I love Chicago! I've been gone 10 years now, but I'd go back in a heartbeat.
It's no wonder Chicago ranked. Look at the criteria:
Forbes used nine factors -- commute times, corruption, pro sports teams, Superfund sites, income and sales taxes, unemployment, violent crime and weather -- when ranking the cities.
Commute times, corruption, sales taxes and pro sports teams killed us. Guess the Bulls have been gone too long, but the White Sox have to count for something.
Not surprised about Cleveland. Hell, the Ohio local income tax is enough to drive anyone crazy. I'm *still* trying to figure out how that works - you pay tax where you work and where you live. There are adjustments by percentage depending on the tax rates. Weird.