| Hosts | |
|
Omar McClinton 1987 | |
| Broadcast | |
  WBBM CBS 2 200? WPWR UPN/MNT 50 200?-2007 WCIU 26 2008-2010 | |
| Packager | |
| Central City Productions | |
A quiz bowl for Chicago's high schools. This show has questions primarily based on ethnic American history. It is filmed at the Harold Washington Cultural Center in Chicago's Bronzeville area.
After 28 years, it was expanded to a national quiz bowl for the entire United States with two spinoffs Black College Quiz and later Hispanic College Quiz.
Gameplay
Two teams consisting of four students, each team from one high school in Chicago compete in a yearly tournament to win $1,000 college scholarships as well as trips to Walt Disney World as rewards for their knowledge of ethnic history.
Questions are presented in multiple choice format with four possible answers, with point values in varying amounts. The team that rings in first gets the chance to answer it and must give the letter and answer; giving the letter alone is not acceptable.
The questions range from primarily ethnic history with a few grab-bag categories thrown in.
Next is the huddle up round where a question is asked and up to 10 answers are shown and the teams have a minute to pick which of the answers are correct and are awarded based on number of correct guesses.
The final round consists of how many points each team is willing to wager. They do so during the second-to-last commercial break. One player from each team walks up to the host's podium and the question is presented. They have a time limit in which to put the answer down; when time is up, both players close their notebooks (laptops in newer episodes).
This series is broken into different sections like most quiz bowls.
"Chicago Challenge" (Introduced 2008) - All the high schools compete in 10 minute intervals, usually two matches per episode, until 16 teams remain.
"Chicago Survivors" - The 16 high schools compete against each other until eight are left.
"Chicago's Elite" - Quarterfinals match, in which the remaining eight compete until four winning teams are left.
"Chicago's Noble Four" - Semifinals match, where the two winning teams move on to the finals.
"Who's Who in Chicago" - The finals round where the two winning teams compete for the grand prize stated above.
Special "All Star" eps air at the end of each season. Versions include the losing two teams from the final four, students versus faculty from the high school of the winning team, or two teams of Chicago celebrities.
Trivia
When a Speed Round begins the time limit, a 1987 theme of Blockbusters can be heard.
Music
Main (1990) - "Night-Lines" by Dave Grusin
Speed Up Round cue (1990) - "Run Don't Walk (A)" by Richard Myhill (KPM Music)
Main (2007-2008) - "1 Thing" by Amerie
Inventor
Omar McClinton & Central City Productions
Spin-Offs
Black College Quiz - National tournament for historically black universities
Hispanic College Quiz - National tournament for historically hispanic universities