# Is Chicago "out of control" and is it a sanctuary city

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chicago-out-of-control-and-is-it-a-sanctuary-city/1022334>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Tags:** vacation-travel\
**Created:** [August 20, 2025, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chicago-out-of-control-and-is-it-a-sanctuary-city/1022334 "2025-08-20T19:07:04Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 65

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**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2025, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-chicago-out-of-control-and-is-it-a-sanctuary-city/1022334/65 "2025-08-22T16:29:00Z")

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> [@Kent\_Clark](#):
>
> St. Louis is one of the few cities in the U.S. that is its own county (Baltimore is another.)

> [@Dewey\_Finn](#):
>
> Not really. St Louis and Baltimore are [independent cities](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_city_(United_States)), meaning that they are not in any county.

This is especially confusing as there is a “St. Louis County” but the _City_ of St. Louis is not part of it. This has occasionally been a source of both amusement and frustration when filling out forms related to my place of birth.

[Although, apparently, not as troublesome as having been born in Guam](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-real-id-problem/1017664).

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