The Most 'Chicago' Chicagoans of All Time

Only a select few iconic Chicagoans really be what the metropolis stands for : its hard - working blue - collar attitude , the acquirement and the natural endowment without the LA showmanship or New York rodomontade . Only the most " Chicago " of Chicagoans can represent what make the city majuscule while still maintaining a grounded horse sense of self – search at you , Kanye . These phratry , preceding and present , have truly embodied our city to realise " Chicago " Chicago status .

Scottie Pippen

Yes , Jordan is the icon , the all - time great , his name is on the steakhouse , but we can distinguish Scottie Pippen more closely with Chicago . A champion sans dart , Pippen was the workhorse , filling in all the hole , rebound , and doing the dirty jobs . He was the toughest protector in the league for almost a decennium while also excellently run Phil Jackson ’s trilateral offense . Even surrounded by all - time great on the Dream Team , double-decker Chuck Daly claimed , " I know Michael ’s the good participant , but Pippen was the best player on that squad . ” Any true Bulls fan will always remember Pippen as one of the all - timer , every bit as desirable as his noted partner . The legend ofthe Mr. Sub pitchmanlives on .

Mike Ditka

You find out this one coming from a mile off did n’t you ? Well that is because few people over the last half decade have so be the metropolis they put up in than Mike Ditka . He is not just a symbolic representation of Chicago ’s Midwestern blue - taking into custody ruggedness , he was a genuine cultural phenomenon from his much - loved moustache and sweater singlet to the adoration he have from the Chicago Bears superfan sketches onSNL . The great ' 85 Bears team had plenty of iconic thespian like Walter Payton or Mike Singletary , but it was Ditka ’s “ Iron Mike ” attitude and intensity level on the sidelines that defines the squad to this solar day .

John Belushi

You could fill many many more article with the comedy legends that have called Chicago home at one point or another , hisSNLco - headliner Bill Murray being oh so close to this spot . None however possess Belushi ’s perfect midway - American attitude as a comedian who was rocky around the edges but would do anything for a laughter . The Humboldt Park - born and Wheaton - raised comedian draw his start as so many did at Second City before he became the hot or die out sparkplug thatSNLran on ( and it was ofttimes both ) . Belushi had the sort of high Department of Energy slob charisma that you rarely see come out of the more snarky and uptight coast . That being say , the Chicago classic Blue Brothers would be reason enough alone for him to make this tilt .

Richard J. Daley

The Daley name is synonymous with Chicago and our city manager of 21 years is the reason for that . One of the seemingly dozens of mayors to get along out of Bridgeport , the fourth-year Richard Daley has cast a shadow over all of post - World War II Chicago . Daley was famous for his unruly personality , thick workings - class accent , and the dictatorial control he wielded over the urban center . He is , for all the good and bad that comes with it , the quintessential Chicago genus Bos city manager . He was hated and do it , almost certainly corrupt , and yet incredibly good , helping to keep Chicago from hurt the pitiful fate of many American city in the late twentieth century . The city has commute a lot since he die out in 1976 but for all intents and intent we are still living with Richard J. Daley .

Oprah Winfrey

All hail our city ’s most noted resident ( yes that includes you Barack ) . Oprah ’s success story of overcoming a tough childhood to become a world - renowned superstar is itself a great narrative , but what makes her a Chicago Icon is her position as an all - time tycoon . She not only revolutionized the daytime talk - show data formatting but has built an empire that made her into the “ Queen of All Media , ” and the first ever African - American billionaire . Her true humanity helped establish her into a star , but that one - fourth dimension local Chicago talk show host now commands a following that has made her one of the most powerful women in the humans and a true projection of our city ’s international influence .

Eliot Ness

Chicago was home to one of the most infamous outlaw of the 20th C in Al Capone , but it was also home to one of the greatest criminal offence fighter of the 20th 100 in Eliot Ness . He may have been immortalized inTheUntouchables , but Ness was plenty famous in his own time and merit of all that lionization . In an geological era of brutish crime and widespread corruption he took on mobsters and splendidly turned down a bribe worth over half a million dollars a twelvemonth in today ’s money . What is tougher to you , running a bootleg operation from the puff of your Uptown penthouse , or risking your lifespan to avail rid your hometown city of peradventure the most powerful mob gaffer in the state ? Plus he ended up with a all-fired - good beer named after him .

Bernie Mac

Southsider Bernie Mac was a meridian example of the rough and tumble nature of Chicago . After being raised in the city , he got his comedy start in the Cotton Club and built a reputation as a tough but insightful comedian . evenly fearless as a performing artist ( just watchhisDef Comedy Jambreakthrough ) and cut down as a social critic , he credited the city for his unique personality , one he steadfastly refused to change in rescript to break through into the mainstream . He was particularly gift in dealing with his personal aliveness in Chicago , which also became the fundament for his eponymously named TV show . In it he managed to showcase his unyielding posture while balancing it with a unfeigned emotional heart and soul center on on his connection with his family and the city around him .

Bobby Hull

Chicago is unique , and lucky , in that it is almost unsufferable to pin down its top sport . The Cubs are the iconic lovable loser , MJ made the Bulls one of the NBA ’s premier enfranchisement , and football has taken over as our lawful internal pastime even as the Bears have struggled . But when it add up to both their late resurgence as booster , the gritty nature of the sport , and of row the cold weather , it ’s hard to abnegate that Chicago feels like a hockey town . Bobby Hull ’s toothless grinremains an iconic figure of the Original Six enfranchisement . Hull was excellently as tight and skilled as he was tough , and his all around biz and at - the - clip - unprecedented point of goal scoring helped lead the Blackhawks for 14 great season . There are few thing more Chicagoan than an immigrant ( it was just Canada , but still counts ) gutting it out in the Windy City and becoming a legend .

Roger Ebert

The most celebrated American film critic of the century , of course . But just as authoritative to this inclination , someone who publish reviews that were equally approachable and compelling , insightful and understandable . Ebert tow the line between the art of unfavorable judgment and the art of appealing to mainstream readers dead in a way that reflected the urban center around him . He possess a dry humor that was not showy but was plenty cutting and scoffed at films that were to a fault ostentatious without anything at their core . He was also an self-governing spirit who oft conk against metric grain of a moving picture ’s overall decisive response . A reliable Chicago original .

Mike Royko

There have been writers from Chicago that were more popular on a national level but Mike Royko was the quintessential chronicler of the metropolis for over 40 years . Starting as a political reporter , Royko ’s penetrating and questioning comment earned him the admiration of readers and the hatred of metropolis boss ( include Richard Daley , who Royko write an unauthorized biography of ) . Once his popularity was cemented , he was give a day-to-day column which he used to comment on all aspects of Chicago life . Throughout his career he maintained an almost unimaginable piece of work output for a author . He also never fall behind tactile sensation with the culture of his hometown , helping to generalize his favored stamping ground , Billy Goat Tavern , include the celebrated Billy Goat Curse , and often “ conversing ” with fabricated blue - collar Chicagoan Slats Grobnik . Few citizenry understood and do it Chicago like Mike Royko .

Ernie Banks

There may not be a single soul in Chicago who was as universally beloved as Ernie Banks .

Mr. Cub himself was the first African - American player for Chicago ’s most iconic team . Throughout losing season after losing time of year he carried Cubs , never expressing displeasure at his setting . His famously pollyannaish personality and love for baseball game made him a fan favourite , and he return that devotion to the urban center . He remain an ambassador of the dealership after his retreat while he work out to build up business and improve Chicago , let in a break bid for alderman . He stand up to discrimination and adversity all with a smile on his aspect , work up an unbelievable life with an unbelievable sense of humbleness .

John Cusack

A born - and - multiply Chicago male child , Cusack has had a long Hollywood career with plenty of adult collision to his name but has always maintain his Midwestern radical . He carries an genial but sound demeanour , contemptuous of all the LA trappings his stardom would commonly bring . That story headedness has kept him a Chicago resident , and he can frequently be spotted around town or taking in a Cubs or Blackhawks biz . It does n’t hurt that he started his career playing exactly who he was , a cute teenager from the North Shore inSixteen Candles , or that he played one of thebest Chicago charactersever inHigh Fidelity . There have been more illustrious movie stars to do out of Chicago but almost all of them have desert their motherland for the glamor of the coasts . Cusack has remain true to where he came from , and for that he is a rightful Chicagoan .

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