Chicago Real Estate Agents, Chicago Homes for Sale, Chicago Condos, Illinois, IL

Use the table of contents below to jump directly to the section you are interested in:

• Chicago Real Estate Information
  • Chicago Real Estate Overview
  • Chicago Real Estate Agents
  • Chicago Neighborhoods
  • Chicago Communities
  • Chicago Geography
  • Chicago Climate
  • Chicago Culture and People
  • Chicago Cuisine
  • Chicago Media and Entertainment
  • Chicago Business
  • Chicago Education
  • Chicago Transportation
  • Chicago Health and Medicine
  • Chicago Utilities and Infrastructure

Chicago Real Estate Information

Chicago Real Estate Overview

Chicago, known as the "Second City" and the "Windy City", is the third-largest city in population in the United States, following New York City and Los Angeles. Chicago is located in the Midwestern state of Illinois along the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cook County. When combined with its suburbs and nine surrounding counties in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana, the greater metropolitan area known as Chicagoland encompasses a population of nearly 10 million people.

Growing from a frontier town of the Old Northwest in 1833 to one of the world's premier cities, Chicago is ranked as one of 10 "Alpha" (most influential) world cities by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group & Network. Today, Chicago is the financial, transportation, and cultural capital of the Midwest. The city has long been known around the world as a financial, industrial, and transportation center and for its ethnic diversity. Chicago's skyscrapers, local cuisine, political traditions, and sports teams are some of the most recognized symbols of the city. A variety of colloquial nicknames reflect Chicago's unique character.

A resident of Chicago is referred to as a Chicagoan. There is some ambiguity regarding the suburbs - some residents call themselves "Chicagoans" and identify with the central city, while others rarely deal with or visit the central city. About one-third of central-city Chicagoans are Caucasian, another third African American, around a quarter Hispanic and one-tenth Asian, with small amounts of other races filling in the remainder. Chicago also has several dozen distinct neighborhoods to match the ethnic diversity; the city is divided into 77 official community areas.

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Chicago Real Estate Agents

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Chicago Neighborhoods

Bucktown, Edgewater, Gold Coast, Humboldt Park, Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Lincoln Square, Logan Square, Rogers Park, Streeterville, Ukrainian Village, Wicker Park, Wrigleyville.

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Chicago Communities

Albany Park, Archer Heights, Armour Square, Ashburn, Auburn Gresham, Austin, Avalon Park, Avondale, Belmont Cragin, Beverly, Bridgeport, Brighton Park, Burnside, Calumet Heights, Chatham, Chicago Lawn, Clearing, Douglas, Dunning, East Garfield Park, East Side, Edgewater, Edison Park, Englewood, Forest Glen, Fuller Park, Gage Park, Garfield Ridge, Grand Boulevard, Greater Grand Crossing, Hegewisch, Hermosa, Humboldt Park, Hyde Park, Irving Park, Jefferson Park, Kenwood, Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Lincoln Square, Logan Square, Loop, Lower West Side, McKinley Park, Montclare, Morgan Park, Mount Greenwood, Near North Side, Near South Side, Near West Side, New City, North Center, North Lawndale, North Park, Norwood Park, O’Hare, Oakland, Portage Park, Pullman, Riverdale, Rogers Park, Roseland, South Chicago, South Lawndale, South Shore, Uptown, Washington Heights, Washington Park, West Eldson, West Englewood, West Garfield Park, West Lawn, West Pullman, West Ridge, West Town, Woodlawn.

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Chicago Geography

Chicago is located in northeastern Illinois at the southwestern tip of Lake Michigan. When Chicago was founded in the 1830s most of the early building began around the mouth of the Chicago River. The city has been built on relatively flat land; the average height of land is 579 feet (176 meters) above sea level. The city lies beside Lake Michigan and two rivers, the Chicago in downtown and the Calumet 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.

There are 77 officially defined community areas in the City of Chicago. Although many names are instantly recognizable, others aren't used much by the general public. Instead, many locals use neighborhood names such as Wicker Park, Wrigleyville or Streeterville.

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Chicago Climate

Chicago is known as a city of climate extremes. While winters can often be bitterly cold, extreme summer heat waves are not uncommon. Chicago has a continental climate, typical of the U.S. Midwest, with hot summers and cold winters, subject to possible extremes in both seasons. Lake Michigan can have a moderating effect for neighborhoods close to the shoreline, keeping them cooler in summer and slightly warmer in winter. Average high and low temperatures for July are 84 °F/63 °F, and for January it is 29 °F/13 °F. Weather typical of each season can sometimes arrive unusually early or late, for example, the highest recorded temperature in March was 84 °F and the lowest in September was 37 °F. Summers have been known to bring different elements in a one day period; ranging from bright sunny mornings, to partly-cloudy and rainy early afternoons, to bright sunny late afternoons, to comfortable evenings.

Chicago's yearly precipitation averages about 36 inches (914 mm). Summer is the rainiest season, with short-lived rainfall and thunderstorms more common than prolonged rainy periods[1]. The highest temperature ever reached in Chicago was 104 °F.

Winter in Chicago is a variable and fickle season. Temperatures and snowfall can vary widely in the span of one to two weeks, and extended periods of temperatures below 32 °F (0 °C) are not uncommon in January and February. Temperatures can sometimes drop below 0 °F (-18 °C) overnight and then rise by the next morning. This frigid weather doesn't normally last more than 1-3 days at a time. Although rare, the temperature can climb to 50 °F (10 °C) or higher in winter.

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Chicago Culture and People

People living in Chicago are called "Chicagoans." The term is also sometimes applied, incorrectly but colloquially, to those living in one of the neighboring communities.

As of the 2000 census, there are 2,896,016 people, 1,061,928 households, and 632,909 families residing in the city of Chicago proper. A 2006 estimate puts the city's population at over 3 million. This encompasses about one-fifth of the entire population of the state of Illinois and 1% of the population of the United States.

Chicago itself makes up 23.3% percent of the total population of Illinois, down from a high of 44.3% in 1930.

Chicago's unique culture arises from it being a melting pot, with nearly even percentages of Caucasians and African-Americans and a sizeable Hispanic minority.

The main European ethnic groups in Chicago are the Irish, Germans, Italians and Polish. Chicago has a large Irish-American population on its South Side. Many of Chicago's politicians have come from this population, including current mayor Richard M. Daley. Chicago has the largest population of Swedish-Americans of any city in the US, numbering 123,000. After the Chicago Fire, many Swedish carpenters helped to rebuild the city, which is why it is sometimes called the city the Swedes built.

Today, Chicago has the largest ethnically Polish population outside of Poland, making it one of the most important Polonia centers. Polish food and customs have melted into the culture of the city. Chicago is also considered to be the second-largest Serbian and Lithuanian city in the world, and the third largest Greek city after Melbourne, Australia. The city also has the country's largest Syriac population, numbering as many as 80,000 and is the location of the seat of the head of the Assyrian Church of the East, Mar Dinkha IV.

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 country, after New York City and San Francisco. The Devon Avenue Market on Chicago's north side is an example of this, as it is one of the largest South Asian neighborhoods in North America.

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Chicago Cuisine

Chicago's signature foods reflect the city's ethnic and working-class roots. Chicago deep-dish pizza, popularized by Pizzeria Uno and Pizzeria Due, is world renowned, although thin-crust and other styles of pizza are also popular throughout the city. A traditional Chicago hotdog is typically loaded with mustard, chopped onion, sliced tomato, pickle relish, celery salt and a dill pickle spear. It is somewhat taboo to put ketchup on a Chicago hotdog; there are actually some small hotdog shops and stands that will refuse service to you if you make the request. A Chicago hotdog is almost always made out of Vienna Beef, the largest provider of hot dog meat for Chicago. Chicago is also known for Italian Beef sandwiches and the Maxwell Street Polish (always served topped with grilled onions and mustard).

Chicago also has a long list of world-renowned upscale dining establishments serving a wide array of cuisine from some of the most well-known chefs in the United States. Some notable destinations include Charlie Trotter's (chef Charlie Trotter) on Armitage in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood, Frontera Grill, a gourmet Mexican restaurant owned by Food Network star Rick Bayless, and The Everest, a new-French restaurant on the top floor of the Chicago Stock Exchange building downtown.

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Chicago Media and Entertainment

Chicago commands the third-largest market in North America (after New York City and Los Angeles; although Mexico City has a larger population, its market does not hold such importance) and as such has many different forms of media and outlets to support its status. All of the major US television networks have subsidiaries in Chicago. Chicago's local WGN-TV, which is owned by the Tribune Company, is carried (with some programming differences) as "Superstation WGN" on cable nation-wide.

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 a number of regional and special-interest newspapers such as the Daily Southtown, the Chicago Defender, the Newcity News, the Daily Herald and the Chicago Reader.

Chicago Public Radio offers diverse and informative programs and is perhaps best known for producing NPR favorites This American Life and Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!.

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Chicago Business

Chicago, and its surrounding suburbs, are home to the second largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the United States. The greater Chicago area hosts 31 members of the Fortune 500. The city of Chicago is home to 11 Fortune 500 companies, while the metropolitan area hosts a total of 21 members of the Fortune 500. Chicago also hosts 12 Fortune Global 500 companies and 17 Financial Times 500 companies.

Chicago, and its surrounding metropoltian area, are also home to the second largest labor pool in the United States numbering approximately 4.25 million workers.

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Chicago Education

Public Education

The Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is the school district that controls over 600 public elementary and high schools in Chicago. It is currently the third largest school district in the United States, with more 400,000 students enrolled in the school district and is led by CEO Arne Duncan. The CPS also includes a number of selective-admission magnet schools, including some of the best in the country. Lincoln Park High School, Kenwood Academy Whitney Young Magnet High School, Lane Technical High School, Walter Payton College Prep and Northside College Preparatory High School have all topped the lists.

Higher Education

Chicagoland is home to two of America's leading universities, the University of Chicago in Hyde Park and Northwestern University in nearby Evanston. Northwestern also maintains a campus in downtown Chicago, near the Magnificent Mile.

The Illinois Institute of Technology in Bronzeville has notable engineering and architecture programs.

The city is also home to several honored Catholic universities, including Loyola University - with campuses in Rogers Park, Edgewater and Water Tower Place, and DePaul University in Lincoln Park and the Loop.

The Chicago campus of the Illinois state university system, the University of Illinois at Chicago, is one of the nation's largest urban public universities.

Other State Universities in Chicago include Chicago State University and Northeastern Illinois University.

A number of smaller colleges are known for fine arts education, including Roosevelt University, Columbia College Chicago, and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago; annually, the latter ranks alongside the Rhode Island School of Design and Yale University as having the best graduate and undergraduate level arts programs in the country.

The Chicago region boasts 12 accredited theological schools representing most mainline Protestant traditions, including the city's oldest institution of higher education, the United Church of Christ-related Chicago Theological Seminary, the United Methodist run Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, the Episcopal Seabury-Wesleyan and multiple Roman Catholic institutions, including St. Mary of the Lake Seminary; the schools are joined in a consortium known as the Association of Chicago Theological Schools (ACTS). Another well-known Christian school in downtown Chicago is the Moody Bible Institute.

The city also has a community college system known as the City Colleges of Chicago.

Many of these institutions have downtown campuses as well as suburban locations.

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Chicago Transportation

Ports

Chicago is considered to be the premier transportation hub in America. Much of this status stems from its geographic proximity during a time when the United States was growing quickly in population and area. The Illinois and Michigan Canal, completed in 1848, allowed for transportation around the world with connecting waterways through Chicago all the way to New York and the Atlantic Ocean, west to St. Louis, and south to New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico. Chicago then became one of the largest grain and lumber ports in the world, with grain being sent to more established populations and lumber being sent to the forest-starved prairies where new settlers needed to build. Even today, Chicago's importance in global distribution remains, as it is the third largest inter-modal port in the world after Hong Kong and Singapore.

Streets and Highways

The streets of Chicago primarily follow the grid system established by the Chicago City Council in 1908 and implemented on September 1, 1909. 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. Letters, N, S,E and W indicate directions.

The City of Chicago is divided into one-mile sections which contain eight blocks to the mile (though the street grid is not entirely uniform). Each block's addresses occupy a 100-number range, making a range of 800 address numbers cover approximately one mile. There are three exceptions to the 800-to-a-mile rule: Madison (the north-south zero point) to Roosevelt at 1200 south is one mile, as is Roosevelt to Cermak at 2200 south, and Cermak to 31st Street (3100 south). The regular 800-per-mile range resumes south of 31st Street so that 39th Street (3900 south) is one mile south of 31st Street. 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, more than any other city in the nation. 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 named interstate segments are the Kennedy Expressway (I-90 From the 'Loop' to O'Hare International Airport), Dan Ryan Expressway (I-90/94, From South of the 'Circle Interchange' to the I-57 Split), Stevenson Expressway (I-55), Edens Expressway (I-94), Eisenhower Expressway (I-290), Bishop Ford Expressway (I-94 from the I-57 Split south), and the Chicago Skyway (I-90 when it breaks off the Dan Ryan). Interstate 57 is not named.

Public Transportation

The Chicago Transit Authority, or CTA, operates the second largest public transportation system in the United States (to New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority) and covers the City of Chicago and 40 surrounding suburbs. The CTA operates 24 hours a day and, on an average weekday, 1.4 million rides are taken on the CTA. CTA has approximately 2,000 buses that operate over 152 routes and 2,273 route miles. Buses provide about 1 million passenger trips a day and serve more than 12,000 posted bus stops. CTA's 1,190 rapid transit cars operate over seven routes and 222 miles of track. CTA trains provide about 500,000 customer trips each day and serve 144 stations in Chicago, Evanston, Skokie, Wilmette, Rosemont, Forest Park, Oak Park and Cicero. Chicago is one of the few cities in the United States that provides rapid transit service to two major airports. From the downtown area the CTA's Blue Line takes customers to O'Hare International Airport in about 40 minutes and the Orange Line takes customers to Midway Airport in about 30 minutes from the Loop.

Metra operates commuter rail service at over 200 stations in Chicago and its suburbs.

Pace operates a primarily-suburban bus service that also offers some routes into Chicago.

Airports

In the 20th century, Chicago held on to its status as the nation's transportation hub with the building of two airports: Midway Airport, on the south side, which was superceded in the 1960s by O'Hare International Airport on the far northwest. Today, O'Hare is one of the world's busiest airports, playing an important role in domestic connections for many airlines. Both O'Hare and Midway are owned and operated by the city of Chicago. For decades Illinois has debated opening a new airport near Peotone, Illinois, with no decision. For now the Gary-Chicago airport, located in nearby Gary, Indiana serves as the third Chicago land airport.

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Chicago Health and Medicine

The United States has the largest health care system in the world, and Chicago is arguably the capital of that system. The city is first among the major dental and medical training centers in the United States. It is also home to the sprawling Illinois Medical District on the Near West Side, which 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 and the basis for the hospital in NBC's popular drama ER. The American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association, the American Dental Association, and the American College of Surgeons are also based 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). Chicago is also home to a large number of nationally recognized medical schools. These include the above-mentioned University of Illinois medical school, Rush Medical College, University of Chicago, and 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 located in Downers Grove. The American Osteopathic Association is also located in Chicago.

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Chicago Utilities and Infrastructure

Electric

Electricity is provided to residents through Commonwealth Edison, also known as ComEd. With over 6,000 employees ComEd provides service to all of northern Illinois. Their service territory borders Iroquois County to the south (roughly Interstate 80), the Wisconsin border to the north, the Iowa border to the west and the Indiana border to the east.

Phone

The area codes in Chicago are 312 and 773.

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Also: Chicago, Illinois Official Website