SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT PROGRAM IN Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the third-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 2.74 million at the 2020 census. The Chicago metropolitan area has 9.41 million residents and is the third-largest metropolitan area in the country. Chicago is the seat of Cook County, the second-most populous county in the U.S. Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837 near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed.

As the site of the Chicago Portage, the city became an important transportation hub between the eastern and western United States. Chicago’s first railway, Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, and the Illinois and Michigan Canal opened in 1848. The canal allowed steamboats and sailing ships on the Great Lakes to connect to the Mississippi River. A flourishing economy brought residents from rural communities and immigrants from abroad. Manufacturing and retail and finance sectors became dominant, influencing the American economy. The Chicago Board of Trade, established in 1848, listed the first-ever standardized exchange-traded forward contracts, which were called futures contracts.

Within the span of forty years, the city’s population grew from slightly under 30,000 to over 1 million by 1890. By the close of the 19th century, Chicago was the fifth largest city in the world. In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed several square miles and left more than 100,000 homeless, but Chicago’s population continued to grow. Chicago made noted contributions to urban planning and architecture, such as the Chicago School, the development of the City Beautiful movement, and the steel-framed skyscraper.

The Chicago area has one of the highest gross domestic products of any urban region in the world, ranking sixth globally, generating over $919 billion in 2024. Chicago’s economy is diverse, with no single industry employing more than 14% of the workforce. The city of Chicago hosts 12 Fortune Global 500 companies and 17 Financial Times 500 companies. The city claims three Dow 30 companies: aerospace giant Boeing, which moved its headquarters from Seattle to the Chicago Loop in 2001; McDonald’s; and Walgreens Boots Alliance. Chicago has five major financial exchanges, including the Chicago Stock Exchange, the Chicago Board Options Exchange, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the Chicago Board of Trade, and NYSE Arca.

According to U.S. census estimates, Chicago’s largest racial or ethnic group is non-Hispanic White at 32.8% of the population, Black residents at 30.1%, and the Hispanic population at 29.0%. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey data for 2022, the median income for a household in the city was $70,386, and the per capita income was $45,449. Chicago became a “de jure” sanctuary city in 2012 when Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the City Council passed the Welcoming City Ordinance.

Chicago is governed by a mayor and a 50-member City Council. Brandon Johnson has served as the 57th mayor of Chicago since 2023, a member of the Democratic Party who previously served on the Cook County Board of Commissioners and worked as a social studies teacher in the Chicago Public Schools system and as an organizer with the Chicago Teachers Union.

Chicago is a major destination for tourism, with 55 million visitors in 2024 to its cultural institutions, Lake Michigan beaches, restaurants, and more. Chicago’s culture has contributed much to the visual arts, literature, film, theater, comedy — especially improvisational comedy — food, dance, and music, particularly jazz, blues, soul, hip-hop, gospel, industrial, and electronic dance music, especially house music. Chicago is home to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera of Chicago, while the Art Institute of Chicago provides an influential visual arts museum and art school.

Landmarks in the city include Millennium Park, Navy Pier, the Magnificent Mile, the Art Institute of Chicago, Museum Campus, the Willis (Sears) Tower, Grant Park, the Museum of Science and Industry, and Lincoln Park Zoo. The Chicago area is home to leading research universities including the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, the University of Illinois at Chicago, DePaul University, Loyola University, and the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Professional sports in Chicago include all major professional leagues, including two Major League Baseball teams. The city’s professional teams include the Chicago Bears (NFL), Chicago Bulls (NBA), Chicago Blackhawks (NHL), Chicago Cubs (MLB), and Chicago White Sox (MLB).

City of Chicago