Thank you, Hammer. While Evergrey does have a point in that most Pittsburghers associate themselves with east coast cities -- I did eventually move out here, but my case is really based on random luck. I didn't plan on that exactly. I moved out east to attend college. I met a girl from Downingtown before college even began. I landed an internship with Philly, and moved further east to where I'm at now.
I just submitted a resume for an urban design consultant in Columbus, OH, so I might become a statistic to back my own argument before long. Who knows...
Still, the point is that there are folks who do travel to Chicago. I'm not talking about people up-and-moving, but what about for employment purposes? What are the top destinations for domestic air travel from Pittsburgh? Atlanta is top, followed by Charlotte and Philly, but Chicago comes in right behind in 4th. In fact, both O'Hare and Midway handled more passengers than Boston or New York JFK in terms of originating/destinating Pittsburgh travelers. If you combine O'Hare and Midway, then you have Chicago just behind Atlanta.
This is based on info from this link:
http://www.transtats.bts.gov/airport...&carrier=FACTS