I don't know if this is a Chicago thing, but I always put a few whole cloves or a few dashes of ground cloves in the soup.
I just made chicken soup on Friday:
Whole chicken cut up
a few carrots
celery tops
onion
salt (or boullion cubes), pepper, cloves
a green herb: bay leaf, basil, fresh parsley, whatever you have on hand
put all in a pot, bring to boil, turn down heat and simmer for an hour or more.
Debone chicken (my family is picky), strain broth, cut up carrots in "coins"
put back the deboned chicken and carrot coins in the strained broth
Salt to taste
serve with noodles or dumplings
YUMMY