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( or ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and is located along the southwestern shore of freshwater Lake Michigan. With over 2.8 million people, Chicago is the third-most populous city in the U.S., and the largest city in the Midwest. The Chicago metropolitan area (commonly referred to as Chicagoland) has a population of over 9.5 million people living in three U.S. states (Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin) and was the third largest U.S. metropolitan area in 2000. Chicago is 26th by population and 686th by population density among the world's largest urban areas and the fourth largest city in North America.
After a series of wars with the local American Natives, Chicago was founded in 1833, near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed, and incorporated as a city in 1837. The city became a major transportation and telecommunications hub in North America. O'Hare International is the second busiest airport in the world. Chicago is also a major business, financial, and industrial center. The city is a stronghold of the Democratic Party, and Chicago has been home to influential politicians, including the current President of the United States, Barack Obama.
As of 2007, the city's attractions, business, and commerce bring 44.2 million visitors annually. Making use of its abundant resources, Chicago has a heritage for hosting major international, national, regional, and local events that include commerce, culture, entertainment, politics, and sports. On June 4, 2008, Chicago was chosen as one of the final four world city candidates to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, and is the only American city on the list.
Globally recognized, Chicago has numerous nicknames. These soubriquets reflect the impressions and opinions about historical and contemporary Chicago. The best known of these are: the "Windy City" with original reference to Chicagoans' bluster about their city and lately for the climate of the city due to it bordering on a lake; "Chi-Town" ; " Second City", due to second ranking in many areas as well as Chicago's ongoing intention to be number one; and the "City of Big Shoulders", referring not to its numerous skyscrapers, but to the strong shoulders needed by men working in many of the early industries in Chicago, described by Carl Sandburg in poetry as butchers and tool makers and stackers of wheat and freight.