InsaneJournal

Chicago is...
...the largest city in the state of Illinois and the largest in the Midwest. With a population of nearly 3 million people, the city is the third largest in the United States. It is the anchor of the Chicago metropolitan area, commonly called Chicagoland, which has a population of over 9.7 million people in Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana, making it the third largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Rich in history and renowned for its architecture, the city is classified as an alpha world city. The City of Chicago is almost entirely located in Cook County, Illinois, with a small portion overlapping into DuPage County, while the metropolitan area extends over several counties.

After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed a third of the city, including the entire central business district, Chicago experienced rapid rebuilding and growth. During Chicago's rebuilding period, the world's first skyscraper was constructed in 1885 using steel-skeleton construction.

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

Regionally, Chicago can be divided by the river and its branches into three main sections: the North Side, the South Side, and the West Side. In the late 1920s the city was subdivided into 77 "community areas" by sociologists at the University of Chicago. The boundaries of the community areas are better defined than those of the over 210 neighborhoods, allowing for better year-by-year comparisons.

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

For More Information on Architecture, Cuisine, Entertainment and Neighborhoods, please click here

http://www.chicago.com/

Chicago Neighborhoods

Professional Sports:
Football - Chicago Bears
Basketball - Chicago Bulls
Baseball - National League - Chicago Cubs
Baseball - American League - Chicago White Sox
Hockey - Chicago Blackhawks

Transportation:
Chicago Transit Authority

Chicago Bikeways

Weather:

Chicago Weather

Things to Do:
Things To Do: Museums, Professional Sports Teams, Shopping, Dining, Theater

Universities/Colleges/Schools:
University of Chicago
Loyola University
UIC - University of Illinois at Chicago
DePaul University
SAIC - School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Columbia College of Chicago
City Colleges of Chicago

Restaurants:
http://chicago.metromix.com/restaurants

Adult Entertainment:
http://www.chicagostripclublist.com/