History Trivia - Why Chicago is called the Windy City

Since Chicago is in the news because of the DNC being held there, I thought I would share a piece of history trivia about Chicago.

If you have spent time in Chicago or lived there as I have, you will quickly realize that it is indeed a very windy place. You may also think that’s why it’s called the Windy City. That seems logical and we can find a reference to that theory in the Encyclopedia of Chicago.

Chicago's exposed location between the Great Plains and theGreat Lakes —and the wind swirling amidst the city's earlyskyscrapers —lend credence to the literal application of this famous nickname dating from the late 1800s, but it is a favorite observation of tour guides and reference books that in fact Chicago's climate is not distinctively windy. (The same moniker is shared by Wellington, New Zealand, where it is more precisely meteorological.)

Yes, other cities are windier. So why else would it be called the Windy City?

The power of the name lies in the metaphorical use “windy” for “talkative” or “boastful.” Chicago politicians early became famous for long-windedness, and the Midwestern metropolis's central location as a host city for political conventions helped cement the association of Chicago with loquacious politicians, thus underlying the nickname with double meaning.

Well, I would say that this week’s Democrat National Convention certainly validates its moniker as the Windy City. Their speeches were way too long, going well beyond prime time. Biden went on and on. His speech was long-winded on steroids. What’s more, he lied about creating 800,000 jobs. The very next day the Bureau of Labor Statistics issued a corrected jobs report, noting a loss of 818,000 jobs!

The U.S. economy added 818,000 fewer jobs than the government had previously estimated from the spring of 2023 to the spring of 2024, signaling that the labor market was not as strong and began to soften earlier than previously thought, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Yeah, the opposite of what he said but worse by 18,000. Talk about being shady. By the way, shady as defined by the online Merriam-Webster Dictionary means: of questionable merit: uncertain, unreliable: disreputable. No doubt about it, Biden was definitely shady.

Tim Walz, was also long-winded. He was shady as well as he continued to embellish aka lie about his military record and coaching record. He even lied about having his children via IVF. He and Biden take the word shady to a whole new level.

We haven’t even heard yet from Harris! I can’t wait to hear her speech. Well, that’s not exactly true. I plan to avoid it if at all possible. She goes round and round with her words so much that I feel like I’m on a merry-go-round that is anything but merry,

I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that the DNC speakers are long-winded and shady. After all, Democrats have controlled Chicago for a very, very long time. Yes, Chicago’s moniker suits the Dems perfectly. One could almost say that they are a windy city all unto themselves.