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West Elsdon, Chicago

Community area in Chicago, Illinois

Community area in Chicago, Illinois

FieldValue
nameWest Elsdon
official_nameCommunity Area 62 - West Elsdon
settlement_typeCommunity area
image_skyline20040428 33 CTA Orange Line Pulaski Rd. station (7518020716).jpg
imagesize275px
image_captionView looking southeast into West Elsdon neighborhood.
image_mapUS-IL-Chicago-CA62.svg
map_captionLocation within the city of Chicago
subdivision_typeCountry
subdivision_nameUnited States
subdivision_type1State
subdivision_name1Illinois
subdivision_type2County
subdivision_name2Cook
subdivision_type3City
subdivision_name3Chicago
parts_typeNeighborhoods
partslist
p1West Elsdon
unit_prefImperial
area_total_km23.06
population_as_of2020
population_total18,394
population_density_km2auto
demographics_type1Demographics 2018
demographics1_title1White
demographics1_info114.79%
demographics1_title2Black
demographics1_info21.50%
demographics1_title3Hispanic
demographics1_info381.45%
demographics1_title4Asian
demographics1_info42.14%
demographics1_title5Other
demographics1_info50.11%
timezoneCST
utc_offset-6
timezone_DSTCDT
utc_offset_DST-5
coordinates
postal_code_typeZIP Codes
postal_codeparts of 60629 and 60632
blank_nameMedian income
blank_info$55,380
footnotesSource: U.S. Census, Record Information Services

West Elsdon, one of the 77 official community areas, is located on the southwest side of the City of Chicago, Illinois. It is noted as a twin neighborhood of West Lawn. It has a population which includes a mix of dwindling Polish-American residents and increasing Mexican-American residents who constitute a clear majority. It has its own association, "West Elsdon Civic Association," which privately organizes the neighborhood. The St. Turibius grade school was a Roman Catholic elementary school located at 57th and Karlov that closed in 2013, though the building remains and is adjacent to St. Turibius Roman Catholic church. The former Lourdes Roman Catholic girls' high school located from 55th to 56th street and Komensky to Karlov Avenue became Chicago Public Schools Sor Juana Elementary School.

History

Before the early 20th century, the area designated West Elsdon was a marshy remnant of an ancient lake. The early settlers were German-Americans and Irish-Americans. During the 1930s, housing was built and Polish-Americans and other Central Europeans settled the area. The land remained rural until World War II, when growth resumed and brick houses were built. After World War II, West Elsdon was the site of the Airport Homes race riots, the worst episode of racial inspired violence that the city faced in some thirty years. The West Elsdon Civic Association became one of the first vocal political enemies of the CHA and its first executive secretary, Elizabeth Wood. Opposition to public housing remained strong in the area. In the early 1970s the West Elsdon Civic Association was an active participant in the "No-CHA" citywide coalition opposing scattered-site public housing in predominantly middle-class white neighborhoods.

Later, Mexican-Americans settled in the eastern part of the community. Soon public schools were registering more Hispanic-Americans, and the CTA Orange Line was built to connect Midway Airport to Downtown.

Politics

The West Elsdon community has supported the Democratic Party in the past two presidential elections by large margins. In the 2016 presidential election, West Elsdon cast 3,910 votes for Hillary Clinton and cast 685 votes for Donald Trump (82.18% to 14.40%). In the 2012 presidential election, West Elsdon cast 3,015 votes for Barack Obama and cast 736 votes for Mitt Romney (79.45% to 19.39%).

Notable people

  • Anne M. Burke, Illinois Supreme Court Justice and wife of Alderman Ed Burke.
  • Daniel J. Burke, Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives since 1991. He is a West Elsdon resident and alderman Ed Burke's brother.
  • Ed Burke, longtime 14th ward alderman representing West Elsdon and the surrounding area on the Chicago City Council. He is the husband of Justice Anne Burke.
  • Jenny McCarthy, actress, Playboy model and anti-vaccine activist. She was raised in West Elsdon.
  • Joanne McCarthy, professional athlete who played for the Chicago Condors of the American Basketball League during the 1998 season. Jenny McCarthy's sister, she was also raised in West Elsdon.

References

References

  1. "Community Data Snapshot - West Elsdon". MetroPulse.
  2. Paral, Rob. "Chicago Community Areas Historical Data".
  3. "West Elsdon". Encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org.
  4. Arnold Richard Hirsch. (May 8, 1998). "Making the Second Ghetto".
  5. Ali, Tanveer. (November 9, 2016). "How Every Chicago Neighborhood Voted In The 2016 Presidential Election". [[DNAInfo]].
  6. Ali, Tanveer. (November 9, 2012). "How Every Chicago Neighborhood Voted In The 2012 Presidential Election". [[DNAInfo]].
  7. Skonicki, Kathyanne. (December 4, 2007). "Honorary Degrees to be Conferred Upon Local, National Leaders". [[Lewis University]].
  8. Linke, Denise. (April 9, 2016). "Trip to Chicago brings back memories". [[Chicago Tribune]].
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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