About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. The fountain's two towers display visual effects from LED images of Chicagoans' faces, along with water spouting from their lips. Of the total population in 1900, more than 77% were either foreign-born or born in the United States of foreign parentage. During its first hundred years, Chicago was one of the fastest-growing cities in the world. Computer and Internet Use. Henry Darger is one of the most celebrated figures of outsider art. 2005: The Chicago White Sox win the World Series and break 88-year title drought, 2010: Chicago Blackhawks win Stanley Cup Championship, 2012: Chicago Red Stars win National Women's Open, 2013: Chicago Blackhawks win Stanley Cup Championship, 2015: Chicago Blackhawks win Stanley Cup Championship, 2016: The Chicago Cubs win World Series; break 108-year title drought and broke the Curse of the Billy Goat. [citation needed], Chicago Fire FC is a member of Major League Soccer (MLS) and plays at Soldier Field. It includes nineteen boulevards, eight parks, and six squares, along twenty-six miles of interconnected streets. ", "As feds help Chicago on guns, Trump aide says city's crime more about 'morality', "Heroin Pushed on Chicago by Cartel Fueling Gang Murders", "Probing Ties Between Mexican Cartel And Chicago's Violence", "Rahm Emanuel's performance as Chicago mayor", "Chicago's Murder Rate Double American Soldiers Killed in Iraq", "Illinois: Offenses Known to Law Enforcement, Table 8", "Chicago homicides in 2010 fell to lowest level since 1965", "Crime in the United States 2011 ('Metropolitan Statistical Area')", "Police: Chicago Reports 415 Murders In 2013, Lowest Since 1965", "Chicago's 2014 murder total on track for another low, but shootings rise", "Chicago homicide rate compared: Most big cities don't recover from spikes right away", "Chicago Killings Cost $2.5 Billion as Murders Top N.Y.'s", Carjackings more than double in Chicago during 2020, police say, perhaps as criminals blended in with masked public, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot says spike in carjackings 'top of mind,' adding 40 more police officers to carjacking unit and gathering regional mayors, "Appeals panel: IL governments can pare back retiree health coverage, if benefits included 'expiration date', "Chicago Public Schools: Selective enrollment", "These Are the Best High Schools in Illinois", "6 CPS High Schools Rank Among Top 10 in Illinois", "Lane Tech College Prep The School of Champions", "Chicago, Illinois Colleges and Universities", "Nielsen Media 20092010 Local Market Estimates", "Window to The World Communications presents WYCC MHz Worldview beginning April 23, 2018 | WTTW Chicago", "Shakey Ground: Arts Magazines Find Chicago's Landscape Still Hostile To New Ventures", "Chicago Daily News II: This Time It's Digital", "The Onion celebrates controversial Chicago move with banjo playing, steak tartare", "Where was Justice League filmed? RELIGIOUS GROUPINGS, Continues decennial series started in 1952, Provides data on specific religious bodies, from the Amish to Zoroastrians, Differentiates among specific bodies within same tradition, Features the only county-level data on U.S. religious adherence, Congregations - the gatheringof persons who meet together regularly for worship, Members - persons with communicant, confirmed, or full membership status, Adherents - members, their children, and the estimated number of other participants who are not considered members, Average weekly attendance - all those who participate in weeklyservices, Participate in the 2030 U.S. Dominicans There is a small community of Dominicans in Chicago. This proved successful and blue bins were rolled out across the city. [181][177] A 2020 study estimated the total Jewish population of the Chicago metropolitan area, both religious and irreligious, at 319,600. Civil and criminal law cases are heard in the Cook County Circuit Court of the State of Illinois court system, or in the Northern District of Illinois, in the federal system. [271][272], With berths for more than 6,000 boats, the Chicago Park District operates the nation's largest municipal harbor system. "Chicagoan" redirects here. He created Lincoln Park by closing a cemetery filled with shallow graves, and in 1867, in response to an outbreak of cholera he helped establish a new Chicago Board of Health. [31], After the War of 1812, the Ottawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi tribes ceded additional land to the United States in the 1816 Treaty of St. Louis. The Joffrey Ballet and Chicago Festival Ballet perform in various venues, including the Harris Theater in Millennium Park. [9] The Great Chicago Fire in 1871 destroyed several square miles and left more than 100,000 homeless,[10] but Chicago's population continued to grow to 503,000 by 1880 and then doubled to more than a million within the decade. [133][134][135] Summers are hot and humid, with frequent heat waves. [309] Northside College Preparatory High School is ranked second, Jones College Prep is third, and the oldest magnet school in the city, Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, which was opened in 1975, is ranked fourth. Religion Student Location Diversity 85 out of 100. The Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) is one of the most recognized basketball teams in the world. [3] By ethnicity, 28.8% of the total population is Hispanic-Latino (of any race) and 71.2% is Non-Hispanic (of any race). Some Irish already lived in Chicago when it was incorporated as a city in 1837. [168] In 2015, roughly 4% of the population identified as LGBT. The Chicago metropolitan area is the third-largest media market in North America, after New York City and Los Angeles and a major media hub. Congregations and . As the major meat companies grew in Chicago many, such as Armour and Company, created global enterprises. In 1803, the U.S. Army constructed Fort Dearborn, which was destroyed during the War of 1812 in the Battle of Fort Dearborn by the Potawatomi before being later rebuilt. The Chicago Marathon is one of six World Marathon Majors. [173], According to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey data estimates for 20082012, the median income for a household in the city was $47,408, and the median income for a family was $54,188. The Irish are still very active in the city's politics. ", Appendix C: Regional Freight Transportation Profiles, "Preliminary Traffic Results for 2005 Show Firm Rebound (March 14, 2006)", "Top IDOT official says third airport will be built", "What really happens to Chicago's blue cart recycling? [citation needed], Chicago contains a number of large, outdoor works by well-known artists. The Obamas' residence is located near the University of Chicago in Kenwood on the city's south side. The Republican political machine in Chicago was utterly destroyed by the economic crisis, and every mayor since 1931 has been a Democrat.[78]. Concern for social problems among Chicago's immigrant poor led Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr to found Hull House in 1889. blizzardsoccur, such as the one in 2011. [342], Chicago is the largest hub in the railroad industry. The ethnic makeup of the population is 28% Hispanic and 72% belong to non Hispanic background. Chicago (/ko/ (listen) shih-KAH-goh, locally also /ko/ shih-KAW-goh;[6] Miami-Illinois: Shikaakwa; Ojibwe: Zhigaagong) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the third most populous in the United States after New York City and Los Angeles. Households with a computer, percent, 2017-2021. [145] Northeast winds from wintertime cyclones departing south of the region sometimes bring the city lake-effect snow.[146]. [citation needed], The Cubs are the oldest Major League Baseball team to have never changed their city;[255] they have played in Chicago since 1871, and continuously so since 1874 due to the Great Chicago Fire. From 1850, when Germans constituted one-sixth of Chicago's population, until the turn of the 20th century, people of German descent constituted the largest ethnic group in the city, followed by Irish, Poles, and Swedes. [282] Chicago had a murder rate of 18.5 per 100,000 residents in 2012, ranking 16th among US cities with 100,000 people or more. As of the 2010 Census, Chicago has the third-largest Puerto Rican population in the continental United States,[26] after New York City and Philadelphia, and the fourth largest Mexican population in the United States after Los Angeles, San Antonio, and Houston. . Ansari, Azadeh and Rosa Flores (January 2, 2017). [15] Chicago has the third largest Italian American population in the United States, behind only New York City and Philadelphia. Among the nations biggest metro areas, Phoenix has one of the highest concentrations of Mormons (6%). After successfully running for re-election five times, and becoming Chicago's longest-serving mayor, Richard M. Daley declined to run for a seventh term. Among these are Chagall's Four Seasons; the Chicago Picasso; Miro's Chicago; Calder's Flamingo; Oldenburg's Batcolumn; Moore's Large Interior Form, 1953-54, Man Enters the Cosmos and Nuclear Energy; Dubuffet's Monument with Standing Beast, Abakanowicz's Agora; and, Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate which has become an icon of the city. The services terminate in the San Francisco area, Washington, D.C., New York City, New Orleans, Portland, Seattle, Milwaukee, Quincy, St.Louis, Carbondale, Boston, Grand Rapids, Port Huron, Pontiac, Los Angeles, and San Antonio. The observation deck includes an enclosed glass balcony that extends 4.3 feet (1.3m) out on the side of the building. Today the Chicago metropolitan area is the headquarters of several retailers, including Walgreens, Sears, Ace Hardware, Claire's, ULTA Beauty and Crate & Barrel. Chicago is the theatre capital of the U.S. birthplace of storefront theatre and improv comedy, home to long-running Broadway hits and boasting more world premieres than any other city in the country. Behind the pavilion's stage is the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, an indoor venue for mid-sized performing arts companies, including the Chicago Opera Theater and Music of the Baroque. As of 2018[update], Windy City Live is Chicago's only daytime talk show, which is hosted by Val Warner and Ryan Chiaverini at ABC7 Studios with a live weekday audience. [3] The White population continues to remain the largest racial category and includes the 10.9% of Hispanics who identify as White with the remaining Hispanics identifying as Other Race (43.5%), Multiracial (40.1%), Black (1.5%), American Indian and Alaskan Native (3.7%), Asian (0.3%), and Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (0.1%). Religion Census. Recently, the city began installing wind turbines on government buildings to promote renewable energy.[352][353][354]. The mother-in-law is a tamale topped with chili and served on a hot dog bun. [312] The district, with an enrollment exceeding 400,545 students (20132014 20th Day Enrollment), is the third-largest in the U.S.[313] On September 10, 2012, teachers for the Chicago Teachers Union went on strike for the first time since 1987 over pay, resources and other issues. May 02, 2012 at 10:49 am. [280], The city is home of former United States President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama; Barack Obama was formerly a state legislator representing Chicago and later a US senator. An official website of the City of Chicago, Permit for Business ID and Advertising Signs, Vital Records from the Cook County Clerk's Office, AIC (Annual Inspection Certification) Inspections, Economic Disclosure, Affidavit, Online EDS, City Council Office of Financial Analysis, Community Commission for Public Safety & Accountability, U.S. Census Bureau's Statistics about Chicago, 8 major league sports teams, including two MLB teams, 20+ film and filmmaker nonprofit organizations, 307 fields for soccer, football, lacrosse and more, Chicago has the second-highest percentage of commuters riding their bikes to work, Bicycle commute times in the region average only 23 minutes, 19 miles of lakefront bicycle paths along Lake Michigan, A 40-acre bike path for BMX and trail-riding, 40 James Beard Award-winning restaurants, and host of the annual James Beard Awards, GuaranteedRate Field (FormerlyComiskeyPark)- Bridgeport. [109] The North Side is the most-densely-populated residential section of the city, and many high-rises are located on this side of the city along the lakefront. The Chicago Bears, one of the last two remaining charter members of the National Football League (NFL), have won nine NFL Championships, including the 1985 Super BowlXX. Many Polish churches are found in Chicago, built in the Polish Cathedral style of architecture. RELIGION CENSUS FINDINGS, VIEW THE 2010 MAJORU.S. [286], According to reports in 2013, "most of Chicago's violent crime comes from gangs trying to maintain control of drug-selling territories",[287] and is specifically related to the activities of the Sinaloa Cartel, which is active in several American cities. [68][69] The University of Chicago, formerly at another location, moved to the same South Side location in 1892. Loyola Chicago ranks 307 out of 2,183 when it comes to geographic diversity. [275] Washington Park is also one of the city's biggest parks; covering nearly 400 acres (160ha). By 1935 the Workers Alliance of America begun organizing the poor, workers, the unemployed. Germans, Irish, Poles, Swedes, and Czechs made up nearly two-thirds of the foreign-born population (by 1900, whites were 98.1% of the city's population). Chicago's flourishing economy attracted huge numbers of new immigrants from Europe and migrants from the Eastern United States. In 2018, the Chicago Department of Health, estimated 7.5% of the adult population, approximately 146,000 Chicagoans, were LGBTQ. frequency of reading scripture by metro area, Learn More: frequency of reading scripture, At least once a week, Once or twice a month, Seldom/never, % of adults in the Chicago metro area who say the holy scripture is, Compare: [62], During the 1870s and 1880s, Chicago attained national stature as the leader in the movement to improve public health. Chicago is a major transportation hub in the United States. [16] Moreover, the construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, which helped move goods from the Great Lakes south on the Mississippi River, and of the railroads in the 19th century made the city a major transportation center in the United States. The aldermanic, mayoral, and other city offices are filled through nonpartisan elections with runoffs as needed. [14] The Southwest Side is home to the largest concentration of Gorals (Carpathian highlanders) outside Europe. For much of the twentieth century, it nurtured a strong style of figurative surrealism, as in the works of Ivan Albright and Ed Paschke. [188] Additionally, the Chicago metropolitan area recorded the greatest number of new or expanded corporate facilities in the United States for calendar year 2014. In 2016, the population of Hispanics exceeded that of Blacks to become Chicago's largest minority group with non-Hispanic Whites representing 32.6% of the population, Hispanics at 29.7% of the population, and Blacks at 29.3% of the population. As new additions to the city were platted, city ordinance required them to be laid out with eight streets to the mile in one direction and sixteen in the other direction, about one street per 200 meters in one direction and one street per 100 meters in the other direction. Even more challenging were the social conditions in some parts of the city. [112][113], Chicago's streets were laid out in a street grid that grew from the city's original townsite plot, which was bounded by Lake Michigan on the east, North Avenue on the north, Wood Street on the west, and 22nd Street on the south. Welcome to Chicago, the third largest city in the United States, with a population of nearlythree million people. The Puerto Rican-influenced jibarito is a sandwich made with flattened, fried green plantains instead of bread. Two of the country's premier academic medical centers reside in Chicago, including Northwestern Memorial Hospital and the University of Chicago Medical Center. [290], The number of murders in Chicago peaked at 970 in 1974, when the city's population was over 3million people (a murder rate of about 29 per 100,000), and it reached 943 murders in 1992, (a murder rate of 34 per 100,000). The city is the United States' third-largest convention destination. ), Nondenominational Pentecostal (Evangelical Trad. Male full-time workers had a median income of $47,074 versus $42,063 for females. [192] The city is the seat of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the Bank's Seventh District. An informal name for the entire Chicago metropolitan area is "Chicagoland", which generally means the city and all its suburbs. It is the seat of several dioceses. After playing its first eight seasons at Soldier Field, the team moved to suburban Bridgeview to play at SeatGeek Stadium. It is the site of the creation of the first standardized futures contracts, issued by the Chicago Board of Trade, which today is part of the largest and most diverse derivatives market in the world, generating 20% of all volume in commodities and financial futures alone. General Population Characteristics, 2020 East Gareld Park City of Chicago CMAP Region Total Population 19,992 2,746,388 8,577,735 Total Households 7,828 1,142,725 3,266,741 Average Household Size 2.5 2.4 2.6 Percent Population Change, 2010-20-2.8 1.9 1.7 Percent Population Change, 2000-20-4.3 -5.2 5.3 Source: 2000, 2010 and 2020 Census. Among denominational Protestant branches, Baptists formed the largest group in Chicago (10%); followed by Nondenominational (5%); Lutherans (4%); and Pentecostals (3%). The Archdiocese of Chicago serves around 2.2 million Catholics in Cook and Lake Counties in Northeastern Illinois, a geographic area of 1,411 square miles. Chicagos 250-plus theatre companies take the stage at more than 200 theatres to perform work as varied and diverse as their audiences. (+1) 202-419-4372 | Media Inquiries. 94.3%. On June 15, 1835, the first public land sales began with Edmund Dick Taylor as Receiver of Public Monies. [87] Major construction projects, including the Sears Tower (now known as the Willis Tower, which in 1974 became the world's tallest building), University of Illinois at Chicago, McCormick Place, and O'Hare International Airport, were undertaken during Richard J. Daley's tenure. Other notable schools include: Chicago State University; the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; EastWest University; National Louis University; North Park University; Northeastern Illinois University; Robert Morris University Illinois; Roosevelt University; Saint Xavier University; Rush University; and Shimer College. The main ethnic groups in Chicago include Irish, German, Italian, Mexican, Assyrian, Arab, Bangladeshi, Jews, English, Bosnian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Czech, Greek, Black, Korean, Chinese, Indian, Filipino, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Montenegrin, Albanian, Pakistani, Polish, Hungarian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Swedish, Ukrainian, Dutch, Belgian, Cuban, Vietnamese, and Puerto Rican. Of the city population, 26.2% were under the age of 18, 11.2% were from 18 to 24, 33.4% were from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% 65 years of age or older. [160], The city has seen a rise in population for the 2000 census and after a decrease in 2010, it rose again for the 2020 census. 1935: Chicago native, Jay Berwanger was the first recipient of the Heisman Trophy. later establishing itself as America's home for the genre. 42.07% of Loyola Chicago students come from out of state, and 3.78% come from out of the country. (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main They were following Serbian and Hungarian immigrants who found work in the steel mills and factories of the city. Of the area's colleges and universities, the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, and the University of Illinois Chicago are classified as "highest research" doctoral universities. A number of statues also honor recent local heroes such as Michael Jordan (by Amrany and Rotblatt-Amrany), Stan Mikita, and Bobby Hull outside of the United Center; Harry Caray (by Amrany and Cella) outside Wrigley field, Jack Brickhouse (by McKenna) next to the WGN studios,[citation needed] and Irv Kupcinet at the Wabash Avenue Bridge. The strength of the party in the city is partly a consequence of Illinois state politics, where the Republicans have come to represent rural and farm concerns while the Democrats support urban issues such as Chicago's public school funding. [citation needed]. On the shore of Lake Michigan, Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837 near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed. Chicago has also been the home of several prominent talk shows, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, Steve Harvey Show, The Rosie Show, The Jerry Springer Show, The Phil Donahue Show, The Jenny Jones Show, and more. An award-winning $108 million, 1.25-mile promenade along the south bank of the Chicago River downtown. In recent years the state of Illinois has been leaning towards building an entirely new airport in the Illinois suburbs of Chicago. [187] In 2007, Chicago was named the fourth-most important business center in the world in the MasterCard Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index. [24] The city is the seat of the Evangelical Covenant Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. At the turn of the 20th century, Chicago was the third-largest Czech city in the world, after Prague and Vienna. [176], According to a 2014 study by the Pew Research Center, Christianity is the most prevalently practiced religion in Chicago (71%),[178] with the city being the fourth-most religious metropolis in the United States after Dallas, Atlanta and Houston. [59][60], Labor conflicts followed the industrial boom and the rapid expansion of the labor pool, including the Haymarket affair on May 4, 1886, and in 1894 the Pullman Strike. [220] Also performing regularly at Symphony Center is the Chicago Sinfonietta, a more diverse and multicultural counterpart to the CSO. From 1928 to 1933, the city witnessed a tax revolt, and the city was unable to meet payroll or provide relief efforts. [193] Academically, Chicago has been influential through the Chicago school of economics, which fielded some 12 Nobel Prize winners. [citation needed], Chicago also has a high concentration of post-baccalaureate institutions, graduate schools, seminaries, and theological schools, such as the Adler School of Professional Psychology, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, the Erikson Institute, The Institute for Clinical Social Work, the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, the Catholic Theological Union, the Moody Bible Institute, the John Marshall Law School and the University of Chicago Divinity School. [330], The city was particularly important for the development of the harsh and electronic based music genre known as industrial. [182], The first two Parliament of the World's Religions in 1893 and 1993 were held in Chicago. [222] A 2007 report on the Chicago music industry by the University of Chicago Cultural Policy Center ranked Chicago third among metropolitan U.S. areas in "size of music industry" and fourth among all U.S. cities in "number of concerts and performances". [361] In addition, the Chicago Sister Cities program hosts a number of delegation and formal exchanges. In northern Illinois, ComEd (a division of Exelon) operates the greatest number of nuclear generating plants in any US state. 2002. The Mandarin-speaking people settled throughout Chicago and the suburbs . religious attendance by metro area, Learn More: attendance at religious services, At least once a week, Once or twice a month/a few times a year, Seldom/never, % of adults in the Chicago metro area who pray, Compare: Richard Giraldi of the Chicago Sun-Times remarked on the significance of the label and wrote, "As important as Chess Records was to blues and soul music, Chicago's Wax Trax imprint was just as significant to the punk rock, new wave and industrial genres."[331]. North Halsted Street is the main thoroughfare of Boystown. The southwest side is also the location of the Polish Highlanders Alliance of North America. This helps to keep pedestrians on the sidewalk further away from the street traffic. Of all households, 32.6% were made up of individuals, and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. All eight of the city's representatives are Democrats; only two Republicans have represented a significant portion of the city since 1973, for one term each: Robert P. Hanrahan from 1973 to 1975, and Michael Patrick Flanagan from 1995 to 1997. In each case, at least three-in-ten are evangelical Protestants (including 38% in Dallas). In the 1840s, Chicago became a major grain port, and in the 1850s and 1860s Chicago's pork and beef industry expanded. Chase Bank has its commercial and retail banking headquarters in Chicago's Chase Tower. [26], In the mid-18th century, the area was inhabited by the Potawatomi, a Native American tribe who had succeeded the Miami and Sauk and Fox peoples in this region. In the state court, the public prosecutor is the Illinois state's attorney; in the Federal court it is the United States attorney. [125], Chicago gave its name to the Chicago School and was home to the Prairie School, two movements in architecture. [142] Midway Airport reached 109F (43C) one day prior and recorded a heat index of 125F (52C) during the 1995 heatwave. The American Medical Association, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education, American Osteopathic Association, American Dental Association, Academy of General Dentistry, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, American College of Surgeons, American Society for Clinical Pathology, American College of Healthcare Executives, the American Hospital Association and Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association are all based in Chicago. [58] The desire to join the city was driven by municipal services that the city could provide its residents. Explore the data and maps. [179] Since the 20th century Chicago has also been the headquarters of the Assyrian Church of the East. In the spring of 1937 Republic Steel Works witnessed the Memorial Day massacre of 1937 in the neighborhood of East Side. ), Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Other Episcopalian/Anglican (Mainline Trad. [citation needed], The Great Migration, which had been on pause due to the Depression, resumed at an even faster pace in the second wave, as hundreds of thousands of blacks from the South arrived in the city to work in the steel mills, railroads, and shipping yards. The average land elevation is 579ft (176.5m) above sea level. [34] Within seven years it grew to more than 6,000 people. [177], Non-Christian faiths accounted for 7% of the religious population in 2014. Gary/Chicago International Airport and Chicago Rockford International Airport, located in Gary, Indiana and Rockford, Illinois, respectively, can serve as alternative Chicago area airports, however they do not offer as many commercial flights as O'Hare and Midway. Language other than English spoken at home, percent of persons age 5 years+, 2017-2021. It is home to a population of around 5.54 million individuals. [162][163][164][165], Chicago has the third-largest LGBT population in the United States. The term "The Loop" is largely used by locals to refer to the entire downtown area as well. An expansion will include 32 acres of linear park space along the Chicago River, 10 acres of sports and recreational fields and 17 acres of wetland park. [321] Each of the big four U.S. television networks, CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox, directly owns and operates a high-definition television station in Chicago (WBBM 2, WLS 7, WMAQ 5 and WFLD 32, respectively). It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. Chicago is also home to a number of national radio shows, including Beyond the Beltway with Bruce DuMont on Sunday evenings. Buckingham Fountain anchors the downtown park along the lakefront. In the next few years Irish numbers grew rapidly, particularly after the arrival of refugees from the Great Famine. The term "midway" for a fair or carnival referred originally to the Midway Plaisance, a strip of park land that still runs through the University of Chicago campus and connects the Washington and Jackson Parks. [79] The theme of the fair was technological innovation over the century since Chicago's founding. "[8] The Irish gained entry to Chicago's Fire and Police Departments and have kept family traditions of participation in these units. [332], The city of Chicago has a higher than average percentage of households without a car. [27] There are about 185,000 Arabs in Cook County with another 75,000 in the five surrounding counties. [citation needed], Machine politics persisted in Chicago after the decline of similar machines in other large U.S.