"CHICAGO is my kind of town," Hillary Clinton told the Democratic convention - and they loved it. Well, she would say that, wouldn't she? She is from the affluent Park Ridge suburb where her husband would be lucky to get a vote if it were not for her.
On the poorer West Side around the United Centre - the enormous basketball stadium which housed the convention - there are banners proclaiming: "This is Daley country." Once the home of early Irish immigrants, it became a black district as the Irish moved upmarket, was burned in the late 1960s following the assassination of Martin Luther King and left derelict in the following decades.
Mayor Richard M Daley has been pouring millions of dollars into its restoration, paving streets, planting trees and flowers. His father, "Boss Daley" was less solicitous about the poorer ethnic groups but a lot has changed since then.
Under Daley (jnr), Chicago has been emerging from a depressed era during which Los Angeles took over its Second City status. Now it is predicted that the city will outpace the rest of the country for increased income growth as it is firmly established as the powerhouse of the Mid West.
For the visitor, there is just too much to see and do. A boat trip on Lake Michigan is a must to admire the shoreline and its soaring skyscrapers, a mixture of old style and new, which rival those of Manhattan. The Chicago 96 office offers "96 things to do in Chicago" and a list of "Chicago superlatives". If you are a journalist, there is "Chicago story angles: A to Z".
Did you know the following? In Chicago the roller skate was invented (1884); the world's first skyscraper was built (1885); the zipper was invented (1896); the original Ferris wheel was built (1893); the pinball machine was invented (1930); the Hostess Twinkie was invented (who she?); the first McDonald's restaurant was established (1955); the remote control was invented (1950); the first issue of Playboy was published (1953); the first drive in hank was opened (1946); the first juvenile court was invented (1899).
I could go on. Instead here are some Chicago superlatives". O'Hare is the world's busiest airport; Chicago is home to the world's largest public library; the Chicago river is the only one in the world to flow backwards, away from Lake Michigan, thanks to engineers diverting sewage; the University of Chicago has had 67 Nobel laureates - more than any other in the world; Chicago is the candy capital of the world, has the world's largest cookie and cracker factory (16 billion in 1995); the Wrigley company sells 20 million packages of chewing gum daily; Chicago has the largest population of Poles outside of Poland.
There is more, much more. Chicago is truly an amazing city, far removed from the cliche image of gangsters, slaughterhouses and crooked Irish pols. This is not to say that Chicago politics is conducted according to Queensberry Rules.
The Irish have been here a long time. The 1990 Illinois census lists 1.8 million Irish Americans and 12,000 native born Irish, mostly in the Chicago urban area. Half of the Chicago Irish are estimated to come from Co Mayo.
It has two St Patrick's Day parades to cater for the two distinct Irish communities, north and south of the river, which is coloured green for the day. The prestigious Fellowship Club was founded in 1902 for "the Irish elite to continue their longstanding practice of gathering, together on St Patrick's Day".
Today there are two large Irish centres in Chicago - Chicago Gaelic Park on the south west and the Irish American Heritage Centre on the north side. Both are flourishing
The Irish Consul General, Mr Frank Sheridan, keeps a benign eye on all their activities and is ready to help any Irish who need it. Definitely not needing his help this week were blow in Irish politicians Minister for Finance Ruairi Quinn, Pat Cox MEP, Fine Gael's Phil Hogan and Jim Miley and Alliance's or soon to be Lord Alderdice. All except Mr Quinn were guests of the National Democratic Institute.
Mr Sheridan's office is in the period Wrigley skyscraper overlooking the Chicago river. It is one of the oldest Irish consulates, dating back to the early 1930s.
The Poles might be the largest ethnic community, but the Irish really run things. When the Democratic circus leaves town this weekend, it will still be "Daley country".