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Chicago is the third largest city in the United States with a population of 2,886,251 (2002). It is located in the state of Illinois, on the shores of Lake Michigan. The city is the county seat of Cook County. The greater Chicago metropolitan area is known colloquially as Chicagoland. The name Chicago comes from "Checagou" (Chick-Ah-Goo-Ah) or "Checaguar" which in the language of the Potawatomi Indians means 'wild onions' or 'skunk'. The area was so named because of the smell of rotting marshland onions that used to cover it.
On August 12, 1833, the Town of Chicago was incorporated as a town with a population of 350. Within 7 years of being incorporated, the primarily French and Native American town had a population of over 4,000. Chicago was granted a city charter by Illinois on March 4, 1837. The opening of the Illinois and Michigan Canal in 1848, allowed shipping from the Great Lakes through Chicago to the Mississippi River and so to the Gulf of Mexico. The first rail line to Chicago, the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad; was completed the same year. Chicago would go on to become the transportation hub of the United States with it road, rail, water and later air connections. Chicago also became home to nationwide retailers offering catalog shopping utilizing these connections like Montgomery Ward and Sears, Roebuck and Company.
Because of the geography of Chicago early citizens faced many problems. The prairie bog nature of the area provided a fertile ground for disease carrying insects. The growth of early Chicago and its commerce was stymied by lack of transportation. In the spring Chicago was so muddy from the high water that horses would often be stuck waist deep in the street. One dirt road was so hazardous that it became known as the "Slough of Despond." Comical signs proclaiming "Fastest route to China" or "No Bottom Here" were placed out to warn passersby of the deep mud.
To address these transportation problems, the board of Cook County commissioners, at its second meeting, after being created by the Illinois legislature on January 15, 1831, decided to improve two country roads toward the west and southwest. The first road went west, crossing the "dismal Nine-mile Swamp," crossed the Des Plaines River, and went southwest to Walker's Grove, which is today known as Plainfield. There is a dispute about the route of the second road to the south.
Early Chicago was also plagued by sewer and water problems. Many people described it as the filthiest city in America. To solve this problem Chicago embarked on the creation of a massive sewer system. In the first phase sewage pipes were laid across the city above ground with gravity moving the waste. Then in 1855 the level of the city was raised 4 to 7 feet (1.2 to 2.1 m), with individual buildings jacked up and fill brought in to raise streets above the swamp and the newly laid sewer pipes.
Next the city decided to work on their water problem. Because Lake Michigan was the source of water for the city and it was already highly polluted from the rapidly growing industries in and around Chicago a new way of procuring clean water was needed. The city embarked on a large tunnel excavation project and started building tunnels underneath Lake Michigan to newly built Water Cribs. The water cribs were 2 miles (3.2 km) off the shore of Lake Michigan but they still didn't bring enough clean water because spring rains would wash the polluted water from the Chicago River into them. To solve this problem the direction of flow of the Chicago River was reversed in 1871 by the Army Corps of Engineers to prevent sewage from running into Lake Michigan.
By 1857 Chicago was the largest city in then what was known as the Northwest. In a period of 20 years Chicago grew from 4,000 people to over 90,000.
The 1860 Republican National Convention in Chicago nominated home state candidate Abraham Lincoln. In 1871, most of the city burned in the Great Chicago Fire. By this time the city had grown to a population of over 300,000. As a result of the fire much of the city needed be rebuilt, this gave city planners a clean slate to fix the problems of the past. In the following years, Chicago architecture would become influential throughout the world because of this. The first skyscraper in the world was constructed in 1885 using novel steel skeleton construction.
Mayor Richard J. Daley was elected in 1955, in the era of so-called machine politics. During Daley's tenure (he died in office in 1976), the 1968 Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago, four major expressways were built, the Sears Tower became the world's tallest building and O'Hare Airport, which later became the world's busiest airport, was constructed. In 1983, Harold Washington became the first African American mayor of Chicago. Richard M. Daley, son of Richard J. Daley, became mayor in 1989.
"Second City" - So called because it was, for many years, the second-largest city in the United States, and also because of its rebirth after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The term was originated in an article by A.J. Liebling that appeared in The New Yorker. The improvisational comedy troupe Second City, based in Chicago, took their name from this article as well.
"Chi-town" or simply "Chitown" - Pronunciation of this nickname can vary from "TCHI-town" to "SHAI-town."
"City of Big Shoulders" - From a Carl Sandburg poem.
"Hog-Butcher To The World" - From a Carl Sandburg poem.
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Chicago is the third largest 
