History UsefulNotes / Chicago

Harpo Studios is home of ''Series/TheOprahWinfreyShow'' and conspicuous as one of the only local production firms; history and economics left Chicago stranded between the film companies on the West Coast and the television studios on the East Coast. While [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essanay_Studios Essenay Studios]] was a pioneer during the Silent Era and featured some of the biggest stars of the time, most notably Creator/CharlieChaplin, Chicago's highly variable weather convinced them and other filmmakers to move to the more agreeable climate of California. As a consequence, Chicago has been relatively unexposed in American fiction, especially when compared to the omnipresence of UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity and UsefulNotes/LosAngeles. What little got under the wire tended to be gritty crime dramas that were shot in Toronto. This was mitigated somewhat by the loyalty of Chicago-trained talents (like Creator/JohnHughes, Creator/DavidMamet, and legions of Creator/TheSecondCity improv troupe alumni), who often come back after hitting the big time to make affectionate, gangster-free movies. Lately, a weakening dollar and tax breaks have lured more and more films to the area, leading to an increase in cultural prominence that coincides with the rise of adopted Chicagoan UsefulNotes/BarackObama. Chicago is the last city in the country that has a national "Superstation"; Creator/WGNAmerica airs Chicago's news stories to a national audience in the overnight hours, formerly airing frequent broadcasts of the Cubs and White Sox (and the Bulls, to a lesser extent). In 2015, Tribune Media began the process of converting WGNA to a regular cable channel (including selling off broadcast rights to the Cubs just before they won the World Series), thus striking the final nail in the "Superstation" concept in the US.

* ''Literature/YearsOfGrace'' tells the story of America from the 1890s to post-World War I, as told from the perspective of a protagonist who starts out as an upper-class Chicago teenager, and finishes a wife and mother in middle age.

* ''Literature/Steelheart'' is another YA book featuring a post-apocalyptic Chicago, transmuted into steel and governed by the titular supervillain.

Today, Chicago is the third most populous city in the United States, having been surpassed several decades ago by UsefulNotes/LosAngeles. It is still the urban hub of the Great Lakes region and a fabled fortress of jazz, [[TheMafia organized crime]], UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan, [[Series/SaturdayNightLive Daaaaaa]] [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague Bearsss]], the 1893 World's Fair, deep-dish pizza, Frank Lloyd Wright, house music, improvisational theatre, pinball, lots and lots of drawbridges, [[UsefulNotes/MLBTeams two baseball teams]] known for perennial mediocrity which fiercely battle for the city's love/scorn, skyscrapers, revolving doors, [[note]][[http://www.wbez.org/series/curious-city/swinging-times-why-chicago-has-so-many-revolving-doors-114058 it's estimated]] that Chicago has one-third of the revolving doors ''in the entire world''[[/note]] a very pleasant lakefront, very unpleasant winters, [[UsefulNotes/BarackObama the 44th president]], and a certain roughneck Midwestern charm. Its nickname of "The Windy City" was coined by Charles Dana of the ''New York Sun'' to dismiss Chicago politicians who promised that it would be ''awesome'' if they got the World's Fair in 1893 as being full of hot air. (They got the fair, and it was indeed awesome.)[[note]]Among other things, the World's Columbian Exposition gave the world Cracker Jack, the Ferris Wheel, the Blue Ribbon awarded to Pabst Beer, and the first large-scale display of electric lighting, courtesy of UsefulNotes/NikolaTesla.[[/note]] During the Prohibition period, it was the home base of UsefulNotes/AlCapone. Blacks fleeing the [[DeepSouth Jim Crow south]] made it a {{blues}} center. A squash court at the University of Chicago was the site of the world's first controlled nuclear reaction.

* ''Film/TheUntouchables''

* Of the members of ''Music/FallOutBoy'' most of them grew up in the suburbs surrounding Chicago, and many were part of the Chicago punk scene in the '90s, prior to forming their own band. Many songs from their first album, ''Take This To Your Grave'', reference Chicago.
* The members of ''Music/TheAcademyIs'' all grew up in Chicago. Their third (and final) album, ''Fast Times at Barrington High'', is named after their high school in Barrington, Illinois.

* ''Film/HomeAlone'': Mostly set in Winnetka, a wealthy Chicago suburb, but the family does fly out of O'Hare.

->''"Come on,\\

Sweet home Chicago!"''

Harpo Studios is home of ''Series/TheOprahWinfreyShow'' and conspicuous as one of the only local production firms; history and economics left Chicago stranded between the film companies on the West Coast and the television studios on the East Coast. While [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essanay_Studios Essenay Studios]] was a pioneer during the Silent Era and featured some of the biggest stars of the time, most notably Creator/CharlieChaplin, Chicago's highly variable weather convinced them and other filmmakers to move to the more agreeable climate of California. As a consequence, Chicago has been relatively unexposed in American fiction, especially when compared to the omnipresence of UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity and UsefulNotes/LosAngeles. What little got under the wire tended to be gritty crime dramas that were shot in Toronto. This was mitigated somewhat by the loyalty of Chicago-trained talents (like Creator/JohnHughes, Creator/DavidMamet, and legions of Creator/SecondCity improv troupe alumni), who often come back after hitting the big time to make affectionate, gangster-free movies. Lately, a weakening dollar and tax breaks have lured more and more films to the area, leading to an increase in cultural prominence that coincides with the rise of adopted Chicagoan UsefulNotes/BarackObama. Chicago is the last city in the country that has a national "Superstation"; Creator/WGNAmerica airs Chicago's news stories to a national audience in the overnight hours, formerly airing frequent broadcasts of the Cubs and White Sox (and the Bulls, to a lesser extent). In 2015, Tribune Media began the process of converting WGNA to a regular cable channel (including selling off broadcast rights to the Cubs just before they won the World Series), thus striking the final nail in the "Superstation" concept in the US.

* Creator/EdwardAsner: Born in Missouri, raised in Chicago.

Chicago's most famous mayor was Richard J. Daley, who spent 21 years on the job before dying. Known (among other things) as "The Man On Five" after the floor his office was on. The last of the big "bosses" in U.S. politics, he was allegedly responsible for UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy's suspicious Illinois electoral victory in 1960[[note]]It's important to note that as bad as Daley was, the Illinois GOP was just as crooked; when Daley said that the Republicans had announced 500 votes for UsefulNotes/RichardNixon in a small town near Peoria that only had 50 voters, he wasn't ''entirely'' exaggerating.[[/note]] and built one of the most theatrically corrupt political machines in American history. This machine still exists, though it's more bipartisan and less powerful than it used to be. He was quite good at his job, though prone to UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush-style [[{{Malaproper}} misspeaking]] and dogged by controversies like the violence surrounding the 1968 Democratic Convention. His son is Richard M. Daley, who remained in office for 22 years, surpassing his father in length of tenure and arguably having as much if not more clout. In 2010, he decided not to follow in his father's footsteps and try to die on the job, so he stepped down after his sixth term—leaving the reins to former [[TheWhiteHouse White House]] Chief of Staff [[MemeticBadass/RealLife Rahm Emanuel]]. Emanuel took office on May 16, 2011; consensus being that while Daley is a ToughActToFollow, if anyone could do it, it would be "[[FanNickname Rahmbo]]." However some Chicago residents in recent years saw some of "[[RedBaron The Rahm Father]]'s" dealings such as his handling of incidents of police brutality, and his management of the city's public school system as [[BerserkButton infuriating]]. Emanuel recovered some of his support by 2017, and initially planned to run for a third term in 2019, but eventually chose not to run. The city's current mayor, Lori Lightfoot, is the city's first openly LGBT mayor. Her election also made Chicago the largest city in America with a female mayor.

Chicago has a [[UsefulNotes/ChicagoL public rail system]] called the 'L,' a combination of subways and elevated tracks that radiates from a loop around the city center towards the city's edges and (in some cases) the surrounding suburbs. This "Loop" runs through some of the most prominent buildings in the city, including the Willis Tower (which most Chicagoans will tell you is the ''Sears'' Tower, the third tallest building in the Americas behind only CN Tower and One World Trade Center; the retail company had moved out long before it was renamed for Willis Group Holdings, Ltd.). Contrary to the popular belief, the Loop got its name from the now-gone cablecar loop rather than the elevated rail tracks that encircle it today. Also, the system is called the 'L', not the "El" (that would either be elevated parts of the [[UsefulNotes/NewYorkSubway NYC Subway]] or the Market-Frankford Line of [[UsefulNotes/PhiladelphiaSubways Philadelphia's rapid transit system]]). Metra provides commuter rail service throughout Chicago's suburbs, with trains coming into one of four different downtown terminals. Chicago is also the Midwest hub for UsefulNotes/{{Amtrak}}, and is where a large assortment of long-distance trains start or end their trips, along with a variety of regional services that provide intrastate service within Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

* ''Jefferson Park'': A working-class neighborhood largely inhabited by Poles and Mexicans. Buses, Metra trains and an 'L' line converge near the middle, so the neighborhood gets lots of through traffic.

* ''Series/TheGoodWife''

We kid you not about the "perfectly situated" part either. The Great Lakes lie in a separate watershed from the Mississippi River, specifically that of the St. Lawrence River. While the divide between the two watersheds isn't exceptionally high, it was still a formidable barrier for water transportation... except at this one specific point. For thousands of years before white explorers and settlers arrived, the local Native Americans used a six-mile passage now known as the Chicago Portage to move between the two watersheds. During wet periods, they could travel the entire passage by canoe; at other times, they would have to drag their canoes and supplies through at least part of the area. Still, this was the only (relatively) easy means of water transport between the two watersheds before the arrival of white settlers, who eventually built a canal through that area.[[note]]The eastern end of this portage, now obliterated by modern development, is in the southwest of today's city, while the western end, in the inner suburbs, is preserved as a historic site.[[/note]] This led to a massive period of growth, as the city was now the central hub of trade and transit for the whole country. The rise of the railroads only accelerated this trend, as practically every railroad ran a line to Chicago; even to this day, Chicago is the center of the U.S. rail network, with all six Class I freight railroads in North America (BNSF, Canadian National, CPKC, CSX, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific) serving the city.[[note]]This has led to some weirdness; because of the complexity of rail connections in Chicago, it can take freight traveling by rail longer to cross Chicago than it does to get from Los Angeles (well, Long Beach) or New York (well, Newark) to Chicago in the first place.[[/note]] The city was leveled by a massive fire in 1871, widely suspected in UrbanLegend of having been started by a cow, which killed 200-300 people.[[note]]That is, the fire did. [[DontExplaintheJoke Not the cow.]] [[WildMassGuessing We think.]] The cow survived the fire.[[/note]] It built back even stronger; by the end of the 19th century, it had surpassed UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} as the nation's biggest city behind only UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity.

Chicago has a [[UsefulNotes/ChicagoL public rail system]] called the 'L,' a combination of subways and elevated tracks that radiates from a loop around the city center towards the city's edges and (in some cases) the surrounding suburbs. This "Loop" runs through some of the most prominent buildings in the city, including the Willis Tower (which most Chicagoans will tell you is the ''Sears'' Tower, the third tallest building in the Americas behind only CN Tower and One World Trade Center; the retail company had moved out long before it was renamed for Willis Group Holdings, Ltd.). Contrary to the popular belief, the Loop got its name from the now-gone cablecar loop rather than the elevated rail tracks that encircle it today. Also, the system is called the 'L', not the "El" (that would either be elevated parts of the [[UsefulNotes/NewYorkSubway NYC Subway]] or the Market-Frankford Line of [[UsefulNotes/PhiladelphiaSubways Philadelphia's rapid transit system]]). Metra provides commuter rail service throughout Chicago's suburbs, with trains coming into one of four different downtown terminals. Chicago is also the Midwest hub for UsefulNotes/{{Amtrak}}, and is where a large assortment of long-distance trains start or end their trips, along with a variety of regional services that provide intrastate service within Illinois and Wisconsin.

* ''Jefferson Park'': A working-class neighborhood largely inhabited by Poles and Mexicans. Buses, commuter trains and an 'L' line converge near the middle, so the neighborhood gets lots of through traffic.

* ''Film/HomeAlone'': mostly set in Winnetka, a wealthy Chicago suburb, but the family does fly out of O'Hare.

We kid you not about the "perfectly situated" part either. The Great Lakes lie in a separate watershed from the Mississippi River, specifically that of the St. Lawrence River. While the divide between the two watersheds isn't exceptionally high, it was still a formidable barrier for water transportation... except at this one specific point. For thousands of years before white explorers and settlers arrived, the local Native Americans used a six-mile passage now known as the Chicago Portage to move between the two watersheds. During wet periods, they could travel the entire passage by canoe; at other times, they would have to drag their canoes and supplies through at least part of the area. Still, this was the only (relatively) easy means of water transport between the two watersheds before the arrival of white settlers, who eventually built a canal through that area.[[note]]The eastern end of this portage, now obliterated by modern development, is in the southwest of today's city, while the western end, in the inner suburbs, is preserved as a historic site.[[/note]] This led to a massive period of growth, as the city was now the central hub of trade and transit for the whole country. The rise of the railroads only accelerated this trend, as practically every railroad ran a line to Chicago; even to this day, Chicago is the center of the U.S. rail network.[[note]]This has led to some weirdness; because of the complexity of rail connections in Chicago, it can take freight traveling by rail longer to cross Chicago than it does to get from Los Angeles (well, Long Beach) or New York (well, Newark) to Chicago in the first place.[[/note]] The city was leveled by a massive fire in 1871, widely suspected in UrbanLegend of having been started by a cow, which killed 200-300 people.[[note]]That is, the fire did. [[DontExplaintheJoke Not the cow.]] [[WildMassGuessing We think.]] The cow survived the fire.[[/note]] It built back even stronger; by the end of the 19th century, it had surpassed UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} as the nation's biggest city behind only UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity.

* ''Series/{{Perception}}''

* ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}''

* Music/JenniferHudson
* Creator/BonnieHunt

Today, Chicago is the third most populous city in the United States, having been surpassed several decades ago by UsefulNotes/LosAngeles. It is still the urban hub of the Great Lakes region and a fabled fortress of jazz, [[TheMafia organized crime]], UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan, [[Series/SaturdayNightLive Daaaaaa]] [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague Bearsss]], the 1893 World's Fair, deep-dish pizza, Frank Lloyd Wright, house music, improvisational theatre, pinball, lots and lots of drawbridges, [[UsefulNotes/MLBTeams two baseball teams]] known for perennial mediocrity which fiercely battle for the city's love/scorn, skyscrapers, revolving doors, [[note]][[http://www.wbez.org/series/curious-city/swinging-times-why-chicago-has-so-many-revolving-doors-114058 it's estimated]] that Chicago has one-third of the revolving doors ''in the entire world''[[/note]] a very pleasant lakefront, very unpleasant winters, [[UsefulNotes/BarackObama the 44th president]], and a certain roughneck Midwestern charm. Its nickname of "The Windy City" was coined by Charles Dana of the ''New York Sun'' to dismiss Chicago politicians who promised that it would be ''awesome'' if they got the World's Fair in 1893 as being full of hot air. (They got the fair, and it was indeed awesome.) During the Prohibition period, it was the home base of UsefulNotes/AlCapone. Blacks fleeing the [[DeepSouth Jim Crow south]] made it a {{blues}} center. A squash court at the University of Chicago was the site of the world's first controlled nuclear reaction.

* Last, but not least is the [[UsefulNotes/NationalHockeyLeague Blackhawks]]. Like the sport itself, the Hawks have classically played last fiddle to the more popular sports and their teams. The Hawks entered a severe DorkAge in the late [[TheNineties 1990s]], mostly because of a [[TheScrooge penny-pinching owner]][[note]]Bill Wirtz, whose father had held a minority stake in the team since 1950 and became sole owner in 1966[[/note]] who was most well known for '''[[BerserkButton not letting Blackhawks games air on local television]]'''. However, management changes and hot draft picks made after the passing of said owner ([[SpeakIllOfTheDead who was loudly booed]] by nearly every Blackhawks fans in attendance [[LastDisrespects when a moment of silence was performed to commemorate his death]]) allowed the team (now in the hands of his son) to win a Stanley Cup victory in 2010. This however proved to be a double edged sword as with success comes popularity, and many diehard fans began to be grumble about [[ItsPopularNowItSucks those new, young, ethnically diverse people who have the nerve to claim to be fans of equal value as they are]], and how said interest in the Hawks has increased ticket prices. Despite early exits from the playoffs the next two years, the team remained relatively successful and popularity continued to grow. They were credited with a league record in 2011 playing 24 consecutive games without a regulation loss, that being half of the lockout-shortened 48-game schedule. They would go on to win their second President's Trophy[[note]]awarded to the team with the best record at the end of the regular season[[/note]] in franchise history and take their second Stanley Cup in four years. Despite the 2011 NHL lockout alienating some fans, the team's popularity has only grown with a third Stanley Cup win (sixth in franchise history) in 2015. With 3 championships within 6 years the team has been said to be in a dynasty phase, and they are currently by a wide margin the city's biggest name in sports outside of the 2016 World Series Champion Cubs, even pushing the still-well-regarded Bulls out of the limelight, something that would have been unthinkable a few years earlier.

** The Wolves won two championships in their first 6 seasons which led to a large fan following as their success coincided with the Blackhawks' DorkAge. After the IHL folded, the team joined the AHL, the top level of the NHL farm system where they won two more championships as affiliates of the Atlanta Thrashers. Their popularity dwindled as the perpetually-bad Thrashers began poaching their good players and then trading them away. Their decline continued with the resurgence of the Hawks. Plenty of fans are still there, but it's hard to fill a stadium three times the size of the average for the AHL, especially with a thriving NHL team in town. In 2011, with the Thrashers being bought and moved to Winnipeg, the Wolves aligned with the Hawks' ArchEnemy Vancouver Canucks, alienating some fans and just making others feel awkward. The Canucks bought the Peoria Rivermen at the end of the 2010-2011 season, leaving the Wolves to affiliate with the St. Louis Blues,[[note]]The Blues were the previous owners of the Peoria Rivermen bought by the Canucks, thus in need of a new AHL affiliate[[/note]] another of the Hawks' notable rivals. The consensus among fans with regard to the deal was mostly along the lines "[[LesserOfTwoEvils well at least it's not Vancouver]]". In the 2017–18 season the Wolves became the affiliate team of the Vegas Golden Knights, with the Blues becoming an associate affiliate allowing both teams to utilize the team's roster for one year, after which the Blues found another AHL team.

See also GangsterLand, for the most enduring Chicago trope, and DownOnTheFarm, for the region surrounding the city.[[note]]That is, land outside Chicago suburbia. Many that commute live in the vast array of large suburbs in a forty-mile radius of Chicago, otherwise known as [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Chicagoland]]. This extends not only into Illinois but also well into Indiana—to the point where the bit of Indiana that's part of Chicagoland is one of two parts to be in a different time zone from the rest of the state (the other being the southwestern corner of the state) to fit with Chicago—and Wisconsin (Chicago commuter rail goes all the way up to Kenosha—which is closer to UsefulNotes/{{Milwaukee}} than Chicago).[[/note]] It is worth noting however, that as the years go on, the area directly north of Chicago is a lot closer to {{Suburbia}} and Strip Malls than DownOnTheFarm, as the metropolitan areas of Milwaukee and Chicago continue to grow, causing bordering communities to continue to grow as well. In any other direction however, this is true—with only smaller cities such as Elgin (to the west) and Rockford (to the northwest) breaking up a huge quantity of DownOnTheFarm interspersed with EverytownAmerica.

Because the city has loads and loads of teams, both at the major and semi-major level we'll put them in their own folder.

The city is also very particular about its [[UsefulNotes/CuisinesInAmerica pizza and hot dogs]]. Chicago is famous for its deep dish pizza, developed in the 40s (although it isn't known who exactly invented it). With its deep crust, resembles a pie more then other kinds of pizzas. Unlike other pizzas, the ingredients are assembled "backwards", starting with the cheese as the first layer, then a meat layer, a vegetable layer, and then the sauce last. This is due to a longer baking time that would burn the toppings and cheese if it was assembled in the same way as other pizzas.

Music and radio, on the other hand, have flourished in Chicago. Chicago, thanks to its location on the main route between the Mississippi and the East Coast, and the fact that it was a major destination for Southern blacks migrating north in search of better lives, was was the first city outside of the South to really get hit by the waves of jazz and blues, developing unique styles of both. Various rock and pop bands also hit early, and as for hip-hop…well…let's just say that Music/{{Kanye|West}} is from Chicago (although he was born in UsefulNotes/{{Atlanta}}), and leave you to judge for yourself. On the other end of the musical spectrum, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (organized for the 1893 World's Fair when the city fathers wanted to show they could be just as cultured as older cities back East) is now considered one of the finest in the world, winner of 62 Grammies, and productions at the Lyric Opera of Chicago attract top-name international singers. On the radio front, Chicago is home to the notable [[Creator/{{NPR}} WBEZ]]-Chicago, which produces both ''Radio/ThisAmericanLife'' and ''Radio/WaitWaitDontTellMe''. Another Chicago station, WLUP ("The Loop", a rock station) was responsible (in part) for the original Disco Demolition Night, which had a lasting effect and helped form the DiscoSucks trope.

We kid you not about the "perfectly situated" part either. The Great Lakes lie in a separate watershed from the Mississippi River, specifically that of the St. Lawrence River. While the divide between the two watersheds isn't exceptionally high, it was still a formidable barrier for water transportation... except at this one specific point. For thousands of years before white explorers and settlers arrived, the local Native Americans used a six-mile passage now known as the Chicago Portage to move between the two watersheds. During wet periods, they could travel the entire passage by canoe; at other times, they would have to drag their canoes and supplies through at least part of the area. Still, this was the only (relatively) easy means of water transport between the two watersheds before the arrival of white settlers, who eventually built a canal through that area.[[note]]The eastern end of this portage, now obliterated by modern development, is in the southwest of today's city, while the western end, in the inner suburbs, is preserved as a historic site.[[/note]] This led to a massive period of growth, as the city was now the central hub of trade and transit for the whole country. The rise of the railroads only accelerated this trend, as practically every railroad ran a line to Chicago; even to this day, Chicago is the center of the U.S. rail network.[[note]]This has led to some weirdness; because of the complexity of rail connections in Chicago, it can take freight traveling by rail longer to cross Chicago than it does to get from Los Angeles (well, Long Beach) or New York (well, Newark) to get to Chicago in the first place.[[/note]] The city was leveled by a massive fire in 1871, widely suspected in UrbanLegend of having been started by a cow, which killed 200-300 people.[[note]]That is, the fire did. [[DontExplaintheJoke Not the cow.]] [[WildMassGuessing We think.]] The cow survived the fire.[[/note]] It built back even stronger; by the end of the 19th century, it had surpassed UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} as the nation's biggest city behind only UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity.

* ''Clybourne Park'': UsefulNotes/PulitzerPrize winning drama by Bruce Norris builds on Lorraine Hansberry’s Chicago of ''Theatre/ARaisinInTheSun''.

** [[Film/{{Chicago}} The movie]], however, was filmed mostly in Toronto, to the annoyance of many Chicago viewers. When asked what he thought of the movie ''Chicago,'' Mayor Daley replied, "I would have liked it better [[TakeThat if it had been filmed in Chicago]]!" To a Toronto viewer who didn't see it as a big deal, Chicago film critic Creator/RogerEbert retorted, "If a musical named '[[CanadaEh O Canada]]' were currently being filmed in Chicago, how would that make you feel?"* ''Theatre/TheFrontPage''

[[caption-width-right:350:"[[Music/FrankSinatra My kind of town, Chicago is...]]"]]

->''"Come on\\
Oh baby don't you wanna go\\
Back to that same old place\\