Chicago, officially the City of Chicago, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the third most populous city in the United States, following New York City and Los Angeles. With a population of 2,746,388 in the 2020 census, it is also the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the fifth most populous city in North America. Chicago is the county seat of Cook County, the second most populous county in the U.S., while a small portion of the city's O'Hare Airport also extends into DuPage County. Chicago is the principal city of the Chicago metropolitan area, defined as either the U.S. Census Bureau's metropolitan statistical area or the combined statistical area, often called Chicagoland. It is one of the 40 largest urban areas in the world.
Illinois is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It has the fifth largest gross domestic product (GDP), the sixth largest population, and the 25th largest land area of all U.S. states. Illinois has been noted as a microcosm of the entire United States. With Chicago in northeastern Illinois, small industrial cities and immense agricultural productivity in the north and center of the state, and natural resources such as coal, timber, and petroleum in the south, Illinois has a diverse economic base, and is a major transportation hub. The Port of Chicago connects the state to international ports via two main routes: from the Great Lakes, via the Saint Lawrence Seaway, to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River, via the Illinois River, through the Illinois Waterway. The Mississippi River, the Ohio River, and the Wabash River form parts of the boundaries of Illinois. For decades, Chicago's O'Hare International Airport has been ranked as one of the world's busiest airports. Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and, through the 1980s, in politics.
Jewel-Osco is a supermarket chain in the Greater Chicago area, headquartered in Itasca, a western suburb. It currently has 188 stores across northern, central, and western Illinois; eastern Iowa; and portions of northwest Indiana. Jewel-Osco and Jewel are currently wholly owned subsidiaries of Boise-based Albertsons. The company originally started as a door-to-door coffee delivery service before it expanded into delivering non-perishable groceries and later into grocery stores, and supermarkets. Prior to its 1984 acquisition by American Stores, Jewel evolved into a large multi-state holding company that operated several supermarket chains and other non-food retail chain stores located from coast to coast and had operated under several different brand names.
The Loop, one of Chicago's 77 designated community areas, is the central business district of the city and is the main section of Downtown Chicago. Home to Chicago's commercial core, it is the second largest commercial business district in North America and the world and contains the headquarters and regional offices of several global and national businesses, retail establishments, restaurants, hotels, and theaters, as well as many of Chicago's most famous attractions. It is home to Chicago's City Hall, the seat of Cook County, and numerous offices of other levels of government and consulates of foreign nations. In it, at the intersection of State Street and Madison Street, is the origin of Chicago's street grid addresses, established in 1909. Most of Grant Park's 319 acres (1.29 km2) are in the eastern section of the community area. The Loop community area is bounded on the north and west by the Chicago River, on the east by Lake Michigan, and on the south by Roosevelt Road, although the commercial core has greatly expanded into adjacent community areas.
Will County is a county in the northeastern part of the state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 696,355, an increase of 2.8% from 677,560 in 2010, making it Illinois's fourth-most populous county. The county seat is Joliet. Will County is one of the five collar counties of the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area. The portion of Will County around Joliet uses the 815 and 779 area codes, 630 and 331 are for far northern Will County, and 708 is for central and eastern Will County.
Evanston is a city in the Chicagoland area. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is 12 miles (19 km) north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wilmette to the north, and Lake Michigan to the east. Incorporated in 1863, Evanston had a population of 78,110 as of 2020. Evanston is home to Northwestern University, founded before the city's incorporation in 1855, and is one of the world's leading research universities. Known for its socially liberal politics and ethnically diverse population, Evanston nears 90% support for Democratic presidential candidates and became one of the first cities to institute a reparations program, which offers housing subsidies for Black residents who faced housing discrimination prior to 1960.
Park Ridge is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, and a Chicago suburb. The population was 37,480 at the 2010 census. It is located 15 miles (24 km) northwest of downtown Chicago. It is close to O'Hare International Airport, major expressways, and rail transportation. It is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area, bordering three northwestern neighborhoods of Chicago's Far Northwest Side
Downers Grove is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1832 by Pierce Downer, whose surname serves as the eponym for the village. It is a south-western suburb of Chicago in the I-55 Corridor.
The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is a U.S. urban area encompassing the U.S. Census Bureau's Metropolitan Statistical Area or its somewhat larger Combined Statistical Area (CSA). The MSA and CSA include the city of Chicago and its suburbs, spanning 16 counties in northeast Illinois, southeast Wisconsin, and northwest Indiana. The MSA had a 2020 population of 9.6 million people and the CSA was estimated at nearly 10 million people. The Chicago area is the third-largest metropolitan area and the fourth-largest Combined Statistical Area in the United States, as well as the fourth-largest metropolitan area in North America.
Marshall Field's was a department store in Chicago, Illinois, founded in the 19th century that grew to become a large chain before being acquired by Macy's, Inc in 2005.
National Louis University (NLU) is a private university with its main campus in Chicago, Illinois. NLU enrolls undergraduate and graduate students in more than 60 programs across its four colleges. It has locations throughout the Chicago metropolitan area as well as a regional campus in Tampa Bay, Florida, where it serves students from 13 counties in that state’s central region.
Exelon Corporation is an American Fortune 100 energy company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois and incorporated in Pennsylvania. It generates revenues of approximately $33.5 billion and employs approximately 33,400 people. Exelon is the largest electric parent company in the United States by revenue, the largest regulated electric utility in the United States with approximately 10 million customers, and also the largest operator of nuclear power plants in the United States and the largest non-governmental operator of nuclear power plants in the world.
Illinois is in the midwestern United States. Surrounding states are Wisconsin to the north, Iowa and Missouri to the west, Kentucky to the east and south, and Indiana to the east. Illinois also borders Michigan, but only via a northeastern water boundary in Lake Michigan. Nearly the entire western boundary of Illinois is the Mississippi River, except for a few areas where the river has changed course. Illinois' southeastern and southern boundary is along the Wabash River and the Ohio River, whereas its northern boundary and much of its eastern boundary are straight survey lines. Illinois has a maximum north-south distance of 390 miles and 210 miles east-west. Its total area is 57,918 square miles (150,010 km2).
Nicor Gas is an energy company headquartered in Naperville, Illinois. Its largest subsidiary, Nicor Gas, is a natural gas distribution company. Founded in 1954, the company serves more than two million customers in a service territory that encompasses most of the northern third of Illinois, excluding the city of Chicago. Nicor Gas has 32,000 miles (51,000 km) of pipelines.
The E2 nightclub stampede occurred on February 17, 2003, at the E2 nightclub located above the Epitome Chicago restaurant at 2347 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, in which 21 people died and more than 50 were injured when panic ensued from the use of pepper spray by security guards to break up a fight. The club's owners, Dwain Kyles and Calvin Hollins, were later convicted of criminal contempt for their persistent failure to keep the facility up to code, and sentenced to two years in prison.
Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois.
35 East Wacker, also known as the Jewelers' Building, is a 40-story 523 ft (159 m) historic building in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States, located at the intersection of Wabash Avenue and E. Wacker Dr., facing the Chicago River. It was built from 1925 to 1927, and was co-designed by Joachim G. Giaver and Frederick P. Dinkelberg. It was once considered to be the tallest building in the world outside New York City. Formerly the Pure Oil Building and North American Life Insurance Building, 35 East Wacker was listed in 1978 as a contributing property to the Michigan–Wacker Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places, and was designated a Chicago Landmark on February 9, 1994.
The Park Grill is the only full-service restaurant included in the multibillion-dollar Millennium Park project in Chicago, Illinois. Its outdoor seating area is the largest al fresco dining area in Chicago. It has placed among the leaders in citywide best-of competitions for best burger and is widely praised for its views.
Patel Brothers, Inc. is an Indian-American supermarket chain based in Hanover Park, Illinois. Patel Brothers is the largest Indian-American supermarket chain in the United States with 57 locations in 19 states, primarily in New York and New Jersey, due to its large Indian population. Patel Brothers offers online shopping for the contiguous US through its website, which is fulfilled by its Hanover Park location. The chain was founded by brothers Mafat and Tulsi Patel and is operated by Mafat's sons, Swetal and Rakesh Patel.
In the Chicago mayoral election of 1895, Republican George Bell Swift was elected, winning a majority of the vote and defeating Democratic nominee Frank Wenter by more than a twenty point margin.
