Proper noun

Singular Chicago

Plural -

Chicago

1. A large city located on Lake Michigan in northeastern Illinois, USA.

Derived terms

• Chicagoan
• Chicagoland
• Chicago-style
• Chicago Way

Chicago ( /ʃɨˈkɑːɡoʊ/ (help·info) or /ʃɨˈkɔːɡoʊ/) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States. Located on the southwestern shores of Lake Michigan, Chicago is the third-most densely populated major city in the U.S., and anchor to the world's 26th largest metropolitan area with over 9.5 million people across three states.

After a series of wars with the local Native Americans, Chicago was founded in 1833, near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed. The city became a major transportation and telecommunications hub in North America. Today, the city retains its status as a major hub, both for industry and infrastructure, with its O'Hare International Airport as the second busiest airport in the world. In modern times, the city has taken on an additional dimension as a center for business and finance, and is listed as one of the world's top ten Global Financial Centers. Chicago is a stronghold of the Democratic Party, and has been home to influential politicians, including the current President of the United States, Barack Obama. The World Cities Study Group at Loughborough University rated Chicago as an alpha world city.

In 2007, the city attracted 32.8 million domestic visitors and about 1.15 million foreign visitors. Making use of its abundant resources, Chicago has a heritage for hosting major international, national, regional, and local events that include commerce, culture, entertainment, politics, and sports.

Globally recognized, Chicago has numerous nicknames, which reflect the impressions and opinions about historical and contemporary Chicago. The best known include: "Chi-town"; "Chi-city"; the "Windy City" with reference to Chicago politicians and residents boasting about their city; "Second City," due to the city generally being the second most prestigious in the nation in terms of culture, entertainment, and finance; and because for much of the twentieth century Chicago's population was the second largest of any city in the United States, and the "City of Big Shoulders", referring to its numerous skyscrapers (whose steel frame designs were largely pioneered in Chicago), described as being husky and brawling.

Chicago has also been called "the most American of big cities".

Chicago or officially named the City of Chicago is an American city.

Contents

• 1 Mark Twain
• 2 Michael Douglas
• 3 Norman Mailer
• 4 Nelson Algren
• 5 Oprah Winfrey
• 6 Barack Obama
• 7 Rudyard Kipling
• 8 Related Topics

Mark Twain

• “It is hopeless for the occasional visitor to try to keep up with Chicago — she outgrows his prophecies faster than he can make them. She is always a novelty; for she is never the Chicago you saw when you passed through the last time.”

Michael Douglas

• “I'm impressed with the people from Chicago. Hollywood is hype, New York is talk, Chicago is work.”

Norman Mailer

• “Chicago was a town where nobody could forget how the money was made. It was picked up from floors still slippery with blood.”

Nelson Algren

• "Once you've come to be a part of this particular patch, you'll never love another. Like loving a woman with a broken nose, you may well find lovelier lovelies. But never a lovely so real." - Chicago: City on the Make

Oprah Winfrey

• “My first day in Chicago, September 4, 1983. I set foot in this city, and just walking down the street, it was like roots, like the motherland. I knew I belonged here.”