Chicago, Illinois

Chicago, Illinois is an American city on the western shore of Lake Michigan. With a population of about 2.8 million, it is one of the largest cities in America, but its population has been steadily declining as is that of the state of Illinois because of high crime, poor public services, frigid winters and steam-room type summers, and endemic corruption.

History

Much of the city burned down in 1871. The "Second City" was then built.

Demographics

Chicago has the largest Polish population of any city in the world except for Warsaw, Poland. Nearly 30% of the population is black. A significant fraction is Mexican. Irish are a significant sector in both Chicago and Cook County, Illinois. Non-Polish European descendants are a minority.

Business climate

There is a shortage of skilled workers within the city and taxes are an issue. Major industries in northeast Illinois have moved to the suburbs.

Because of the manner in which property taxes are levied in Chicago and Cook County, an industry unique to the area of property tax appeals has arisen. This is the major law practice of some of the most prominent politicians in Illinois, who use that power to secure campaign contributions. Pat Quinn, former Illinois treasurer and governor, Michael Madigan, the record-setting tenured head of the Illinois House, now under federal investigation for corruption and influence-peddling, Ed Burke, long-time chair of the powerful Chicago Finance Committee, now under federal investigation for corruption and influence-peddling, whose wife became a justice and then the chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, Don Harmon, the current president of the Illinois Senate, who rose to office by making a deal with Isaac "Ike" Carothers, imprisoned for corruption and influence-peddling, all have as either their sole or a major portion of their law practice the appeal of commercial property taxes.

Both William Carothers and son Isaac Carothers were convicted of almost the same crimes three decades apart, which the Chicago Tribune described as "perhaps the most striking combination of aldermanic nepotism combined with Chicago-style corruption...." Isaac was the 28th conviction of a Chicago alderman since 1972, a record of corruption, influence-peddling, and nepotism unapproached in its magnitude by any jurisdiction in America. The phrase attached to Chicago politicians is "where's mine?"

This corruption carries over to the State of Illinois, where multiple governors have been imprisoned for corruption and influence-peddling. These include Otto Kerner, Dan Walker, George Ryan, and Rod Blagojevich, again a record of perfidy unapproached in any state in America. The various convictions were based on bank fraud, bribery, income tax evasion, and other politically-cherished aspects of Illinois corruption and influence peddling.

As an example of how the corruption in Illinois affects the common citizen and the business sector, the Illinois General Assembly passed a law that prohibits non-attorneys from filing property tax appeals for third parties, thereby securing the income of these insiders, although property tax appeals are only mathematical comparisons, without any case law relevance. This politically-motivated, self-securing statute put dozens of property tax specialists/mathematicians out of business, causing the loss of hundreds of jobs.

Crime

Its murder rate, the result of drug gangs murdering members of other gangs, is the highest in the country and increasing. The Austin neighborhood had to be broken up into two police districts to get the reported crime rate down. Neighboring Oak Park, Illinois, once a safe haven for those desiring suburban life, bears a major brunt of the crime, being the closest moderately affluent community to Austin.

Car-jacking is a crime that has terrorized innocent people throughout the Chicagoland area.

Professional sports teams

Chicago is home to the Chicago Bears, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Bulls, and Chicago Blackhawks. The owner of both the White Sox and the Bulls is Jerry Reinsdorf, who is Jewish. With seven world championships since the middle 1990's between the White Sox and the Bulls, he is one of the most successful sports owners in America.

The once-proud Soldier Field, a lakefront stadium, was converted into a flying saucer type edifice in order to increase the seating capacity. It is widely considered an architectural monstrosity.

Stellar professional athletes in Chicago have iconic stature. These include Mike Ditka and Dick Butkus of the Bears, Ernie Banks of the Cubs, Minnie Minoso of the White Sox, Michael Jordan of the Bulls, who was voted the greatest athlete of the 20th century, and Bobby Hull of the Blackhawks.

Professional colleges and universities

Northwestern University of north suburban Evanston as well as downtown Chicago and the University of Chicago have pre-eminent programs in law and management. The latter is separated from the south side of Chicago by the promenade, a multi-wide block undeveloped park area.

Other law schools include second, third, and lower tier programs.

Weather and climate

The weather in Chicago is unfavorable. The winters are frigid, with temperatures reaching into the -20 F range. The summers are intolerably hot and steamy, with the feeling of being in a steam room. Temperatures can reach 105 F. The spring season can bring torrential, basement flooding downpours. August is a drought month. Fall is probably the most tolerable season, giving homeowners a respite from the other seasons and an opportunity to repair their roofs in anticipation of multiple-foot deep snowfalls, while admiring the change of green-colored leaves to various red and yellow hues.

Largely because of breezes from Lake Michigan, Chicago is also known as the "Windy City." In meteorological fact, other American cities record larger mean wind speeds.

Culture

• John Hughes movies primarily take place in the Chicago suburbs. Part of Ferris Bueler's Day Off occurs in downtown Chicago.
• Vince Vaughn is from the Chicago area. Fred Claus and The Breakup take place in Chicago.
• The Second City, the improvisation nightclub, is based in Chicago. Notable alumni include John Belushi, Jim Belushi, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Dan Ackroyd, Bill Murray, and Gilda Radner.
• Richard Wright, an author, lived in Chicago.
• The TV sitcom Married... with Children takes place in a suburb.
• The iconic elevated train tracks (the "el") is a favorite location for filmmakers.

Chicago has world-class museums including the Adler Planetarium, the Shedd Aquarium, the Field Museum of Natural History, the Art Institute of Chicago, and The Museum of Science and Industry. The former three are located in the museum campus on the shore of Lake Michigan just south and east of the Chicago loop elevated train tracks. The Museum of Science and Industry is in the south side of Chicago, not far from the University of Chicago. The Art Institute, with its entrance guarded by two famed lion sculptures, sits on Michigan Avenue.

Chicago is home to what is considered the greatest orchestra in the world, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Orchestra Hall sits on Michigan Avenue near the Art Institute.