Misplaced Pages

#704295

57-448: Hegewisch (pronounced / ˈ h ɛ ɡ ˌ w ɪ ʃ / "heg-wish" by the locals) is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois , located on the city's far south side. It is bordered by the neighborhoods of Riverdale and South Deering to the west, the East Side to the north, the village of Burnham to the south and the city of Hammond, Indiana to the east. The community area

114-531: A strike against smaller steel companies . When workers attempted to march on Republic Steel , they were shot at by the Chicago Police Department . Ten unarmed workers died and hundreds were injured. Starting in the 1970s, employment in the steel industry began trending downward hurting areas that relied on steel mills. In 1980, Wisconsin Steel closed its South Deering mill, leading to high unemployment in

171-581: A citywide 1934 census to help collect data related to the Great Depression , in what was known as the Local Community Fact Book . With the exception of 1970 (whose data was published in 1980 ), it continued this publication for every subsequent census through 1990, expanding in the 1960s to also cover major suburbs of Chicago. The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning continues this work by periodically publishing "Community Snapshots" of

228-548: A common identity. Except for the addition of two areas ( O'Hare from land annexed by the city in 1956 and Edgewater 's separation from Uptown in 1980) and peripheral expansions due to minor annexations, the areas' boundaries have never been revised to reflect change but instead have been kept stable. The areas have become a part of the culture of Chicago, contributing to its perception as a "city of neighborhoods" and breaking it down into smaller regions for easier analysis and local planning. Nevertheless, Park's and Burgess's ideas on

285-453: A distinction it has held for over a quarter century. Manufacturing is followed by wholesale trade (19.7%), retail trade (11.1%), accommodation and food (5.2%) and finance (3.9%). Almost two thirds of the workers in these fields reside outside of Chicago . The top 5 employing industry sectors of community residents are manufacturing (12%), public administration (10.9%), education (10.8%), healthcare (10.6%) and retail trade (8.5%). Nearly half of

342-428: A median income of $ 47,831 for Chicago at-large. The area had an Income distribution in which 26.6% of households earned less than $ 25,000 annually; 23.4% of households earned between $ 25,000 and $ 49,999; 17.2% of households earned between $ 50,000 and $ 74,999; 13.5% of households earned between $ 75,000 and $ 99,999; 11% of households earned between $ 100,000 and $ 149,999 and 8.2% of households earned more than $ 150,000. This

399-458: A single community area. The Chicago Department of Public Health wished to present local differences in birth and death rates; it worked with the committee to produce the list of 75 community areas, which were divided into 935 census tracts. After the community areas were introduced, the University of Chicago Press published data sorted by them from the 1920 and 1930 Censuses , as well as

456-411: A variety of urban planning initiatives on both the local and regional levels. The areas' boundaries do not generally change, allowing comparisons of statistics across time. The areas are distinct from but related to the more numerous neighborhoods of Chicago; an area often corresponds to a neighborhood or encompasses several neighborhoods, but the areas do not always correspond to popular conceptions of

513-399: Is Avalon Trails , built primarily in the 1960s. It is north of 130th Street, east of Torrence Avenue and west of Baltimore Avenue. Hegewisch also contains Chicago's only trailer park . Harbor Point Estates, located east of Avenue F. The trailer park is built on the former site of a landfill . As of 2014, it contains 190 manufactured houses and 50 recreational vehicles . The area has been

570-570: Is compared to a distribution of 28.8%, 22.8%, 16.1%, 10.7%, 11.3% and 10.3% for Chicago at large. There are approximately 2,550 jobs in the Hegewisch community area. The top employing industry sector in Hegewisch is manufacturing (47.5%). The Torrence Avenue Assembly Plant , the oldest continually-operated plant of the Ford Motor Company , is located at 12600 S Torrence Ave on its border with South Deering. Flex-N-Gate , which provides bumpers to

627-561: Is from Saint Ita's." Wolf Lake (Indiana%E2%80%93Illinois) Wolf Lake is located between Hammond, Indiana and the Hegewisch community area of Chicago , Illinois. It was once connected by an open channel to Lake Michigan on the Indiana side of the lake, but this channel was cut off for development on its northern side. Indianapolis Boulevard ( U.S. 41 ) and various railroad and industrial facilities are located in former wetlands on

SECTION 10

#1732851140705

684-481: Is located in Hegewisch and is part of the William W. Powers State Recreation Area . Other natural amenities in the community include Mann Park and Powderhorn Prairie Marsh Nature Preserve. Hegewisch has three distinct areas within the neighborhood: Arizona , Avalon Trails , and Old Hegewisch . The oldest neighborhood is Old Hegewisch , the original area settled by Adolph Hegewisch in the nineteenth century. It includes

741-508: Is named for Adolph Hegewisch, the president of U.S. Rolling Stock Company who hoped to establish "an ideal workingman's community" when he laid out the town along a rail line in 1883, six years before Chicago annexed the town. In 1837, Hegewisch, along with the area that now composes most of the South Side of Chicago, was incorporated as part of Hyde Park Township . In 1883, Adolph Hegewisch, president of U.S. Rolling Stock Company , selected

798-592: Is the Illinois stop closest to the Illinois-Indiana border. The area is also served by bus routes operated by both the Chicago Transit Authority and Pace Suburban Bus . These routes are 30 South Chicago, 355 Wentworth Limited, 358 Torrence and 364 159th Street. 355 Wentworth Limited is only available for weekday rush hour service only and 364 159th Street is only available for weekend service. As part of

855-952: Is traditionally divided into the three "sides" of the North Side, West Side , and South Side by the Chicago River. These three sides are represented by the white stripes on the Flag of Chicago . The city is also divided into 50 wards for the purpose of electing one alderman each to the Chicago City Council . These wards have at times generated identities similar to neighborhoods. Unlike community areas, wards are adjusted decennially to account for population shifts. Another method of neighborhood nomenclature in heavily Catholic neighborhoods of Chicago has been to refer to communities in terms of parishes . For example, one might say, "I live in St. Gertrude's, but he

912-437: The 2016 presidential election , Hegewisch cast 1,962 votes for Hillary Clinton and cast 1,135 votes for Donald Trump . In the 2012 presidential election , Hegewisch cast 1,944 votes for Barack Obama and 1,015 votes for Mitt Romney . Hegewisch is currently served by Our Neighborhood Times , a bimonthly newspaper headquarters in Hegewisch and widely distributed throughout the neighborhood. Between 1997 and 2012, Hegewisch

969-598: The Chicago "L" 's Red Line extension, the proposed 130th Street terminal would be near the Altgeld Gardens Homes , a public housing project in the Riverdale neighborhood near Hegewisch. The below average availability of public transit leads to its regular use by only 16% of Hegewisch outbound commuters. 80.80% of commuters drive either alone or in a carpool. Hegewisch has been part of Chicago's 10th ward since at least

1026-546: The Chicago City Council which undergo redistricting based in population movements, and the parishes of the Roman Catholic Church. The Social Science Research Committee at the University of Chicago defined the community areas in the 1920s based on neighborhoods or groups of related neighborhoods within the city. In this effort it was led by sociologists Robert E. Park and Ernest Burgess , who believed that physical contingencies created areas that would inevitably form

1083-533: The Chicago River to form distinctive and consistent areas within the city, which he deemed "natural" areas that would eventually merge into a distinctive identity. Ernest Burgess , a colleague of Park's who shared his thinking, was crucial in creating and naming the community areas. Initially able to identify 400 neighborhoods of the city, he considered that number excessive and trimmed it down to 80 and thereafter 75 by grouping related neighborhoods into

1140-538: The Cold War , two areas around the lake were used to create Nike missile site C-44, part of an air defense system for Chicago and its heavy industries. It was one of many such sites that formed a ring of defense running from Indiana to Wisconsin. Both areas were decommissioned in the 1970s and have since been converted into preservation and recreation areas. On the northwest side of the lake, several hundred acres of wetlands were filled with ferrous slag in order to create

1197-554: The Illinois Department of Natural Resources removed several beavers and their dams that had been built across Indian Creek. The subsequent drop in water depth encouraged weed growth and changed fishing conditions. Beaver signs indicate that there are beavers on the lake currently. Wolf Lake is home to the endangered Lake sturgeon ( Acipenser fulvescens ) and the threatened Banded killifish ( Fundulus diaphanus ). The lake and neighboring wetlands provide nesting sites for

SECTION 20

#1732851140705

1254-576: The Lake Michigan shoreline. The areas are used for statistical and planning purposes by such professions as assessors, charities, and reporters. Shortly after their development they were used for all kinds of statistics, including movie theater distribution and juvenile delinquency. Although developed by the University of Chicago, they have been used by other universities in the Chicago area, as well as by

1311-490: The " Big Three ," will begin production near the Torrence Avenue Assembly Plant in 2019. In March 2017, it was announced that CRRC Sifang America would be manufacturing the new 7000 series cars for the Chicago "L" in Hegewisch. The union hall for UAW Local 551 is headquartered on Torrence Avenue. It is also home to Calumet Harbor Lumber Company, the last surviving saw mill within the Chicago city limits,

1368-560: The 1960s. For much of the latter half of the twentieth century, it was dominated by Ed Vrdolyak , who served as the Democratic Ward Committeeman from 1968 to 1987 and Alderman from 1971 to 1987. The Hispanic Democratic Organization , a pro-Daley political action committee had a strong presence in the ward until its demise after the Hired Trucks scandal. The current alderman is Peter Chico , who has served since 2023. In

1425-589: The Pilsen and Back of the Yards neighborhoods are much better known than their respective community areas Lower West Side and New City . In the case of New City this was a deliberate choice; Burgess opted for the less common "New City" to name the area as "Back of the Yards" carried a stigma after the publication of Upton Sinclair 's The Jungle (1904), which made the area notorious for its poor living conditions. Some of these discrepancies are due to names that were common at

1482-546: The Pressed Steel Car Company. In the early 20th century, the area became home to a large number of steel mills . A large number of Polish immigrants came to Hegewisch to work in the steel mills. In the 1930s, the Steel Workers Organizing Committee became active in the area. Eventually, they were able to have Carnegie-Illinois Steel Company recognize the union. Emboldened, the union organized

1539-523: The actual site for the missiles. This is currently Eggers Woods, part of the Cook County Forest Preserve system. The southwest side of the lake housed the site's radar station and has been converted into the William W. Powers State Recreation Area in Illinois. Wolf Lake, along with the other neighboring lakes, was once among the most biologically diverse places in the Midwest . Eighty years ago,

1596-487: The area north of 138th St, south of 130th St., east of Torrence Avenue, and west of Avenue O. Arizona, named because of the sandy nature of the original soil and presence of the native cactus, is east of Avenue O and north of 138th St. It is synonymous with "the Avenues" . The Avenues receives its name from the unique street naming convention of alphabetically named streets (e.g. Avenue F, Avenue G, etc.). The newest neighborhood

1653-514: The area to build a company town. He announced his ambition to build two canals. The first would have shortened the Calumet River; the second would connect Wolf Lake with Lake Michigan. His plans were never realized due to a lack of capital. In 1889, Hyde Park Township voted to be annexed into the City of Chicago. A few years after the area was annexed, Adolph Hegewisch died and his company was absorbed into

1710-488: The area year round, compete for habitat with the non-migrating Trumpeter swan population and is an impediment to restoration of the native trumpeters around the Great Lakes . The endangered false golden sedge ( Carex garberi ), little green sedge ( Carex viridula ) and the threatened marsh speedwell ( Veronica scutellata ) are plants that grow in the neighboring wetlands. Perhaps the most amazing biological aspect of

1767-539: The area. Further closures compounded this effect. During this decline, a variety of economic development projects were proposed. In 1990, Mayor Richard M. Daley proposed the Lake Calumet Airport , which would have resulted in the demolition of all of Hegewisch, along with portions of nearby Burnham and Calumet City . The airport faced staunch opposition from Hegewisch residents. After facing opposition from Illinois Senate president Pate Philip and concerns over

Hegewisch, Chicago - Misplaced Pages Continue

1824-469: The area. In the 2000s, the community saw an influx of Latinos move in. The community went from have a population of 2,820 Latino residents in 2000 to a Latino-majority community with population of 4,887 Latino residents in 2014. According to a 2016 analysis by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning , there were 9,371 people and 3,558 households in Hegewisch. The racial makeup of the area

1881-476: The city and regional planners. They have contributed to Chicago's reputation as the "city of neighborhoods", and are argued to break up an intimidating city into more manageable pieces. Chicago was an early adopter of such a system, and as of 1997 most cities in the United States still lacked analogous divisions. The areas do not necessarily correspond to popular imagination of the neighborhoods. For example,

1938-834: The city of Chicago as a whole). A large number of city police and firefighters live in the neighborhood. The northern border of Hegewisch is 128th St. Its eastern border is the Illinois-Indiana state line. Its southern border is 138th street (Brainard Avenue) and its western border is (at various points) W Burley Ave, Torrence Ave, Bishop Ford Freeway . Hegewisch has more undeveloped land than anywhere else in Chicago with 475 acres of open space and 536 acres of vacant space. The developed land consists of 375 acres of single family residential housing, 34 acres of multifamily residential housing, 47 acres of commercial development, 308 acres of industrial development, 17 acres of institutional and 7 acres of mixed use development. There are 1,551 acres that can be defined as transportation and other . Wolf Lake

1995-580: The community areas and suburbs, the most recent being data from 2018 published in June 2020 . Only two major changes have occurred in the boundaries of the community areas. O'Hare was created from land that was annexed by Chicago in 1956 to control O'Hare International Airport . Edgewater was separated from Uptown in 1980 as residents considered being joined to it a detriment to obtaining aid for local improvements. In addition to these two there have been minor changes due to further annexations and additions to

2052-665: The construction of the Chicago Skyway. The western impoundments are now part of the William W. Powers State Recreation Area and are drained by Indian Creek to the Calumet River . The Wolf Lake water level determines the drainage to Lake Michigan because the connecting Calumet River flows southward during elevated levels and northward during lowered levels. The Indiana portion of the lake consists of three, interconnected impoundments that are also separated by dikes. The longest dike, running roughly parallel to State Line Road and traversing

2109-481: The cost of the airport, Daley declared the airport proposal "dead" and focused on plans to expand O'Hare International Airport . Though Hegewisch suffered from the decline of heavy industry, the neighborhood did not witness the extreme devastation that other neighborhoods like South Chicago or Pullman did. Today, Hegewisch is a stable middle and working-class neighborhood, with roughly average levels of household income, and below-average crime and poverty (relative to

2166-439: The endangered black-crowned night heron , little blue heron , yellow-crowned night heron and yellow-headed blackbird . Native Trumpeter ( Cygnus buccinator ) and Tundra swans ( Cygnus columbianus ) and non-native Mute swans ( Cygnus olor ) may all be found on the lake in winter. Tundra swans are absent in summer as they migrate to the arctic and subarctic to nest, however, the non-native, Eurasian Mute swans, which stay in

2223-566: The entire length of the lake, contains railroad tracks belonging to the Indiana Harbor Belt. The Indiana Toll Road ( Interstate 90 ) runs through the middle of the lake just inside the Indiana state line. The lake is also transected by a number of railroad causeways, some of them no longer in use. Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad has an active spur line that runs through the Illinois side of

2280-458: The inevitability of physically related areas forming a common bond have been questioned, and the unchanging nature of the areas has at times been seen as analytically problematic with major subsequent changes in the some of the areas' urban landscapes, such as the construction of expressways. During the 19th century wards were used by the Census Bureau for data at the level below cities. This

2337-416: The lake in the Hegewisch community area. Calumet Avenue (U.S. 41) is on its eastern side, with a strip of parkland in between. There are currently several large industrial properties adjacent to the lake and on filled wetlands adjoining the lake, including Cargill and Unilever on the north side. Other property near the edge of the lake is being used for housing. A significant portion of the property around

Hegewisch, Chicago - Misplaced Pages Continue

2394-537: The lake is its array of rare aquatic plants. A $ 7.25 million ecosystem restoration project for Wolf Lake was carried out by the Chicago District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , with the support of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the City of Hammond. Completed in September 2007, the project sought to improve the overall quality of the lake ecosystem for native species. Natural water levels in

2451-533: The lake is now parkland or nature preserve, including the Eggers Woods parcel of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County . Other neighboring lakes include Lake George , Lake Calumet , Powderhorn Lake and Lake Michigan . There was also another lake that lay to the west between Wolf Lake and the river. It was called Hyde Lake and was filled in by Republic Steel. A swampy area near 130th Street and

2508-507: The lake were restored by clearing channels and creating openings in dikes and causeways. Additional habitat was created by constructing approximately 25 acres (10 ha) of new aquatic and wetland habitat plantings. Also, approximately 5,000 feet (1,500 m) of shoreline was restored, deep holes were created to locally diversify the lake bottom, and herbicidal and biological controls were implemented to control aquatic and shoreline exotic and undesirable plant species. While for many years it

2565-414: The neighborhoods due to a number of factors including historical evolution and choices made by the creators of the areas. As of 2020 , Near North Side is the most populous of the areas with over 105,000 residents, while Burnside is the least populous with just over 2,500. Other geographical divisions of Chicago exist, such as the "sides" with origin in the 3 branches of the Chicago River , the 50 wards of

2622-409: The northeastern side of the lake where it once connected to Lake Michigan. There are currently proposals to reopen a channel between Wolf Lake and Lake Michigan. The Illinois portion of the lake consists of five, interconnected impoundments separated by dikes. The dikes were constructed in the late 1950s so that separate portions of the lake could be drained for the purpose of dredging for fill to use in

2679-407: The railroad tracks is the only remnant of that lake. Wolf Lake in Illinois has a storied history that somehow has lost track of the origins of the name that goes back over 150 years. Part of this history includes visits by Abraham Lincoln in which Mary Todd Lincoln nearly drowned. In 1924, the body of Bobby Franks was found in a culvert just northwest of the lake. Franks was the victim of

2736-486: The renowned naturalist Donald Culross Peattie described Wolf Lake as one of North America's preeminent natural areas, "…a famous hunting ground for aquatic wildlife...where the plants form one of the most remarkable assemblages of aquatics in the country...no body of water of equal size can boast such a list." It is still an extremely unusual and diverse area. On August 23, 2002, more than 150 experts in botany, zoology and related ecological fields assembled at Wolf Lake and in

2793-450: The site of multiple redevelopment attempts including a 2008 attempt at converting the trailer park into a 900+ unit subdivision and a 2014 at an expansion of the park. The former was cancelled after the subprime mortgage crisis and, as of 2017, the latter has yet to come to fruition. Originally a Polish American community, the area saw new groups arrive starting in the 1960s; Greek , Jordanian and Mexican immigrants began to settle in

2850-546: The so-called "thrill killers," Leopold and Loeb – the subjects of what was termed the "Trial of the Century." It's well known that Chicagoland gangsters used to dispose of bodies in this lake system as well. From 1933 to 1936, Wolf Lake Speedway was located within the lake, in Hammond, Indiana . The track was completely surrounded by the water of Wolf Lake, and a portion of the lake was drained to allow for its construction. During

2907-529: The surrounding forest, prairie and marshland to identify and record as many living organisms as possible within a single 24-hour period. The purpose of this undertaking, known as the Calumet Bioblitz , was to document the extraordinary biodiversity of green pockets that have survived within the urban and industrial landscape south of Chicago. The water in Wolf Lake was about 18 inches higher until 1998 when

SECTION 50

#1732851140705

2964-419: The time of the adoption of community areas but have since been supplanted by others. The static nature of area boundaries is one of their benefits, but is also problematic at times such as when expressways were built in the mid-20th century and divided neighborhoods without area boundaries adapting. The concept of a "natural area" that underpinned Park's and Burgess's thinking has also been challenged. Chicago

3021-595: The workers in these fields reside outside of Chicago . KCBX Terminals , a petcoke processing facility owned by the Koch brothers is located in Hegewisch. Hegewisch is part of City of Chicago School District #299 and City Colleges of Chicago District #508 . Virgil I. Grissom and Henry Clay Elementary Schools serve Hegewisch students. George Washington High School in East Side serves Hegewisch students as well as students in nearby South Deering. The nearest City Colleges campus

3078-613: Was Olive–Harvey College in Pullman . A high school diploma had been earned by 82% of Hegewisch residents and a bachelor's degree had been earned by 18.2% of residents. The South Shore Line , an electric-powered interurban commuter rail line, stops at Hegewisch station . The train goes as far westbound as Millennium Station in the Chicago Loop and as far eastbound as South Bend Regional Airport in South Bend, Indiana . Hegewisch station

3135-416: Was 42.5% White , 4.4% African American , 0.2% Asian , 0.6% from other races . Hispanic or Latino of any race were 52.4% of the population. In the area, the population was spread out, with 25.3% under the age of 19, 18.6% from 20 to 34, 17.8% from 35 to 49, 21.5% from 50 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. The median household income was $ 50,000 compared to

3192-553: Was also served by the South Chicago-based Southeast Chicago Observer . The paper was distributed in Hegewisch, albeit to a lesser extent. Both papers come out on even-numbered weeks. Community areas in Chicago The city of Chicago is divided into 77 community areas for statistical and planning purposes. Census data and other statistics are tied to the areas, which serve as the basis for

3249-591: Was problematic as wards were political subdivisions and thus changed after each census, limiting their utility for comparisons over time. Census tracts were first used in Chicago in the 1910 Census . However, by the 1920s the Social Science Research Committee at the University of Chicago wanted divisions that were more natural and manageable than the arbitrarily-designated and numerous census tracts. The sociologist Robert E. Park led this charge, considering physical barriers such as railroads and

#704295