How do I use Metro Chicago Facts OnLine?

Step 1: Log in To use Metro Chicago Facts OnLine, you must be an MCIC Subscriber. If you are already an MCIC Subscriber, enter your User Name and Password in the spaces provided and click LOGIN.

If you are not an MCIC Subscriber, CLICK HERE.

If you have trouble logging in or do not remember your User Name and Password, please contact the MCIC Help Desk at info@mcic.org or call 312.580.2876 during regular business hours.

STEP 2: Select an Area
To view an area in the 6-county metropolitan Chicago region, select one of the following:

• County
  Cook, Lake, McHenry, DuPage, Kane, or Will Counties in the State of Illinois.
• Zip Code
  There are 376 Zip Codes in the 6-county metropolitan Chicago region. All Zip Codes begin with 60 _ _ _ or 61 _ _ _. Zip Codes in the City of Chicago begin with 606 _ _.
• Municipality
  A municipality is a political subdivision of a state established to provide general local government for a specific population in a defined area. A municipality may be designated as a city, borough, village, or town.
• City of Chicago
  • Community Area
    The City of Chicago has 77 officially defined community areas.
  • Ward
    The Chicago City Council is composed of 50 aldermen, each representing a ward in the city.

STEP 3: Customize Your Area

Use the toolbars along the LEFT side of the map:

• Legend/Layers    Click to switch the toolbar on the RIGHT side of the map between Legend (map boundary definitions) and Layers (click the box in front of each choice to add or subtract transportation routes, additional boundaries, streets, aerial photo, or CVI indices.
• Click Zoom In / Zoom Out, position the "+" on the map, and click to zoom in or out.
• Pan     Click the blue border on the North, South, East, or West side of the map to Pan in that direction.
• Click Check Tract Number to double check the tract number (it will appear in the white area to the lower left of the map).
• Select Rectangle     To custom-define an area, click Select Rectangle and then click and drag on the map to create a red rectangle. The census tracts you've selected will appear in yellow.
• Select Line/Polygon    To custom-define an area, click Select Line/Polygon, position the "+" on the map, and then click to:
  • Draw a straight line. Click Complete Line & Select (in the white area to the lower right of the map) to select all the census tracts along the line you have drawn.
  • Create a polygon. Position the "+" on the map and click to create a custom-defined area. Click Complete Polygon & Select (in the white area to the lower right of the map) to select all the census tracts that touch the shape you have drawn.
• Click Clear Selection to erase your map selections and begin again.

Step 4: Create a Community Profile

• Click Print Map to download a copy of the map you have created.
• Click Get Data Reports and select the data you want from the list provided:
  • 1990 - 2000 U.S. Census reports, aggregated for the specific area you've defined. The reports include general demographics as well as select social, economic, and housing characteristics. The reports also detail change from 1990 to 2000.
  • The Community Vitality Index uses 25 individual datasets to score a community's potential in three categories: Social Capital, Economic Potential, and Community Amenities. City of Chicago and County benchmarks allow comparisons to the region as a whole.
  • City of Chicago Building Permit data is provided by the City of Chicago through the Chicago Region Online Data Exchange. Building permit data for each specific census tract in your custom defined area is available by clicking on the tract number in the list provided. (If a census tract appears in gray, the tract is not in the City of Chicago. Building permit data is currently not available for that tract.)