Chicago is also known by its geographical epithet ‘Windy City’. Chicago is also known as ‘Garden City’. Chicago is a city that wears its American heart proudly on its sleeve. The city of Chicago is in northeastern Illinois. Chicago is one of the largest cities of Illinois (one of the 50 states of USA).
The Windy City- Chicago stretches for 40km (25miles) along the southern tip of Lake Michigan's shore. Illinois is located in the northern central part of the United States, bordered by Wisconsin and Lake Michigan to the north, Iowa and Missouri to the west, Indiana to the east and Kentucky to the south.
The city of Chicago has a great tradition of jazz and blues, an amazing architecture, an appetite for hearty food, award-winning newspapers, universities full of Nobel laureates and some of the most die-hard sports fans.
The Loop is the historic centre of the city, drawing its name from the elevated train tracks that circle it. Its buildings constitute a virtual textbook of American architecture. The intersection of Madison and State Streets is the hub of a numbering system that lets you navigate without knowing any street names. From this point, all street numbers are predicated on north, south, east or west, depending on which way they radiate. Many of Chicago's neighbourhoods are named for their location in relation to the Loop (South Loop, Near North, West Side, etc).
Chicago's O'Hare International Airport is 27km (17mi) northwest of downtown. Midway Airport is 19km (12mi) southwest of downtown. Amtrak's national headquarters are within Union Station, located southwest of the Loop. The Greyhound station is also southwest of the Loop, not far from Amtrak.
The Illinois flag is a simple representation of the Great Seal of Illinois against a white background. In 1969, the General Assembly voted to add the word ‘Illinois’ under the Great Seal of the flag. The State's name was added to the flag to ensure that people not familiar with the Great Seal of Illinois would still recognize the banner. Flag adopted 1915.
