During the mid-1700s, the Chicago area was inhabited primarily by Potawatomis, who took the place of the Miami and Sauk and Fox people. The first non-native settler in Chicago was Haitian. Jean-Baptiste Pointe du Sable, who arrived in the 1770s, married a Potawatomi woman and founded the area's first trading post. In 1803, the United States Army built Fort Dearborn, which was destroyed in 1812 in the Fort Dearborn Massacre. The Ottawa, Ojibwa, and Potawatomi later ceded the land to the United States in the Treaty with the Ottawa, etc. of 1816. On August 12, 1833, 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 March 4, 1837.
Starting in 1848, the city became an important transportation link between the eastern and western United States with the opening of the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad, Chicago's first railway, and the Illinois and Michigan Canal, which allowed shipping from the Great Lakes through Chicago to the Mississippi River. With a flourishing economy that brought many new residents from rural communities and immigrants from Europe, Chicago grew from a city of 299,000 to nearly 1.7 million between 1870 and 1900. The city's manufacturing and retail sectors dominated the Midwest and greatly influenced the American economy, with the Union Stock Yards' dominating the packing trade.
After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, Chicago experienced rapid rebuilding and growth.[5] During Chicago's rebuilding period, the first skyscraper was constructed in 1885 using steel-skeleton construction. By 1893, Chicago hosted the World's Columbian Exposition on former marshland at the present location of Jackson Park. The World's Columbian Exposition drew 27.5 million visitors, and is considered among the most influential world's fairs in history.[6] Nevertheless, the city was the site of labor conflicts and unrest, which included the Haymarket Riot on May 4, 1886. Social problems among Chicago's lower classes led to the founding of Hull House in 1889, of which Jane Addams was a co-founder.
Lake Michigan - the primary source of fresh water for the city - was already highly polluted from population growth and the rapidly growing industries in and around Chicago. The city responded by embarking on several large public works projects, including a large excavation project which built tunnels below Lake Michigan to newly built water cribs which were two miles (3 km) off the lakeshore. However, the cribs failed to bring enough clean water since spring rains would wash the polluted water from the Chicago River into them. Beginning in 1855, Chicago constructed the first comprehensive sewer system in the U.S. In 1900, the problem of sewage 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 1920s brought international notoriety to Chicago as gangsters, such as Al Capone, battled each other and the law during the Prohibition era. Nevertheless, the 1920s also saw a large increase in Chicago industry as well as the first arrivals of the Great Migration that would lead thousands of mostly Southern blacks to Chicago and other Northern cities. 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. Starting in the 1950s, many upper and middle-class citizens left the inner-city of Chicago for the suburbs and left many impoverished neighborhoods in their wake. Nevertheless, the city hosted the 1968 Democratic National Convention and saw the construction of the Sears Tower (which became the world's tallest building), McCormick Place, and O'Hare Airport. In 1979 Jane Byrne, the city's first female mayor, was elected, and in 1983 Harold Washington became the first African American to be elected to the office of mayor. Richard M. Daley, son of Richard J. Daley, became mayor in 1989. New projects during the younger Daley's administration have made Chicago larger, environmentally friendlier, and more accessible.[7] Since the early 1990s, Chicago has seen a turnaround with increased ethnic diversity and many formerly abandoned neighborhoods starting to show new life.
Located in northeastern Illinois at the southwestern tip of Lake Michigan, Chicago's official geographic coordinates are . It sits on the continental divide at the site of the Chicago Portage, connecting the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes watersheds. The city lies beside Lake Michigan and two rivers: the Chicago River in downtown and the Calumet River 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.
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 234.0 square miles (606.1 km²), 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 has been built on relatively flat land; the average elevation of land is 579 feet (176 m) above sea level. The lowest points are along the lake shore at 577 feet (176 m), while the highest point at 735 feet (224 m) is in the landfill on the city's far south side ().
Since the first recorded earthquake in 1804,[8] 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.
The city’s urban context is organized within a grid pattern. The pattern is modified by the shoreline, the three branches of the Chicago River, the system of active/inactive rail lines, several diagonal streets (including Clybourn Street, Milwaukee, Lincoln, and Ogden Avenues), the expressways (which are generally sunken below ground level), and hundreds of bridges and viaducts.
Since the first steel-framed high-rise building was constructed in the city in 1885, Chicago has been known for the skyscraper.[9] Today, many high-rise buildings are located in the downtown area, notably in the Loop and along the lakefront and the Chicago River. The three tallest buildings are the Sears Tower (also the tallest building in North America), the Aon Center, and the John Hancock Center. The rest of the city consists of low-rise buildings and single-family homes. There are clusters of industrialized areas, including the lakefront near the Indiana border, the area south of Midway Airport, and the banks of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.
Along Lake Shore Drive, parks line the lakefront. The most notable of these parks are Grant Park, which borders the east end of the Loop, Lincoln Park on the north side, and Jackson Park in the Hyde Park neighborhood on the south side. Interspersed within this system of parks are beaches, a zoo and several bird sanctuaries, McCormick Place Convention Center, Navy Pier, Soldier Field, the Museum Campus, and a water treatment plant.
Pushed along by the national real estate boom in recent years, Chicago has seen an unprecedented surge in skyscraper construction, most notably in the area directly south (South Loop) and north (River North) of the Loop. This has been accompanied by a rapid gentrification of many parts of the city, as once-dormant areas become "hip" neighborhoods replete with an increased level of commercial services. An example is the west-side neighborhood Wicker Park.
Chicago, like much of the Midwest, has a climate that is prone to extreme, often volatile, weather conditions. The city experiences four distinct seasons. In July, the warmest month, high temperatures average 84 °F (29 °C) and low temperatures 63 °F (17 °C). In January, the coldest month, high temperatures average 29 °F (−2 °C) with low temperatures averaging 13 °F (−11 °C).[10] According to the National Weather Service, Chicago's highest official temperature reading of 105 °F (40 °C) was recorded on July 24, 1934. The lowest temperature of −27 °F (−32 °C) degrees was recorded on January 20, 1985.
Chicago's yearly precipitation averages about 38 inches (965 mm). Summer is the rainiest season, with short-lived rainfall and thunderstorms more common than prolonged rainy periods.[11] Winter is the driest season, with most of the precipitation falling as snow. Chicago's highest one day precipitation total was 6.49 inches (164 mm) which fell on August 14, 1987.
As of the 2000 census, there were 2,896,016 people, 1,061,928 households, and 632,909 families residing within Chicago. This encompasses about one-fifth of the entire population of the state of Illinois and 1% of the population of the United States. The population density 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% Black or African American, 31.32% White, 26.02% Hispanic or Latino, 4.33% Asian and Pacific Islander, 1.64% from two or more races, 0.15% Native American, and 0.15% from other races.[12] The city itself makes up 23.3% percent of the total population of Illinois, down from a high of 44.3% in 1930.
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Chicago has a large Irish-American population on its South Side. Many of the city's politicians have come from this population, including current mayor Richard M. Daley. Other European ethnic groups are the Germans, Italians and Polish. Chicago has the largest population of Swedish-Americans of any city in the U.S. with approximately 123,000. After the Great Chicago Fire, many Swedish carpenters helped to rebuild the city, which led to the saying the Swedes built Chicago.[14]
The city has the largest ethnically Polish population outside of Poland, making it one of the most important Polonia centers.[15] Chicago is also the second-largest Serbian[16] and Lithuanian city,[17] and the third largest Greek city in the world.[18] Chicago has a large Romanian-American community with more than 100,000,[19] as well as a large Assyrian population with about 80,000. The city is home to the seat of the head of the Assyrian Church of the East, Mar Dinkha IV, and the ELCA headquarters.[20]
The Chicago Metropolitan area is also becoming a major center for Indian-Americans and South Asians. Chicago has the third largest South Asian population in the United States, after New York City and San Francisco. The Devon Avenue corridor on Chicago's north side is one of the largest South Asian neighborhoods in North America.
There are 1,061,928 households, of which 28.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.1% were married couples 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 median 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 $42,724. Males had a median income of $35,907 versus $30,536 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,175. Below the poverty line 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 is a major financial center with the second largest central business district in the U.S. The city also has the third largest gross metropolitan product in the nation - approximately $390 billion.[21] Manufacturing (which includes chemicals, metal, machinery, and consumer electronics), printing and publishing, and food processing also play major roles in the city's economy. Nevertheless, much of the manufacturing occurs outside the city limits, especially since World War II.[22] Several medical products and services companies are headquartered in the Chicago area, including Baxter International, Abbott Laboratories, and the Healthcare Financial Services division of General Electric.
The construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, which helped move goods from the Great Lakes south on the Mississippi River, and the railroads in the 1800s made the city a major transportation center in the United States. In the 1840s, Chicago became a major grain 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 Armour, created global enterprises. Though the meatpacking industry currently plays a lesser role in the city's economy,[22] Chicago continues to be a major tranportation and distribution center. The city is also a major convention destination; Chicago is third in the U.S. behind Las Vegas and Orlando as far as the number of conventions hosted annually.[23]
The city is the headquarters of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (the Seventh District of the Federal Reserve). Chicago is also home to four major financial and futures exchanges, including the Chicago Stock Exchange, the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (Merc). Chicago and the surrounding areas also house many major brokerage firms and insurance companies, such as Allstate Corporation.
Chicago is home to eleven Fortune 500 companies, while the metropolitan area hosts an additional 21 Fortune 500 companies.[24] Chicago also hosts 12 Fortune Global 500 companies and 17 Financial Times 500 companies. 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.[25]
Chicago is the county seat of Cook County. The government of the City of Chicago is divided into executive and legislative branches. The mayor of Chicago 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. 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 alderman, 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.
During much of the last half of the 19th century, Chicago's politics were dominated by a growing Democratic Party organization dominated by ethnic ward-healers. During the 1880s and 1890s, Chicago had a powerful radical tradition with large and highly organized socialist, anarchist and labor organizations.[26] 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 "solid blue" in presidential elections since 1992. The citizens of Chicago have not elected a Republican mayor since 1927, when William Thompson was voted into office.
Former Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley's mastery of machine politics preserved the Chicago Democratic Machine long after the demise of similar machines in other large American cities.[27] During much of that time the city administration found opposition mainly from a liberal "independent" faction of the Democratic Party. The independents finally won control of city government in 1983 with the election of Harold Washington. Since Washington's death, Chicago has returned to the leadership of the traditional Democratic organization led by Richard M. Daley.
In addition to its gangland problems, Chicago saw a major rise in violent crime starting in the late 1960s. Murders in the city peaked first in 1974, with 970 murders when the city's population was over three million (resulting in a murder rate of around 29 per 100,000), and again in 1992, with 943 murders when the city had fewer than three million people, resulting in a murder rate of 34 per 100,000. It peaked again in 1993 with 931 murders. Following 1992, the murder count slowly decreased to 705 by 1999; by this time, it had the most murders of any big city in the U.S.[28] After adopting crime-fighting techniques recommended by the New York Police Department and the Los Angeles Police Department in 2004,[29] Chicago recorded 448 homicides, the lowest total since 1965. Nevertheless, this murder rate of 15.65 per 100,000 population is still above the U.S. average.
Chicago has been among the first U.S. cities to build an integrated emergency response center to coordinate the city's response to terrorist attacks, gang violence, and natural disasters. Built in 1995, the center is integrated with over 2000 cameras, a direct link to the National Counterterrorism Center, and communications with all levels of city government. Recently installed anti-crime cameras have been introduced and are capable of pinpointing gunshot sounds, calculating where the shots were fired, and pointing and zooming the cameras in the direction of the shots within a two block radius. Early results show these new cameras to be highly effective in reducing crime.[30] Placed in residential areas, these cameras cause some Chicagoans to feel uneasy about being so closely watched. They have prompted some calls of discrimination since these cameras are prevalent in Black and Latino communities.
The FBI often does not accept crime statistics submitted by the Chicago Police Department, which tallies data differently than other cities. The police record all criminal sexual assaults as opposed to only rape as with other police departments. Aggravated battery is counted along with the standard category of aggravated assault. As a result, Chicago is often omitted from studies like Morgan Quitno's annual "Safest/Most Dangerous City" survey.[31]
The Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is the school district that controls over 600 public elementary and high schools in Chicago. The school district, with more 400,000 students enrolled,[32] is led by CEO Arne Duncan. The CPS also includes several selective-admission magnet schools, such as Whitney Young Magnet High School, William Jones College Prep, Walter Payton College Prep, Lane Tech College Prep, and Northside College Preparatory High School.
Like many urban U.S. school districts, CPS suffered many problems throughout the latter half of the 20th century, including overcrowding, underfunding, mismanagement and a high dropout rate. In 1987, then U.S. Secretary of Education William Bennett named the Chicago Public Schools as the "worst in the nation."[33] Several school reform initiatives have since been undertaken to improve the system's performance. Reforms have included a system of Local School Councils, Charter Schools, and efforts to end social promotion.
Chicago is home to many institutions of higher education within its city limits and nearby environs. While some of these institutions are primarily located outside of central Chicago, many have downtown branches. The city is home to the University of Chicago in Hyde Park on the near South Side and Northwestern University in nearby northside suburb Evanston. Both maintain campuses near the Magnificent Mile in downtown Chicago. The Illinois Institute of Technology in Bronzeville has notable engineering and architecture programs. Dominican University, located just outside Chicago in River Forest, teaches many of its library courses at the Chicago Public Library's Harold Washington Building in the Loop. The city is also home to several Catholic universities including Loyola University and DePaul University, Chicago's largest private institution.
The Chicago region has 12 accredited theological schools representing Catholic and most mainline Protestant denominations. The United Church of Christ-related Chicago Theological Seminary is the city's oldest institution of higher education. These accredited seminaries in the region are joined in a consortium known as the Association of Chicago Theological Schools (ACTS).[34] The Moody Bible Institute is near downtown Chicago.
The University of Illinois at Chicago is the city's largest university, consisting of the nation's largest medical school. Chicago State University and Northeastern Illinois University are other state universities in Chicago. The city also has a large community college system known as the City Colleges of Chicago. Additionally, there are several smaller colleges noted for their fine arts education programs - Roosevelt University, Columbia College Chicago, and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Chicago has a major theater scene, and is the birthplace of modern improvisational comedy.[35] The city is home to two renowned comedy troupes: The Second City and I.O. Renowned Chicago theater companies include the Steppenwolf Theatre Company (on the city's north side), the Goodman Theatre, and the Victory Gardens Theatre. Other theatres, from nearly 100 storefront performance spaces such as the Strawdog Theatre Company in the Lakeview area to landmark downtown houses such as the Chicago Theatre, present a variety of plays and musicals. The city is home to the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Joffrey Ballet, and several modern and jazz dance troupes.
Chicago is known for its Chicago blues, Chicago soul, Jazz, and Gospel. The city is the birthplace of the House style of music, and is the site of an influential Hip-Hop scene. The city is also home to various alternative bands from the 1990s and a handful of punk rock bands. There is also a flourishing independent rock scene, with multiple festivals featuring various acts each year (Lollapalooza, the Intonation Music Festival and Pitchfork Music Festival being the most prominent).
Chicago has several signature foods which reflect the city's ethnic and working-class roots. These include the deep-dish pizza and the Chicago hot dog, which is almost always made of Vienna Beef and loaded with mustard, chopped onion, sliced tomato, pickle relish, celery salt, sport peppers, and a dill pickle spear. However, putting ketchup on a Chicago hot dog is often taken as an insult. Chicago is also known for Italian Beef sandwiches and the Maxwell Street Polish (always served topped with grilled onions and mustard). 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 the South Side, and South Asian on Devon Avenue.
In 1998, the city officially opened the Museum Campus, a 10-acre (4-hectare) lakefront park surrounding three of the city's main museums: the Adler Planetarium, the Field Museum of Natural History, and the Shedd Aquarium. The Museum Campus was constructed on the southern section of Grant Park. Grant Park is also home to Chicago's other major downtown museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, which is partnered with The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. To the west of Grant Park is Millennium Park. Navy Pier, a 3000-foot (900 m) pier housing restaurants, shops, museums, exhibition halls, auditoriums, and a 150-foot-tall (45 m) Ferris wheel, is located north of Grant Park on the lakefront. The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, located in the Hyde Park neighborhood, is housed in the only in-place surviving building from the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893.
The Chicago Cultural Center, built in 1897 as Chicago's first 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) Tiffany glass dome. The Oriental Institute, part of the University of Chicago, has an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern archaeological artifacts, while the Freedom Museum is dedicated to exploring and explaining the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Other museums and galleries in Chicago are the Chicago History Museum, DuSable Museum of African-American History, Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum.
Chicago is the third-largest market in the U.S. (after New York City and Los Angeles).[36] All of the major American television networks have subsidiaries in Chicago. WGN-TV, which is owned by the Tribune Company, is carried (with some programming differences) as "Superstation WGN" on cable nation-wide. The city is also the home of the Oprah Winfrey Show, while Chicago Public Radio produces programs such as PRI's This American Life and NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!.
There are two major daily newspapers published in Chicago: the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times, with the former having the larger circulation. There are also several regional and special-interest newspapers such as the Daily Southtown, the Chicago Defender, the Newcity News, the Daily Herald, StreetWise, and the Chicago Reader.
Chicago is the home to 16 professional sports teams and is one of three U.S. cities that has two Major League Baseball teams. The Chicago Cubs of the National League play at Wrigley Field, which is located in the north side neighborhood of Lakeview, commonly referred to as "Wrigleyville." The Chicago White Sox of the American League won the World Series championship in 2005, their first since 1917. U.S. Cellular Field, once called New Comiskey Park and now known as "The Cell," is located on the city's south side.
The Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association is one of the most recognized basketball teams. One of the team's most well-known players, Michael Jordan, led the Bulls to six NBA championships in eight seasons in the 1990s. The Chicago Bears of the National Football League play at Soldier Field. The Chicago Fire, members of Major League Soccer, won one league and three US Open Cups since 1997. After eight years at Soldier Field, they will begin play at the new Toyota Park in Bridgeview at 71st and Harlem Avenue in the summer of 2006. Other major league sports teams in Chicago include the Chicago Sky (Women's National Basketball Association) and the Chicago Blackhawks (National Hockey League).
The city has offered an official Olympic bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics, and is considered the strongest contender among the five candidate American cities.[37] Chicago also hosted the 1959 Pan American Games, and the Gay Games VII in 2006.
Chicago has also played host to the WWE's Wrestlemania multiple times, most recently for Wrestlemania 22.
Chicago is home to the Illinois Medical District on the Near West Side. It includes Rush University Medical Center, the University of Illinois at Chicago medical center, and John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, the largest trauma-center in the city.
The University of Illinois College of Medicine at UIC is the largest medical school in the United States (1300 students, including those at campuses in Peoria, Rockford and Urbana-Champaign).[38] Chicago is also home to other nationally recognized medical schools including Rush Medical College, the Pritzker School of Medicine of the University of Chicago, and the Feinberg School of Medicine of Northwestern University. In addition, the Chicago Medical School and Loyola University Chicago's Stritch School of Medicine are located in the suburbs of North Chicago and Maywood, respectively. The Midwestern University Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine is in Downers Grove.
The leading healthcare informatics organizations are located in Chicago, including the American Medical Informatics Association and the Health Information Management Systems Society. These organizations include as members many healthcare IT vendors and the CIO/VP Technology leaders of most American healthcare operations. The American College of Surgeons, American Dental Association, American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, and the American Osteopathic Association are based in the city.
Chicago is considered to be the premier transportation hub in America. It is an important component in global distribution, as it is the third largest inter-modal port in the world after Hong Kong and Singapore.[39] Additionally, it is the only city in North America in which all six Class I railroads meet.[40]
The streets of Chicago primarily follow a grid system. The baselines for numbering streets and buildings are State Street (east-west numbering) and Madison (north-south numbering). Street numbers begin at "1" at the baselines and run numerically in directions indicated to the city limits, with N, S, E, and W indicating directions. Chicago is divided into one-mile sections which contain eight blocks to the mile, with each block's addresses occupying a 100-number range. Even-numbered addresses are on the north and west sides of streets; odd-numbered address are on the south and east sides.
Seven interstate highways run through Chicago. Segments that link to the city center are named after influential politicians, and traffic reports tend to use the names rather than interstate numbers. The Kennedy Expressway is I-90 from the Loop to O'Hare International Airport. The Dan Ryan Expressway is I-90/94 from south of the "Circle Interchange" to the I-57 Split, and from the I-57 Split south is the Bishop Ford Expressway. The rest of I-94 is called the Edens Expressway. I-90 becomes the Chicago Skyway when it breaks off from the Dan Ryan Expressway. Other named highway segments are the Stevenson Expressway (I-55) and Eisenhower Expressway (I-290).
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The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) handles public transportation in the City of Chicago and a few adjacent suburbs. The CTA operates public buses, a rapid transit system, and an elevated train known as the "Chicago L" or "El" to Chicagoans, as well as rapid transit service to Midway and O'Hare Airports. The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) provides service in forty surrounding suburbs and partially into the city.
Metra operates commuter rail service in Chicago and its suburbs. The Metra Electric Line shares the railway with the South Shore Line's NICTD Northwest Indiana Commuter Rail Service, which accesses Gary/Chicago Airport. Pace operates a primarily-suburban bus service that also offers some routes into Chicago.
Chicago is served by Midway Airport on the south side and O'Hare International Airport, one of the world's busiest airports, on the far northwest. 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).[41] Both O'Hare and Midway are owned and operated by the City of Chicago. The State of Illinois has debated opening a new airport near Peotone. Gary/Chicago International Airport, located in nearby Gary, Indiana, serves as the third Chicagoland airport. However, as of mid-2006, the airport does not support any scheduled passengers service.
Electricity for all of northern Illinois is provided by Commonwealth Edison, also known as ComEd. Their service territory borders Iroquois County to the south, the Wisconsin border to the north, the Iowa border to the west and the Indiana border to the east.
Most landline telephone service is provided by AT&T, with the city covered by area codes 312 (the Loop and central neighborhoods) and 773. There are several other smaller players such as RCN that service the city. Cable television services are provided through one of three providers over five service territories covering the city: Comcast, Wide Open West (WOW), and RCN. Comcast services are available city-wide while RCN and WOW only cover the North East and South side respectively. Service providers are regulated by the city's Office of Cable Communications, which is a division of the Department of Consumer Affairs.
Chicago, Illinois - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia