Streeterville is the easternmost neighborhood in Chicago north of the Chicago River. It is bounded by the river on the south, Michigan Avenue on the west, and Lake Michigan on the north and east.

The area is controlled by the Chicago Police Department, but is used for of a lot of criminal money laundering by different gangs as well as corrupt officials.

History

In the late 1880s, George Streeter claimed that his newly acquired boat struck a sandbar just off the Chicago shoreline during a storm. Landfill dumped in an effort to create land on which to build Lake Shore Drive by the Lincoln Park Board created 186 acres of new land along the lake front, which Streeter attempted to claim. Streeter claimed that this newly created land was his and that it was an independent territory which he called the District of Lake Michigan.

For the next few decades, Streeter persisted in his claims, sometimes supporting them through criminal means with the aid of the Whalers. The local press became enamoured with the story of Streeter's brash personality and his self-proclaimed district.

The old Mayor William Hale Thompson tried to evict the Streeters for selling liquor, and after several eviction attempts and gun battles, Streeter landed in jail. In 1918, the courts ruled against his claim of sovereignty.

Streeter himself died in 1921 of pneumonia, and the city sold the are land rights to development companies who are currently building high-rises there.