I dont know what hell is but it aint worse than Chicago. — Chicago

"Hog Butcher for the World, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and the Nations Freight Handler; Stormy, husky, brawling, City of the Big Shoulders."

"I have struck a city — a real city — and they call it Chicago… Having seen it, I urgently desire never to see it again. It is inhabited by savages."

"I came to discover that Chicago is that most American of American cities, but one where citizens from more than 130 nations inhabit a rich tapestry of distinctive neighborhoods. Each one of those neighborhoods -- from Greektown to the Ukrainian Village; from Devon to Pilsen to Washington Park -- has its own unique character, its own unique history, its songs, its language. But each is also part of our city -- one city -- a city where I finally found a home."

"They have the time The time or their life I saw a man He danced with his wife In Chicago, my home town."

"Its every man for himself in this hired air. / Yet once youve come to be part of this particular patch, youll never love another. Like loving a woman with a broken nose, you may well find lovelier lovelies. But never a lovely so real."

"An October sort of city even in spring."