The Apps for Metro Chicago Illinois competition will take place over the next six months.
"This competition will allow individuals to interact directly with their government and make a large difference in the way we live in Chicago," said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. "Data belongs to the people."
The competition will allow developers to create applications using almost 200 data sets that have been made available online. The city of Chicago has contributed 125 data sets, the state of Illinois has contributed 48 and Cook County has contributed 10. Each governmental organization will be adding data sets as the contest goes along.
The mayor's office says the competition is the first apps competition in the nation to combine data sets from multiple governmental agencies and regional planning organizations.
The competition features more than $50,000 in prizes from the MacArthur Foundation, $10,000 in awards from Motorola Mobility, and is being supported by the Chicago Community Trust, the Illinois Science and Technology Coalition, and other organizations.
More information on the competition is available at the website: http://www.appsformetrochicago.com.
