Tell me about Chicago (esp. Sears Tower)

[RangerWickett]

I'm running a modern game, and an upcoming adventure will land the party in Chicago for a session or three. I've never been in Chicago for the long term, so my knowledge of the city is fairly limited. Basically think Ferris Buehler's Day Off and Blues Brothers, and that's about it.

Can folks give me a little insight into the city - what elements I should play up when the party goes there, what the local law enforcement is like, any folk legends or superstitions or just funny stories?

Just so you know how I'm planning to work this, the adventure basically has a strong 'duty' theme. A close NPC ally died, and his family lives in Chicago and are in danger, so the party needs to go there -- not for any personal reason, but because it's the right thing to do. They need to both tell the family about their loss, and make sure the bad guys don't hurt the family. What's a good location for a lower middle-class family to live in Chicago?

The other issue is that the group's trying to set up a sort of nationwide 'neighborhood watch' against magical crimes. They put out the word that they want to talk to people interested in protecting the innocent. Magic is secretive in this world, and normal folk can defend against it, so the party is going to meet up with a bunch of folks who are interested in stopping magical crime, and they're going to try to figure out how to make a magical law enforcement group work. What's a good location for PCs to meet with a bunch of people from around the US with magical powers? Are there any stories about magic in Chicago?

The bad guys here are a group of criminals who use magic. They're New Yorkers. They don't like the party, and they know their connection to the deceased NPC's family, so they're going to try to use that against the PCs. They're also going to try to disrupt the 'conference' that the party is arranging. And finally toss in there a person who is wanted by the New Yorkers, who has fled to Chicago hoping to get protection with the PCs, since he heard about their conference. What are some nice locations for a big fight in Chicago, with guns blazing, spells flying, and cops eventually showing up on the scene?

Actually, with that in mind: What are the cops like in Chicago? Is there a central department where the PCs will end up if arrested? What's it like and where is it?

Finally, the one reason I picked Chicago was because I watched the 25th anniversary of The Blues Brothers a few weeks ago. It's one of my favorite movies. I want some sort of blues-themed magical individual -- maybe a fey, or ghost. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance. And hey, if anyone ever wants info on Atlanta or Beaumont, TX, I'd gladly help. *grin*

 

[BOZ]

lifelong native, but perhaps someone with more knowledge of geography and economics than i have, could help you with some of your questions.

let me do a small bit of research...

 

[BOZ]

some say the cops are crooked, some say they are just a-holes... some say they are just men and women doing their jobs. chicago cops have many police stations throughout the city, some more important than others. it depends on what part of the city you are playing in.

 

[BOZ]

don't know about magic, but we do have our fair share of hauntings and notable ghastly/tragic events:

http://www.bachelorsgrove.com/
http://www.prairieghosts.com/valent...b.org/004chicago/disasters/iroquois_fire.html
http://www.eastlanddisaster.org/
http://www.chicagohistory.org/fire/intro/gcf-index.html
http://www.prairieghosts.com/resurcem.html
http://www.prairieghosts.com/dearborn.html
http://www.illinoiscivilwar.org/campdouglas.html
http://www.chipublib.org/004chicago/timeline/ourladyfire.html
http://www.chipublib.org/004chicago/timeline/haymarket.html
http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial6/holmes/
http://www.prairieghosts.com/w_death.html
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/leoploeb/leopold.htm
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/6865/gr.html
http://www.prairieghosts.com/dillinger.html
http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial/gacy/gacymain.htm
http://www.crimelibrary.com/serials/speck/speckmain.htm
http://www.graveyards.com/graceland/

there are more... but that should give you a lot to go on. (all of those things appear on mutliple webpages, but in the interest of saving time for myself, i just gave you the first link that popped up on google).

 

[BOZ]

according to this site: http://www.erinyes.org/whirl/movies.html you've got a number of movies filmed wholly or partly in Chicago, including: Backdraft, The Blues Brothers, Candyman, Color of Money, Damien: Omen II, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Flatliners, The Fugitive, GoodFellas, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, High Fidelity, The Hudsucker Proxy, Kalifornia, League of Their Own, Mercury Rising, My Best Friend's Wedding, The Negotiator, North by Northwest, Payback, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Pretty in Pink, Primal Fear, The Relic, Risky Business, Sixteen Candles, The Sting, Stir of Echoes, Uncle Buck, While You Were Sleeping

 

[BOZ]

oh yes, and corruption in politics and the city in general is a common theme. heck, i've already heard a few references about Chicago's recent success in the baseball playoffs somehow ending the "curse" the team has supposedly been under since the 1919 Black Sox scandal...

 

[justa goblin]

What's a good location for a lower middle-class family to live in Chicago?

Sounds like south side to me. I don't know neighborhood names though so that isn't much help.

What's a good location for PCs to meet with a bunch of people from around the US with magical powers? Are there any stories about magic in Chicago?

Depending on which way you want to go you have a lot of options. If the folks are wealthy they could meet in the opera house, the art museum could also be interesting. If they are not so rich you could pick something historic, maybe they meet in the real "Al Capone's vault" of Giraldo fame, the old stockyards could make for an interesting site. Chicago was also home to one of the first serial killers. He built a huge house with secret passages and torture rooms, etc.. it burned down but why let that stop you. For more info start here http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial6/holmes/

What are some nice locations for a big fight in Chicago, with guns blazing, spells flying, and cops eventually showing up on the scene?

To me this screams Field Museum of Natural History. All kinds of dinosaur bones, including Sue a T-Rex, plus mummies and all other kinds of goodies.


What are the cops like in Chicago? Is there a central department where the PCs will end up if arrested? What's it like and where is it?

I remember reading an article about the CPD getting ready for some big protest. They grabbed the biggest cops they could find, lined them up in riot gear (helmets, shields and the rest) and had them practice marching against crowds. They did all this with bag pipers marching behind the shield wall. While this might not be useful I think it gives a good peak into the attitudes of at least some of the cops. Chicago has a big force so you can find all kinds of people working for it. I think there are two main jails but I don't know where they are or what there names are.

I want some sort of blues-themed magical individual -- maybe a fey, or ghost. Any suggestions?

Why not use Belushi and Farley. I know they aren't blues-themed but that could be a fun combination.

good luck

 

[RangerWickett]

Thank you so far. Another quick question. What is weather like in early December? And how about public transportation vs. driving? I want to make sure that the place feels like Chicago.

 

[kenobi65]

What's a good location for a lower middle-class family to live in Chicago?

Sounds like south side to me. I don't know neighborhood names though so that isn't much help.

Yeah, sounds like either South Side or the ungentrified North Side neighborhoods. My wife used to teach up near the intersection of Irving Park and Pulaski, and that's very much a working-class neighborhood (and very Polish).

Here's a map of the Chicago neighborhoods:
http://www.seanparnell.com/Chicago/Chicago Neighborhood Map.htm

The north-side neighborhoods I'm thinking of are Irving Park and Portage Park.

Looking at some of the south side neighborhoods:
- Bridgeport is where Mayor Daley's family is from; it's still a working-class neighborhood
- Hyde Park is where the University of Chicago is located

By and large, the south side neighborhoods aren't terribly wealthy.

What are some nice locations for a big fight in Chicago, with guns blazing, spells flying, and cops eventually showing up on the scene?

To me this screams Field Museum of Natural History. All kinds of dinosaur bones, including Sue a T-Rex, plus mummies and all other kinds of goodies.

That'd be a good one. Another good one could be the big atrium at Union Station (if you've seen Kevin Costner movie "The Untouchables", it's where they have the slow-motion shootout with the baby carriage bouncing down the stairs). Or, the observation deck at either the Sears Tower or the John Hancock Building -- they're both glassed-in, but a spell or gunfire could blow out a window, inviting the possibility of a 1000-foot drop.

What are the cops like in Chicago? Is there a central department where the PCs will end up if arrested? What's it like and where is it?

The typical Chicago cop, IME, is middle-aged, burly, and looks Irish, though there's a lot of Hispanic ones now, too.

There's 20-odd police districts in Chicago; far more likely that they'd be hauled to the district HQ for wherever they get arrested. The map is:
http://egov.cityofchicago.org/webportal/COCWebPortal/COC_EDITORIAL/WebDistMap.pdf

A list of all the districts, with links to each one, is at:
http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/...t&entityName=Police&deptMainCategoryOID=-9079

Hope this helps!

 

[kenobi65]

Another quick question. What is weather like in early December? And how about public transportation vs. driving? I want to make sure that the place feels like Chicago.

Weather in early December is usually getting cold (highs in the 30s). The first sticking snow has usually fallen by then, though depending on the weather, the snow might melt a day or two later. So, you could have 40s and sunny, or 20s and snowy. Biggest issue in Chicago in winter tends to be the wind...a cold northern wind in winter is called, by some locals, "the Hawk." It's rare to have a lot of snow here at that time of year, but it does happen sometimes.

A lot of people who live in Chicago proper don't drive much (though most, except for the really poor, do have cars). Traffic can be pretty snarly, esp. at rush hour. Parking downtown is expensive; finding street parking in a lot of the neighborhoods is challenging.

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has an extensive network of buses, and there's also the L (what anyone else would call the subway), which runs throughout the city. ("L" is short for "elevated"; most of the tracks are elevated above ground level, in some cases running directly above city streets.)

Here's the CTA system maps:
http://www.transitchicago.com/maps/systemmaps.html

You'll see it also refers to PACE (which is the suburban bus service).