Chicago is the third largest city in the United States (after New York and Los Angeles), the country's second largest financial center (after New York) and the largest transport hub in North America.
Located on the southwest coast of Lake Michigan in Illinois; the county seat of Cook County.
Chicago's population (2010 census) is 2,695,598.
Administratively, the city is divided into 77 districts.
The Chicago agglomeration (with various suburbs) is called "Greater Chicago" or "Chicago Country" (English Chicagoland; B the name was proposed by the Chicago Tribune newspaper at the beginning of the 20th century); B it is home to more than 9 million people.
The Chicago agglomeration ranks 37th in the world in terms of the number of inhabitants.
Chicago is considered to be the economic, industrial, transportation and cultural capital of the Midwest.
Informally, it is sometimes also referred to as the "Second City" and the "Windy City".
Chicago was first referred to as the "Windy City" in an 1858 article in the Chicago Tribune.