Chicago is in Illinois, one of the many states in this country that does not sit next to an ocean (and is therefore a great mystery to many in New York, where I’d imagine most of Slice’s readership lives). Over time, Chicago has been famous for a few different reasons. In 1893, the city made its first splash on the international scene when it was chosen over New York and a few other cities to host what would be the wildly successful World’s Columbian Exposition. To most of the world, the Chicago World’s Fair, as the event is commonly known, symbolized Chicago—until Brooklyn-born Alphonse Capone attained a level of power that no gangster ever had. Capone remained Chicago’s enduring image until Brooklyn-born Michael Jeffrey Jordan mastered basketball and sports-marketing in a way that nobody ever had. While Jordan remains Chicago’s most widely known icon, he is soon to be displaced by New York–educated Barack Obama (Columbia ‘83).