Maybe unpopular opinion: NJ has better pizza on average, although you can find better pizza in NYC if you're looking for something specific. Just my opinion obviously.
Chicago has not one but three distinct styles of pizza, the deep-dish which many think of as "Chicago style", the thin-crust with a relatively thin (compared to deep-dish, anyway) layer of sauce, cheese, and meats, and the square-cut tavern style.
All three are superior to anything the East Coast has to offer, IMO.
The best pizza I ever had was off a cart in Perugia, Umbria, in the '90s. It had potato slices, parmesan spears, green olive oil, and crunchy salt. You may doubt, but it was very much pizza. The crust makes the pizza.
The good NYC pizzas are heaven compared to anything Chicago offers.