PHOTO: MARTHA WILLIAMS

1) Worst airport delays
While you’re reading this, you might just be stuck for hours at O’Hare waiting for a flight that will take half as long as the delay preceding it. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, O’Hare had the fewest on-time departures of any major airport in 2007. One word: Midway.

2) Worst taxes
Starting April 1, the city is raising its sales tax a quarter of a percentage point to 9.25 percent as part of a public-transit bailout. This means we’ll have the highest sales tax of any major city in the country. But, hey, at least the El will be running.

3) Worst weight problem
It was a slap in the pudgy face when Men’s Fitness declared in 2006 that Chicago had ballooned to the fattest city in the U.S. We’ve since handed over the title to Las Vegas, but certainly we could all spend less time on the barstool and more on the bike paths.

4) Worst weather
People in Chicago wear shorts when temps hit a balmy 55. That desperate need to pretend it’s warm is one sign our weather sucks. Want more proof? Check out a 2007 Travel and Leisure survey that ranked Chicago’s weather the worst in the U.S.

5) Worst mail delivery
It’s a bittersweet day when you open a Christmas card from a loved one—in March. Though Chicago Postal Service spokesman Mark Reynolds says Chicago’s mail delivery improved 4 percent in the final three months of 2007, our city still has the worst in-town delivery rate in the nation, according to the USPS.