Cyc, that is one of my favorite skyline shots...rolling into Chicago on 55...I may have some shots I took from that vantage point...will have to dig around.
I miss Chicago
Russotto, as you pointed out, DC is indeed hot, hazy, and humid. (Except for last year...it was amazingly pleasant all summer...mid 80s, low humidity...ah!) The fact that Washington, DC has very little industry is a boost to that city's relative cleanliness (at least on Capitol Hill and in the Northwest).
Now, define negative growth, because that is a bit confusing to me...considering that we only lost 68,000 people overall from 1990-2000, well WELL below the original estimates. Is this the slow down or lack of growth in the region as a whole?