The Hawk to national attention it in his song Dead End Street:

Geology

Since the first recorded earthquake in 1804 [2], Chicago has occasionally experienced earthquakes. More recently, an earthquake with an epicenter in Ottawa, Illinois registering about 4.3 on the Richter scale shook some buildings in Chicago on June 28, 2004. This earthquake sparked worries that the New Madrid fault might become active again. An earthquake of 6 or higher in the Missouri Fault might cause moderate to high damage in Chicago.

Law and government

Chicago City Hall

Chicago is the largest city and the county seat of Cook County. The government of the City of Chicago is divided into executive and legislative branches. The mayor is the chief executive, elected by general election for a term of four years. The mayor appoints commissioners and other officials who oversee the various departments. The current mayor is Richard M. Daley, a Democrat. In addition to the mayor, Chicago's two other citywide elected officials are the clerk and the treasurer. The City Council is the legislative branch and is made up of 50 aldermen, one elected from each ward 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.

Politics

Former Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley once led a political machine called the Chicago Democratic Machine. Another point of interest is the party leanings of the city. For much of the last century, Chicago has been considered one of the largest Democratic strongholds in the United States. For example, the citizens of Chicago have not elected a Republican mayor since 1927, when William Thompson was voted into office. Today, only one alderman is Republican.

Chicago's politics lean famously to the left compared to the rest of the Midwest, and it is often said that Chicago is the "East Coast" of the Midwest. Social liberalism is strong in the city, with a strong majority of Chicagoans supporting welfare programs and the pro-choice movement. In 2004, Mayor Richard M. Daley rejected a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage in the city. The issue was controversial especially in Illinois, since the state is arguably the most varied in terms of liberal urban areas vs conservative rural areas. In partisan elections, such as for the State Legislature and U.S. Congress, most elections are won by Democrats, such as the landslide win of Barack Obama in 2004.

Law enforcement

A Chicago police car

The Chicago Police Department, also known as the CPD, is the principal law enforcement agency of Chicago, under the jurisdiction of the mayor. It is the largest police department in the Midwest and the second largest in the nation (with 13,619 sworn officers and 2,625 other employees covering 234 square miles as of 2003), and one of the oldest organized police forces in the world. By comparison, Los Angeles, the nation's second largest city, has just over 9,000 sworn officers covering 469 square miles.

There are twenty-five police districts, each led by a commander. Each commander oversees a network of administrative and operational departments that include patrol officers, detective forces, and other investigative units. Commanders report to the superintendent of police who in turn is subject to the authority of the mayor of Chicago.


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Commanders report to the superintendent of police who in turn is subject to the authority of the mayor of Chicago. There are a number of footballers nicknamed Edu, including, but not limited to:. Each commander oversees a network of administrative and operational departments that include patrol officers, detective forces, and other investigative units. Edu can refer to:. There are twenty-five police districts, each led by a commander. Eduardo Gonçalves, Brazilian footballer, born 1981. By comparison, Los Angeles, the nation's second largest city, has just over 9,000 sworn officers covering 469 square miles. Luis Eduardo Schmidt, Brazilian footballer, born 1979.

It is the largest police department in the Midwest and the second largest in the nation (with 13,619 sworn officers and 2,625 other employees covering 234 square miles as of 2003), and one of the oldest organized police forces in the world. Eduardo César Gaspar, Brazilian footballer, born 1978. The Chicago Police Department, also known as the CPD, is the principal law enforcement agency of Chicago, under the jurisdiction of the mayor. Jonas Eduardo Américo, Brazilian footballer, born 1949. Congress, most elections are won by Democrats, such as the landslide win of Barack Obama in 2004. .edu, an internet top-level domain. In partisan elections, such as for the State Legislature and U.S.

The issue was controversial especially in Illinois, since the state is arguably the most varied in terms of liberal urban areas vs conservative rural areas. Daley rejected a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage in the city. In 2004, Mayor Richard M. Social liberalism is strong in the city, with a strong majority of Chicagoans supporting welfare programs and the pro-choice movement.

Chicago's politics lean famously to the left compared to the rest of the Midwest, and it is often said that Chicago is the "East Coast" of the Midwest. Today, only one alderman is Republican. For example, the citizens of Chicago have not elected a Republican mayor since 1927, when William Thompson was voted into office. For much of the last century, Chicago has been considered one of the largest Democratic strongholds in the United States.

Another point of interest is the party leanings of the city. Daley once led a political machine called the Chicago Democratic Machine. Former Chicago Mayor Richard J. The council takes official action through the passage of ordinances and resolutions.

Government priorities and activities are established in a budget ordinance usually adopted each November. The council enacts local ordinances and approves the city budget. The City Council is the legislative branch and is made up of 50 aldermen, one elected from each ward in the city. In addition to the mayor, Chicago's two other citywide elected officials are the clerk and the treasurer.

Daley, a Democrat. The current mayor is Richard M. The mayor appoints commissioners and other officials who oversee the various departments. The mayor is the chief executive, elected by general election for a term of four years.

The government of the City of Chicago is divided into executive and legislative branches. Chicago is the largest city and the county seat of Cook County. An earthquake of 6 or higher in the Missouri Fault might cause moderate to high damage in Chicago. This earthquake sparked worries that the New Madrid fault might become active again.

More recently, an earthquake with an epicenter in Ottawa, Illinois registering about 4.3 on the Richter scale shook some buildings in Chicago on June 28, 2004. Since the first recorded earthquake in 1804 [2], Chicago has occasionally experienced earthquakes. There's even a nickname for the city's legendary gusts: "The Hawk." Lou Rawls brought The Hawk to national attention it in his song Dead End Street:
. Whether Chicago is actually windier than other cities is in dispute, but the wind nevertheless has a strong hold on popular imagination.

Although rare, the temperature can climb to 50 °F (10 °C) or higher in winter. This frigid weather doesn't normally last more than 1-3 days at a time. Temperatures can sometimes drop below 0 °F (-18 °C) overnight and then rise by the next morning. Temperatures and snowfall can vary widely in the span of one to two weeks, and extended periods of temperatures below 32 °F (0 °C) are not uncommon in January and February.

Winter in Chicago is a variable and fickle season. The highest temperature ever reached in Chicago was 104 °F. Summer is the rainiest season, with short-lived rainfall and thunderstorms more common than prolonged rainy periods[1]. Chicago's yearly precipitation averages about 36 inches (914 mm).

Summers have been known to bring different elements in a one day period; ranging from bright sunny mornings, to partly-cloudy and rainy early afternoons, to bright sunny late afternoons, to comfortable evenings. Weather typical of each season can sometimes arrive unusually early or late, for example, the highest recorded temperature in March was 84 °F and the lowest in September was 37 °F. Average high and low temperatures for July are 84 °F/63 °F, and for January it is 29 °F/13 °F. Lake Michigan can have a moderating effect for neighborhoods close to the shoreline, keeping them cooler in summer and slightly warmer in winter; but also producing a 'lake effect' of snowfall in winter.

Midwest, with hot summers and cold winters, subject to possible extremes in both seasons. Chicago has a continental climate typical of the U.S. While winters can often be bitterly cold, extreme summer heat waves are not uncommon. Chicago is known as a city of climate extremes.

The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal connects the Chicago River with the Des Plaines River, which runs to the west of the city. The city lies beside Lake Michigan and two rivers, the Chicago in downtown and the Calumet in the industrial far South Side, entirely or partially flow through Chicago. The city has been built on relatively flat land; the average height of land is 579 feet (176 meters) above sea level. The total area is 2.94% water.

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. According to the U.S. When Chicago was founded in the 1830s most of the early building began around the mouth of the Chicago River. Chicago is located in northeastern Illinois at the southwestern tip of Lake Michigan.

Daley, became mayor in 1989. Daley, son of Richard J. Richard M. In 1983, Harold Washington became the first black mayor of Chicago.

During Daley's tenure (he died in office in 1976), the 1968 Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago, four major expressways were built, the Sears Tower became the world's tallest building and O'Hare Airport (which later became the world's busiest airport) was constructed. Daley was elected in 1955, in the era of so-called machine politics. Mayor Richard J. 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.

In 1900 this problem was solved by reversing the direction of the River's flow with the construction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal leading to the Illinois River. The cribs failed to bring enough clean water because spring rains would wash the polluted water from the Chicago River into them. The water cribs were two miles (three kilometers) off the shore of Lake Michigan. The city embarked on a large tunnel excavation project and began building tunnels below Lake Michigan to newly built water cribs.

Lake Michigan — the primary source of fresh water for the city — was already highly polluted from the rapidly growing industries in and around Chicago, a new way of procuring clean water was needed. The first skyscraper in the world was constructed in 1885 using novel steel skeleton construction. In the following years, Chicago architecture would become influential throughout the world. Due to the fire much of the city needed to be rebuilt; this gave city planners a clean slate to fix the problems of the past.

By this time the city had a population of over 300,000. In 1871, most of the city burned in the Great Chicago Fire. president, and was the first of twenty-five in the city. The 1860 Republican National Convention in Chicago nominated home-state candidate Abraham Lincoln for U.S.

Chicago grew to 1.1 million people in less than sixty years. By 1890, Chicago was the second largest city in the United States, after New York City. These problems were rectified by several large public works projects. The geography of Chicago presented early citizens with many problems, including transportation and sewage.

These projects foreshadowed Chicago's eventual development into the transportation hub of the United States. The first rail line to Chicago, the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad, was completed the same year. The opening of the Illinois and Michigan Canal in 1848 allowed shipping from the Great Lakes through Chicago to the Mississippi River. The city was the logical transportation link between eastern and western United States, using the Great Lakes and the river systems, and (after 1850) the railroads.

Many factors contributed to that growth but early on the most important aspects could be attributed to Chicago's geographic proximity in a expanding nation. Thus began the next step in what would become massive early growth. Chicago incorporated on March 4, 1837 when the State of Illinois granted Chicago a city charter. Within seven years a flood of new arrivals from New England and other points east gave the town a population of over 4,000.

On August 12, 1833, the Town of Chicago organized with a population of 350. Army built Fort Dearborn; in 1812 it was destroyed in the Fort Dearborn Massacre . In 1803, the U.S. The first non-native settler in Chicago was Jean-Baptiste Pointe du Sable, a Haitian of African descent, who arrived in the 1770s, and whose heritage was much talked about after 1950.

During the mid-1700s, the Chicago area was inhabited primarily by Potawatomis, who took the place of the Miami and Sauk and Fox. . Chicago also has several dozen distinct neighborhoods to match the ethnic diversity; the city is divided into 77 official community areas. About one-third of central-city Chicagoans are Caucasian, another third African American, around a quarter Hispanic and one-tenth Asian, with small amounts of other races filling in the remainder.

There is some ambiguity regarding the suburbs - some residents call themselves "Chicagoans" and identify with the central city, while others rarely deal with or visit the central city. A resident of Chicago is referred to as a Chicagoan. A variety of colloquial nicknames reflect Chicago's unique character. Chicago's skyscrapers, local cuisine, political traditions, and sports teams are some of the most recognized symbols of the city.

The city has long been known around the world as a financial, industrial, and transportation center and for its ethnic diversity. Chicago also leads the country in the number of conventions held in the city annually. Chicago was the site of the world's first skyscraper, and today is the financial, transportation, and cultural capital of the Midwest. Growing from a frontier town of the Old Northwest in 1833 to one of the world's premier cities, Chicago is ranked as one of 10 "Alpha" (most influential) world cities by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group & Network.

When combined with its suburbs and nine surrounding counties in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana, the greater metropolitan area known as Chicagoland encompasses a population of nearly 10 million people. Chicago is located in the Midwestern state of Illinois along the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. Chicago, known as the "Second City" and the "Windy City", is the third-largest city in population in the United States, following New York City and Los Angeles.
Location in Chicagoland.