The Chicago Fed serves the Seventh Federal Reserve District, an economically diverse region that includes all of Iowa and most of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. The Seventh District has a large national share of many important economic sectors. The Chicago Fed has a head office in Chicago and a branch office in Detroit.
Congress created the Federal Reserve System in 1913, charging it with the responsibility to foster a sound banking system and a healthy economy. This remains the broad mission of the Fed and its component parts: the 12 Federal Reserve Banks nationwide that each serve a specific region of the country, and the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., which is set up to oversee the Fed System.
To accomplish its mission, the Fed: