Oh please, they do not! I used to take the 22 Clark bus every day and they always announced it as “Gurta”. If the recorded voice says “Go-thee”, well that’s another matter, it also mispronounces Clybourn. I’ve never met a single soul in Chicago that pronounces it the way you claim. Are you certain it’s not just a Des Plaines thing? 
Incidentally, my nephew’s name is Devon, we pronounce it “Dev-un”.
Well WhyNot, I’m willing to call this a draw. After a little investigation, it seems we’re both right.
I’ve personally never met anyone that’s pronounced it “Go-thee” and I’m quite familiar with the street. I’ve had friends, transplants and natives alike, who lived at the Columbia dorms on Goethe/Dearborn. An old colleague of mine had a townhouse on Goethe/Astor.
But it’s seems the pronunciation runs the gambit with that street. From: “Gurta”, “Goda” to “Go-th”, “Go-thee” and “Gothy”.
If you’ll remember that special the Trib ran last fall about the Seven Wonders of Chicago, I ran across this list that pretty much sums it up.
pat (September 9, 2005 11:46 AM) said:
Here’s my Seven Wonders, in no particular order…
*The defunct petting zoo at Indian Boundary Park
*The fact that there’s a statue of Grant in Lincoln Park, and a statue of Lincoln in Grant park.
*The numbering system for Harold’s Chicken Shacks
*The “Dibs” system of parking spot saving
*The Empire Carpet Guy
*The proliferation of the brown “Honorary” street signs (leaves you wondering exactly what street you’re on)
*The myriad pronounciations of the street named Goethe
The street is, obviously, named after Goethe and really should be pronounced the same. Keep in mind that unlike Paulina or Devon, which are fairly major thoroughfares, Goethe is very short street, running only 10 blocks in the Gold Coast, which undoubtedly adds to the confusion.
Québec pronouncation here, but I’m not seeing too much difference in the attempts at describing the pronounciation. I want to give it a mangled try, though!
I’d say sOOv-rhain - for the second syllable, take the nasal “a” sound from words such as plane and train (assuming you pronounce these the same way!). When saying that “ain”, make the sound even more nasal “shove it up your nose a little” as my husband and I were joking as I tried to come up with this explanation!
Don’t say the “n” at all, but rather cut the “ai” off sharply. If you overemphasize it, there should almost be a bit of a hum at the end(although you shouldn’t hear that when you say it normally - I just think that helps to describe the cut in the sound)
Oh, dear, I’m not sure I’ve made that easier, have I? If you’re ever in the Hammer (or Montreal, after the end of the month) track me down and I’ll say it to you! 
Relatively certain, as I was raised in Tinley Park, lived in Evanston for 6 years, and now live in Chicago. Only visit Des Plaines when I absolutely have to - or on my way to IKEA.
Fair enough.