Chicago
The real-world city of Chicago, a major hub for finance, culture, and transportation on the western shore of Lake Michigan.
Chicago is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the third-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 2.74 million at the 2020 census. The Chicago metropolitan area has approximately 9.62 million residents according to the 2020 census and is the third-largest metropolitan area in the country. Chicago is the county seat of Cook County, the second-most populous county in the U.S.
- setting
- Fictionalized version of Chicago during the Prohibition era (1930s)
- notable_districts
- Central Island, Chinatown, Little Italy, Oakwood, Works Quarter, docks area
- controlling_faction
- Salieri crime family (primary)
- rival_faction
- Morello crime family
- role
- Primary open-world environment for the game's story missions and free roam
Lore & Background
Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837 near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed. It grew rapidly in the mid-19th century. In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed several square miles and left more than 100,000 homeless, but Chicago's population continued to grow. The city made noted contributions to urban planning and architecture, such as the Chicago School, the development of the City Beautiful movement, and the steel-framed skyscraper. The first known permanent settler was Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, of African descent, who established the settlement in the 1780s. The Potawatomi inhabited the area in the mid-18th century and were forcibly removed after the 1833 Treaty of Chicago. The city reversed the flow of the Chicago River in 1900 to address sewage contamination.
In Their Own Story
The rain fell in sheets across the neon-lit streets of Oakwood, washing the blood from the cobblestones. Tommy Angelo sat in the back of a black 1930s sedan, his knuckles white around a revolver. The city hummed with the sound of distant jazz and the clatter of the L train. 'This is where it ends,' he muttered, watching the headlights of a Morello car sweep across the wet pavement. Chicago wasn't just a city—it was a trap, and every street corner was a trigger waiting to be pulled.
Reader's Guide
The source article does not describe Chicago as a video game setting or provide a guide for exploration. It describes Chicago as a real city with a diverse economy, major transportation hub (including O'Hare International Airport and a railroad hub), and cultural institutions such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Art Institute of Chicago. The city hosts the Chicago Marathon and has professional sports teams including two Major League Baseball teams.
Did You Know?
- The name Chicago is derived from a French rendering of a Miami–Illinois word for a wild relative of onion and garlic, Allium tricoccum.
- Chicago has the largest and most diverse finance derivatives market in the world, generating 20% of all volume in commodities and financial futures alone.
- The Chicago area has one of the highest gross domestic products of any urban region globally, ranking sixth with over $919 billion in 2024.
- Nearly 57 million people visited Chicago's cultural institutions, Lake Michigan beaches, and other tourist sites in 2025.
More in World & Locations
Elsewhere in the Mafia universe
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