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Visitors to Chicago - the unofficial capital of the Midwest - can savour a graceful lakefront, gritty ethnic enclaves and rich cuisine.

The host city for the 2016 Olympics will be announced on Friday October 2nd. We will profile a city a day until the announcement.

The city of 3 million, which has another 4 million in its far-flung suburbs, is a region of rich farmland, heavy industry, and a history of architectural innovation.

Residents of the city - one of four vying to host the 2016 Olympic Games - tend to be plain spoken, which might hark back to the city's role as the rabble-rousing birthplace for workers' rights.

It is also home to US President Barack Obama.

Long ago, scribes labelled Chicago "The Windy City" for its boastful reputation and slighted the place by referring to it as "The Second City" (now third-largest).

A reputation for corrupt politicians and mobsters, like Al Capone, who ordered the Valentine's Day Massacre, is a source of shame and pride. Mob hangouts can be visited on a bus tour.

The city's culinary delights range from meaty hot dogs and deep dish pizza to a breadth of ethnic cuisines and reigning chefs Grant Achatz of Alinea and Homaro Cantu of Moto.

An incubator for jazz, blues and House music, Chicago clubs serving those genres include the Jazz Showcase and austere venue the Double Door.

Chicago is bordered on one side by Lake Michigan, an inland fresh-water sea whose shores have been kept mostly "free and clear" under a century-old master plan.

Strung along 20 miles of lakefront are football and softball fields, beaches and bird-watching havens, and a bicycle trail shared by roller-bladers and strollers.

The shopping mecca is Michigan Avenue, a few blocks north and across the Chicago River from the downtown "Loop" elevated tracks along which its usually reliable "El" trains rumble.

Nicknamed "The City of Big Shoulders," Chicago is home to the world's earliest skyscrapers, one of the tallest (110 story Willis Tower) and one of the largest (the Merchandise Mart).

The city's venerable and modern architecture can be seen on foot or by boat. Cruises on fickle Lake Michigan depart frequently from touristy Navy Pier or try a sailboat.

The city's mayor, Richard Daley, will soon pass his father in longevity in office at more than two decades.

He has adopted a "green" policy in a city once known as "hog butcher to the world" and built expensive Millennium Park, which includes an outdoor concert stage sculpted by Frank Gehry.

Nature is on display indoors at the Field Museum of Natural History and the adjacent Shedd Aquarium, one of the world's oldest and largest aquariums.

Across downtown's Grant Park is the Art Institute where Picassos join seminal works by Monet, Matisse, Van Gogh and Seurat's "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte."

Builders in Chicago must compete with the towering legacies of Frank Lloyd Wright, whose suburban studio is a popular destination for architecture buffs.

Home-grown writers such as Saul Bellow and Nelson Algren frequently used the city's underbelly as a backdrop.

The universities of Chicago and Northwestern and a bevy of lesser-known schools shine intellectual beacons across the city.

Daley's birthplace in Bridgeport, a bastion of Irish-American power, is on the South Side.

It sits in the shadows of one of two Major League Baseball stadiums - the home of Daley's beloved White Sox.

On the North Side, Wrigley Field has become a mecca for followers of those lovable losers, the Cubs.

At the other extreme, fans of basketball's Chicago Bulls long for the championships forged during the 1990s by the indomitable Michael Jordan.

Local celebrities include television talk show queen Oprah Winfrey whose studio sits near restaurants and art galleries. Civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson holds court in a converted South Side synagogue on some Saturdays.

The Museum of Contemporary Art, Columbia College's photography museum, and Louis Tiffany stained glass windows gracing the Second Presbyterian Church are worth a visit.

The epicentre for Chicago's drinkers is Rush Street, adjacent to one of its wealthiest enclaves, Astor Street. The teeming Oak Street beach is not far away.

Chicago boasts the world's longest street, less-than-scenic Western Avenue, and has a numbered grid layout with angled streets on the North Side - arteries for a vibrant city.

Q&A with Chicago 2016 bid chief Patrick Ryan.

REUTERS: Why should your city be awarded the 2016 Olympics?

RYAN: "Chicago would produce an extraordinary Games experience - for athletes and spectators alike - in a spectacular setting in the centre of the city. It has a solid and thoroughly vetted budget and financial plan that includes a full government guarantee.

"It would generate lasting legacies for youth and Chicago residents that would pay dividends for generations to come.

"Chicago has city, state and federal government support that stretches from Chicago across the US to the White House."

REUTERS: What is the strength of your bid and what would you want to improve if you had more time?

RYAN: "The vast majority of the Games venues would be in the heart of the city, in a series of historic parks set on the Lake Michigan shoreline.

"Some of the best things the city has to offer lie within the compact Games footprint, walking distance from venues: world-class museums and cultural institutions; gourmet restaurants and top-quality hotels and shopping; landmark architecture and sculpted gardens; and a host of entertainment venues, including renowned blues and jazz clubs.

"Because of the central location of the Olympic Village, 90 per cent of athletes would be within 15 minutes of their competition venues."

REUTERS: Given that some recent Games have left behind little in terms of legacy, what would the legacy be for your city and the IOC, should it win the Games?

RYAN: "The Olympic Village will be built whether or not Chicago wins the Games and is expected to spur the regeneration of nearby areas. At least 30 per cent of the units will be set aside for moderate-income purchasers and renters.

"Venue legacies would include multi-sport arenas for youth that could be used to host future international competitions in Washington Park and in Douglas Park; a new hockey complex in Jackson Park; a new tennis center in Lincoln Park; and new sailing centre and rowing and canoe facilities on the Lake Michigan shoreline.

"Four city parks also would get new 50-meter pools. The legacy facilities are designed to be used, and used heavily, after the Games."

REUTERS: With bids forced to follow a strict set of IOC guidelines and criteria, what is the innovative aspect of your proposal that makes it unique?

RYAN: "First, the plan is based on the recommendations of the IOC's Olympic Games Study Commission, which calls for the use of temporary venues where community needs don't justify the construction of new venues.

"As a result, the Chicago plan makes extensive use of temporary venues - 13 - and proposes only five new permanent venues, all adapted post-Games for significant community use.

"Second, the Games are set in the very heart of downtown Chicago. This is ... an innovation that allows Chicago to place its competition and celebration sites in the midst of the city's grand array of cultural institutions, shopping, dining and hospitality, creating a new kind of Olympic experience that greatly reduces the amount of time guests spend in transit.

"For the athletes, this means 90 per cent of their venues and training sites are within 15 minutes of the village.

"Finally, the alignment of political support for the Games is unprecedented. Never has a sitting US President been so personally involved in an Olympic bid campaign or so committed to the success of the Games.

"With City Council's unanimous vote to authorize the signing of the Host City Contract, Chicago offers full financial guarantees for the Games."

REUTERS: How is your Games budget structured and what sort of guarantees are you offering the IOC?

RYAN: "Organising Committee expenses are projected at $3.8 billion (£2.35 billion). Planned expenses total $3.3 billion (£2 billion, with provision for an additional $450 million (£275 million) in contingency.

"Non-Organising Committee expenses-including the Olympic Village and permanent venue construction costs-are about $1 billion (£620 million).

"More than $1.4 billion (£865 million) in private insurance policies will protect against risks outside the Organizing Committee's control. In a unanimous vote, Chicago's City Council has approved a complete government guarantee against operating loss."

REUTERS: What impact has the financial crisis had on your plans and do you see it affecting the vote?

RYAN: "Chicago's plan, based on conservative assumptions and projections, takes into account the recessionary pressures of the marketplace.

"For example, historic sponsorship spending for the Games has grown at an average annual rate of 6 per cent, but Chicago used a 4 per cent growth rate in its estimates.

"Similarly, licensing revenue has grown at an average yearly rate of 4.5 per cent over the last six Games. Chicago's budget assumed only a 1.8 per cent growth.

"Under Chicago's plan, 65 per cent of venues are already in place. Only 24 per cent of construction would be permanent, something that significantly reduces risk on cost and delivery.

"The Olympic Village will be built by multiple teams of private developers to help ensure on-time, on-budget delivery."

REUTERS: In terms of major venue construction, what still needs to be built and what is already existing?

RYAN: "The single biggest construction project is the roughly $1 billion (£620 million) Olympic Village. The City of Chicago has closed on the purchase of the 38-acre Village site. Demolition work on existing buildings on the site has begun in preparation for sale of the land to private development teams that will proceed with construction.

"The AFL-CIO investment trusts and the labour-owned Union Labor Life Insurance Co. have signed a letter of commitment to provide a combined $500 million (£309 million) in financing for the Village.

"Other major facilities that must be constructed include the Olympic Stadium, Olympic Aquatics Centre and Olympic Velodrome.

"Existing facilities are extensive. They include McCormick Place, one of the largest convention and meeting complexes in the world; the United Centre, home of the Chicago Bulls professional basketball team and the Chicago Blackhawks ice hockey team; Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears American football team; and the University of Illinois at Chicago Pavilion, home to college basketball and other events."

REUTERS: How much do you believe sponsors/broadcasters can influence the 2016 vote as major deals (including US broadcasting rights and new TOP sponsors) are still pending?

RYAN: "Recent Olympic and Paralympic Games in the U.S. have been financially successful for the Olympic Movement and we're certain that the Games in Chicago would be as well.

"The financial health of the Movement is obviously a factor, but voters will be selecting the city that best serves the Olympic Movement as a whole."

REUTERS: What political support will you have on-site in Copenhagen?

RYAN: "Chicago's delegation in Copenhagen will include prominent business and civic leaders, Olympians and Paralympians, top USOC officials and Mayor Richard Daley.

"First Lady Michelle Obama will lead the delegation. She will be accompanied by Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to President Obama and chair of the White House Office of Olympic, Paralympic and Youth Sport."

Reuters