Just as Chicago is the most important city in Illinois, “Chicago” is the center of Sufjan Stevens' Come on Feel the Illinoise album. More autobiographical than the other songs on this album, many of which flip anecdotes about Illinois figures into full songs, “Chicago” is based in part on the singer/songwriter’s personal experiences in Chicago.

As Sufjan explained:

I’ve had quite a few exceptional and traumatic experiences in Illinois, a few times when visiting Chicago at a particularly difficult time in my life or driving cross country and being pulled over by the cops just outside Peoria

In the same interview, Sufjan clarified that the protagonist of “Chicago” is a fictionalized version of himself. The song also acts as the main theme for the Netflix original series The Politician.