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Hegewisch (locally pronounced "heg-wish") is one of the 77 community areas of
Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, 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 Hammond ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. Located along Lake Michigan, it is part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the only city in Indiana to border Chicago. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the Li ...
to the east. The community area 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.


History

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 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 the Pressed Steel Car Company. In the early 20th century, the area became home to a large number of
steel mills A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-finish ...
. A large number of Polish immigrants came to Hegewisch to work in the steel mills. In the 1930s, the
Steel Workers Organizing Committee The Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC) was one of two precursor labor organizations to the United Steelworkers. It was formed by the CIO ( Committee for Industrial Organization) on June 7, 1936. It disbanded in 1942 to become the United Ste ...
became active in the area. Eventually, they were able to have Carnegie-Illinois Steel Company recognize the union. Emboldened, the union organized a strike against smaller steel companies. When workers attempted to march on
Republic Steel Republic Steel is a Mexican steel manufacturer that was once America’s third largest steel producer. It was founded as the Republic Iron and Steel Company in Youngstown, Ohio in 1899. After rising to prominence during the early 20th Century, ...
, they were shot at by the
Chicago Police Department The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the primary law enforcement agency of the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, under the jurisdiction of the Chicago City Council. It is the second-largest Law enforcement in the United States#Local, ...
. 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 the area. Further closures compounded this effect. During this decline, a variety of economic development projects were proposed. In 1990, Mayor
Richard M. Daley Richard Michael Daley (born April 24, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 54th mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1989 to 2011. Daley was elected mayor in 1989 and was reelected five times until declining to run for a seventh ter ...
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 Calumet City ( ) is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 36,033 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. History Calumet City (commonly referred to locally as "Cal City") was founded in 1893 ...
. The airport faced staunch opposition from Hegewisch residents. After facing opposition from Illinois Senate president Pate Philip and concerns over 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 South Chicago, formerly known as Ainsworth, is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois. This chevron-shaped community is one of Chicago's 16 lakefront neighborhoods near the southern rim of Lake Michigan 10 miles south of downtow ...
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 the city of Chicago as a whole). A large number of city police and firefighters live in the neighborhood.


Geography

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 A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...
. 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 ''Wolf Lake'' is an American supernatural drama television series that originally aired on CBS from September 19 to October 24, 2001. Nine episodes were produced, but only five aired before the series was canceled by CBS. The full series, inclu ...
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.


Neighborhoods

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 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 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 A trailer park, caravan park, mobile home park, mobile home community or manufactured home community is a temporary or permanent area for mobile homes and travel trailers. Advantages include low cost compared to other housing, and quick and e ...
. Harbor Point Estates, located east of Avenue F. The trailer park is built on the former site of a
landfill A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was ...
. As of 2014, it contains 190 manufactured houses and 50
recreational vehicles A recreational vehicle, often abbreviated as RV, is a motor vehicle or trailer that includes living quarters designed for accommodation. Types of RVs include motorhomes, campervans, coaches, caravans (also known as travel trailers and camp ...
. The area has been 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 The American subprime mortgage crisis was a multinational financial crisis that occurred between 2007 and 2010, contributing to the 2008 financial crisis. It led to a severe economic recession, with millions becoming unemployed and many busines ...
and, as of 2017, the latter has yet to come to fruition.


Demographics

Originally a
Polish American Polish Americans () are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 8.81 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.67% of the U.S. population, ...
community, the area saw new groups arrive starting in the 1960s;
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
, Jordanian and Mexican immigrants began to settle in 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 The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) (est. 2005) is a metropolitan planning organization (MPO) responsible for comprehensive regional transportation planning in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will counties in nor ...
, there were 9,371 people and 3,558 households in Hegewisch. The racial makeup of the area was 42.5%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 4.4%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.2% Asian, 0.6% from other races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
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 The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...
was $50,000 compared to a median income of $47,831 for Chicago at-large. The area had an
Income distribution In economics, income distribution covers how a country's total GDP is distributed amongst its population. Economic theory and economic policy have long seen income and its distribution as a central concern. Unequal distribution of income causes e ...
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 is compared to a distribution of 28.8%, 22.8%, 16.1%, 10.7%, 11.3% and 10.3% for Chicago at large.


Economy

There are approximately 2,550 jobs in the Hegewisch community area. The top employing
industry sector Industry classification or industry taxonomy is a type of economic taxonomy that classifies companies, organizations and traders into industrial groupings based on similar production processes, similar products, or similar behavior in financial m ...
in Hegewisch is manufacturing (47.5%). The Torrence Avenue Assembly Plant, the oldest continually-operated plant of the
Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...
, is located at 12600 S Torrence Ave on its border with South Deering. Flex-N-Gate, which provides bumpers to 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" The Chicago "L" (short for "elevated railway, elevated") is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs in the U.S. state of Illinois. Operated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), it is the four ...
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, 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 Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. 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 the workers in these fields reside outside of
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
.
KCBX Terminals KCBX Terminals is a petcoke, coal, salt, slag, cement, and clinker (cement), clinker processing facility and ocean freight docking and loading services facility owned by Koch Industries located in Hegewisch, Chicago. Pollution and protests Re ...
, a
petcoke Petroleum coke, abbreviated coke, pet coke or petcoke, is a final carbon-rich solid material that derives from oil refining, and is one type of the group of fuels referred to as cokes. Petcoke is the coke that, in particular, derives from a fina ...
processing facility owned by the Koch brothers is located in Hegewisch.


Education

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 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.


Transportation

The
South Shore Line The South Shore Line is an electrically powered commuter rail line operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) between Millennium Station in downtown Chicago, Illinois and the South Bend Airport station in Sout ...
, an electric-powered interurban
commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...
line, stops at Hegewisch station. The train goes as far westbound as
Millennium Station Millennium Station, (previously known as Randolph Street Terminal and occasionally referred to as Randolph Street station or Randolph/South Water Street station) is a commuter rail terminal located in the Chicago Loop, Loop area of Chicago, do ...
in the
Chicago Loop The Loop is Chicago's central business district and one of the city's 77 municipally recognized Community areas in Chicago, community areas. Located at the center of downtown Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan, it is the second-largest busi ...
and as far eastbound as South Bend Regional Airport in
South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...
. Hegewisch station 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 The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of public transport, mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago "L" and List of Chicago Transit Authority bus routes, CTA bu ...
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 the
Chicago "L" The Chicago "L" (short for "elevated railway, elevated") is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs in the U.S. state of Illinois. Operated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), it is the four ...
'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.


Politics

Hegewisch has been part of Chicago's 10th ward since at least 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 the 2016 presidential election, Hegewisch cast 1,962 votes for
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
and cast 1,135 votes for
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
. In the
2012 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...
, Hegewisch cast 1,944 votes for
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
and 1,015 votes for
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...
.


Local media

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 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.


Notable people

* Eric Anderson, professional basketball player. * Glenn Dawson, Democratic member of the
Illinois General Assembly The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in ...
. He served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1979 to 1981 and the Illinois Senate from 1981 to 1987. He lived in Hegewisch during his legislative tenure. * Carmel Bernon Harvey, Jr.,
Specialist A specialist is someone who is an expert in, or devoted to, some specific branch of study or research. Specialist may also refer to: Occupations * Specialist (rank), military rank ** Specialist (Singapore) * Specialist officer, military rank in ...
in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
and recipient of the
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
. He is a namesake of nearby Olive–Harvey College. * Eugene Izzi, Chicago author. * John Mallee,
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
hitting coach currently with the
Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
. Mallee was with the
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
from 2014 to 2017. He was raised in the Hegewisch neighborhood. * Battling Nelson, born Oskar Matthæus Nielsen, boxer who held the world lightweight championship on two separate occasions. * Samuel Panayotovich, member of the
Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...
from 1983 until 1989. He lived in Hegewisch during his time in office. * John Pope, Alderman from Chicago's 10th ward from 1999 to 2015. * Edward Sadlowski, labor activist and a past director of the
United Steelworkers of America The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, commonly known as the United Steelworkers (USW), is a general trade union with members across North America. Headqua ...
. * Susie Sadlowski Garza, Alderman from Chicago's 10th ward from 2015 to 2019. * Peter Chico, Alderman from Chicago's 10th ward since 2023. *
Edward Vrdolyak Edward Robert Vrdolyak (; born December 28, 1937), also known as "Fast Eddie", is a former American politician and lawyer. He was a longtime Chicago alderman and the head of the Cook County Democratic Party until 1987 when he ran unsuccessfully ...
, Alderman from Chicago's 10th ward from 1971 to 1987. He resided in East Side, but was a dominant political figure in Hegewisch. * Ed Winceniak, Baseball (born April 16, 1929) is a retired American professional baseball player and scout. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, and resided in Hegewisch, Illinois. An infielder, he appeared in 32 games played over parts of two seasons (1956–57) in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs.


References


External links


Official City of Chicago Hegewisch Community Map

Hegewisch.Net

City of Chicago Website
{{authority control Community areas of Chicago South Side, Chicago Company towns in Illinois