Hammond is a Chicagoland city of some 80,000 people in Lake County, Indiana—bordering Chicago’s Far Southeast Side.
. . . Hammond . . .
It may come as a surprise to other Hoosiers that Hammond is the state’s sixth largest city. Its history and culture, as with nearly all of Indiana’s Lake Michigan coast, is inextricably linked to a big blue-collar industrial workforce. While the industrial economy is not what it once was, Hammond is still in decent shape, with a big new casino drawing in visitors from the Chicagoland area. Most visitors will find themselves passing through or on business, but Chicagoans would do well to include it in a close-in Lake County day trip, if for no other reason than to get some good food, perhaps stock up on fireworks, and realize that Chicagoland doesn’t stop at the state line!
The big highways cutting east west across the city are I-90 and I-94/I-80, both of which head east towards Gary and I-65 towards Indianapolis, and west towards Chicago and its south suburbs. The biggest north south streets are Calumet Ave (US-41) and Indianapolis Blvd (IN-152). Both lead into the city coming from Chicago in the north, and are a far more interesting drive than the big highways.
The South Shore Line, which stretches from Chicago‘s East Loop to Indiana’s South Bend, has one stop at 1 Hammond station 
. . . Hammond . . .