GoGo's Guide to Chicago

Ah, Chicagohl. The City of Broad Shoulders, The Second City. The Windy City. The Paris of the Prairie, The Jewel of the Midwest. Chicago is America's working city a soft spoken, sleepy giant sitting between New York City and Los Angeles. Lacking the pretensions of its more gregarious neighbors, Chicago endures brutal, humid summers and frigid, snowy winters and remains a city of immigrants as well as sahsidge. Where its coastal siblings are respective capitals of finance and the film industry, Chicago thrives on tangible work. It is a historical global capital of commodities trading, not high finance or stock trading. Manufacturing, printing, publishing, food processing and distribution still thrive here, as it has for over 100 years. Don't be fooled, though. Chicago is a smart town. It is the hub of Illinois' Silicon Prairie, and Argonne National Laboratories. The University of Chicago, Depaul University , Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Chicago all have their main campuses within the city limits. You wouldn't think it, but the Midwestern inhabitants of the Chicagoland area pump out a GDP greater than that of London or Paris. In terms of being a global city, Chicago ranks as Alpha+, alongside Hong Kong, Tokyo, Paris and Shanghai. You'll hear the name Chicagoland a lot. That is the name of the mega-region around the actual city limits. It encompasses a 30 mile wide ring of suburbs around the city, as well as parts of Northwestern Indiana. This makes 9.8 million people associated with Chicago. Chicago is about Food, Architecture, Sports, Work and Play Ol' GoGo will be your guide.