Live cameras in Chicago, United States

Chicago stretches for miles along the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, a city of about 2.7 million people at the 2020 census and the heart of a metro area of nearly ten million. The Chicago River winds through the downtown Loop between some of the most celebrated skyscrapers in the world, and the lakefront is lined almost end to end with parks, beaches and bike paths. Rail lines, the airports at O'Hare and Midway, and a web of expressways make it the transportation hub of the Midwest.

Those expressways carry familiar names. The Kennedy heads northwest toward O'Hare, the Dan Ryan runs south, the Eisenhower goes west, the Stevenson angles southwest along old Route 66, and the Edens serves the North Shore. Lake Shore Drive, a city boulevard, follows the lake.

The cameras

Chicago's camera list comes from the Illinois Department of Transportation's Gateway traveler information system, which also feeds the Travel Midwest website. They are still snapshots refreshed every few minutes from cameras mounted above the expressways and their junctions. Expect views of lanes, ramps and the occasional skyline glimpse rather than street scenes. They are a practical way to see how the morning inbound crush or the evening outbound crawl is moving.

• Weekday rush hours, roughly six to nine and three to seven, show the busiest traffic.
• Lake-effect snow bands can hit some neighborhoods while others stay dry; the images show the difference.
• Big events such as summer festivals in Grant Park or a Bears game can tie up nearby routes.

Chicago follows Central Time. Winters are cold and windy, with regular snowfall from December into March, while summers are warm and humid and the lake can bring fog that hides the tops of downtown towers. Around the June solstice the sky stays light until about half past eight, and in December darkness falls a little after four thirty.

If you are browsing the map, the North Shore suburbs and Highland Park are just up the lake, and the southwest suburbs of Darien and Woodridge have their own pages along the Stevenson corridor.

Sources: Chicago - Wikipedia · Travel Midwest (Illinois DOT Gateway) · Choose Chicago - official tourism site.