Ahhhh . . . Chicago. The third most populated city in the country and site of this year's ASLA annual meeting has a storied history. Located at the southwest tip of Lake Michigan, Chicago has always been a hub of commerce, a leaping point into the great Midwest. It has always been a gathering place and, in the early days, a city on the western front of a growing nation.

Maybe it's that Wild West mentality that has shaped the city into the oxymoronic metro boasting some of the coolest elements of a great city, while producing some of the most prolific criminals and naysayers in our nation's history.

The great Buckingham Fountain, Grant Park, the Sears / Willis Tower, the museums, da Bears, Wrigley Field . . . These are iconic elements, many of which are recognized and esteemed around the world. (The Cubs may even be in the World Series by the time you read this . . . unless there is another goat in their midst). These are a few of the great things Chicago has to offer the weary traveler and the growing population. Then, of course, there's the underbelly, which has haunted the city since the days of Al Capone.