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The name "Chicago" derived from the Native Americans in the region. The Chicago area was first known to be inhabited by a number of Algonquian peoples, including the Mascoutens and Miamis. Trading and hunting linked these peoples with their neighbors, the Potawatomis, the Fox, and the Illinois. One generally accepted origin of the city's name comes from the Native American word for either wild onion or skunk, but some historians believe that the word Chicago denoted "strong" or "great."

In 1673, Father Jacques Marquette, a French-born missionary of the Jesuit order, and Louis Jolliet (also spelled Joliet), a French-Canadian explorer and mapmaker, were the first Europeans to view the land on which the City of Chicago was to stand.

During the mid 1700s, the Chicago area was inhabited primarily by Potawatomis, who took the place of the Miami, Sauk and Fox who had previously controlled the area.

In the 1770s, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, born in Haiti in 1745 of African and French descent, established a trading post at the mouth of what is now the Chicago River. Du Sable is regarded as the "Founder of Chicago."

In 1803 the United States Army built Fort Dearborn, which was destroyed in 1812. It was rebuilt and remained in use until 1837.

On August 12, 1833, the Town of Chicago was incorporated with a population of 350. Incorporation was enabled by an act of the legislature, passed February 12, 1831, which provided that any community of over 150 inhabitants was authorized to incorporate as a town, with limits not to exceed one square mile in extent.

On March 4, 1837, Chicago became a city with a population of 4,170.

Today Chicago has a estimated population of 2,704,958 (2016), and is the third most populous city in the United States. Its current mayor is Rahm Emanuel.

Submissions to this category should only consist of entries which are physically located within Chicago, Illinois. If not located within the city limits, please submit to the nearest appropriate locality. Sites with related content specific to Chicago should be submitted to the most appropriate subcategory. Please read the descriptions of the subcategories to assist you with the correct placement of your site.
This category is for sites for or about artistic, cultural, entertainment activities, events, institutions, and organizations located in the City of Chicago. Subjects may include theatre, fine and visual arts, music, literature, architecture, libraries, photography, clubs and venues, as well as bands and artists, including bands for hire.
Please submit only sites dealing with arts and entertainment located specifically in Chicago, Illinois, in this category. Please re-direct submissions for businesses related to architects and architectural firms to Chicago: Business and Economy: Construction and Maintenance: Architects.
Includes links to sites associated with business, shopping and services, and economic development AND that maintain their offices within the City of Chicago. This category includes sites and sub-categories covering the business and economic activities in the City of Chicago; including listings of companies, industries and professional/trade organizations, real estate, dining and numerous other categories.
Please do NOT submit a business if the offices are located in a nearby suburb.

Simply ''serving the Chicagoland'' does not qualify for listing here. Please submit to the appropriate ''Business_and_Economy'' category of the office location. See Cook County localities or Northeastern Illinois category to quickly locate the proper nearby village or city.

It is recognized that nearby localities may not have all the categories that Chicago does, and that you may want to have a ''Chicago'' listing; however, listings are based on ''brick and mortar'' location of offices and not by service area.

This category contains sites and subcategories to educational programs, schools, colleges and universities within the City of Chicago.
Please note that many of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) system''s elementary schools include ''pre-kindergarten'' or pre-school, along with kindergarten grades through sixth grade. These sites are listed in Chicago: Education: K-12: Public: Primary Schools.
This category includes links to the City of Chicago government, law and military information (for example, branches of government, law, local military units, taxes, and services).

Listed in Embassies and Consulates categories are entities such as Embassies, Consulates, High Commissions, Permanent Representatives and de facto equivalents. Information on their formatting, and on the arrangement of related categories, can be found in the FAQ of Society: Government: Embassies and Consulates.

For sites related to physical and mental healthcare services in Chicago, Illinois, USA.


Submissions may include but are not limited to:

  • Individual Providers and Facilities
  • Mental and Behavioral Specialists
  • Dentists
  • Chiropractors
  • Alternative Healers
  • Hospitals and Health Systems
  • Fitness and Sports Medicine Centers
  • Occupational, Physical, Massage Therapists

Please submit sites for practices serving other municipalities in Illinois to the appropriate locality or county.

Includes links to maps, photograph sites, live web cams, satellite imagery ... any visual representation of the area


Submissions may include but are not limited to:

  • Maps
  • Photograghs
  • Live Web cams
  • Satellite imagery
  • Any visual representation of the City
Please submit sites serving other municipalities in Illinois to the appropriate locality or county.
The City of Chicago has 77 officially defined community areas. The Social Science Research Committee at the University of Chicago defined 75 areas during the late 1920s, which at that time corresponded roughly to neighborhoods within the city. In the 1950s, the city annex O'Hare Airport and the 76th area was added. The creation of the 77th community area occurred in 1980 when the area know as Edgewater was separated from Uptown.

Today many of the areas no longer correspond to any single neighborhood, and some area names have fallen out of colloquial use. The ever-changing nature of a city means that a few of the designations given in the 1920s may not still be in common use. Many are known more by a traditional or informal neighborhood name, such as Wrigleyville (*Lake View), Chinatown (*Armour Square), or Ukrainian Village (*West Town).

Residents and realtors tend to assign new names as neighborhoods evolve. Some estimate there are more than 200 such named neighborhoods in the city today.

(*Denotes an official community name.)

Neighborhood categories will only consist of sites such as:
Branch library
Community associations
Economic development associations
Police district sites
Sites related to a neighborhood's history or unique culture.

Please do NOT submit sites concerning businesses or real estate to any neighborhood category.

Chicago is divided into 77 distinct community areas. In most communities, there are informally-named individual neighborhoods. The communities have their own sub-categories and the informally-named neighborhoods are listed in the 2nd grouping of neighborhood names. Please submit sites to the following categories. Read the categories descriptions for help in locating a specific neighborhood.

Chicago's far north side communities: Albany_ParkEdgewaterEdison ParkForest GlenJefferson ParkLincoln SquareNorth ParkNorwood ParkO'HareRogers ParkUptownWest Ridge

Chicago's north side communities: AvondaleLake View (Lakeview)Lincoln ParkLogan SquareNorth Center

Chicago's northwest side communities: Belmont CraginDunningHermosaIrving ParkMontclarePortage Park

Downtown Chicago (central) including near north and near south side communities: LoopNear North SideNear South Side

Chicago's west and near west side communities: AustinEast Garfield ParkHumboldt ParkLower West SideNear West SideNorth LawndaleSouth LawndaleWest Garfield ParkWest Town

Chicago's southwest side communities: Archer HeightsBrighton ParkChicago LawnClearingEnglewoodGage ParkGarfield RidgeMcKinley ParkNew CityWest ElsdonWest EnglewoodWest Lawn

Chicago's south side communities: Armour SquareBridgeportDouglasFuller ParkGrand BoulevardGreater Grand CrossingHyde ParkKenwoodOaklandSouth ShoreWashington ParkWoodlawn

Chicago's far southwest side communities: AshburnBeverlyMount GreenwoodWashington Heights

Chicago's far southeast side communities: Avalon ParkBurnsideCalumet HeightsChathamEast SideHegewischSouth ChicagoPullmanRiverdaleRoselandSouth DeeringWest Pullman

This category covers media focused on Chicago and the surrounding area. Sub-categories include: Internet Web based media Magazines Local magazines Newspapers Suburban or short/limited run papers Radio@ Links to radio stations Television Local reception only

For sites and subcategory of sites related to the hobbies, recreation and sporting activities and organizations located within the City of Chicago.


Submissions may include but are not limited to:

  • Antiques
  • Hobbies, such as model building, cooking, and pets (excluding businesses and services)
  • Youth and high school sport teams and clubs
  • Sports leagues, teams and individuals
  • Chicago-based sports hall of fames and museums
  • Professional, minor league and semi-pro teams and leagues
  • Individual hobby, recreation and sporting events, venues, trade shows, and educational programs
Please submit sites serving other municipalities in Illinois to the appropriate locality or county.

For sites and subcategory of sites related to the hobbies, recreation and sporting activities and organizations located within the City of Chicago.


Submissions may include but are not limited to:

  • Agriculture studies and interests (excluding businesses and farms)
  • Botanical gardens
  • Earth science
  • Lakes and waterways
  • Area wildlife studies and interests
  • Zoos

located within the City of Chicago.

Please submit sites serving other municipalities in Illinois to the appropriate locality or county.
Do not submit sites in languages other than English or sites about countries or other regions which are served by a category of their Regional/ hierarchy.

Please note that several religious organizations that are focused on one or more particular ethnic groups are listed in the Chicago: Society and Culture: Religion category.


Submissions may include but are not limited to:

  • Airlines
  • Airports
  • Buses
  • Highways and Roads
  • Mass Transit
  • Ride Sharing
located within the City of Chicago.
Please submit sites for transportation resources serving other municipalities in Illinois to the appropriate locality or county.
This category is for listing of places of interest to both locals and tourists looking for information.
If you are unsure about the appropriateness of your submission please review the entire Chicago category to see if there is a more appropriate sub category.

However, you may submit your listing to this category editor. If the category editor feels it is more appropriate to list the site elsewhere in DMOZ, according to the DMOZ guidelines, your site may be forwarded to another category editor.

The Weather category includes all weather-related sites for the City of Chicago. Sites in this category may include Allergy and Smog Alerts, Disaster Preparedness, Ultraviolet Forecasts, and Weather Forecasts (Short and long term predictions).