Hegewisch, Chicago

Hegewisch
Community area
Community Area 55—Hegewisch
Baltimore Avenue is the main commercial street of Hegewisch.
Location within the city of Chicago
Coordinates: 41°39.6′N 87°33.0′W / 41.6600°N 87.5500°W / 41.6600; -87.5500
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Cook
City	Chicago
Neighborhoods	list Arizona Avalon Trails Hegewisch Harbor Point Estates Old Hegewisch
Area
• Total	4.78 sq mi (12.38 km2)
Population  (2020)
• Total	10,027
• Density	2,100/sq mi (810/km2)
CDT)
ZIP Code	60633
Median income 2020[1]	$57,847
Source: U.S. Census, Record Information Services

Hegewisch (pronounced /ˈhɛɡˌwɪʃ/ "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 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.^[2]

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.^[3]

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.^[4] In 1889, Hyde Park Township voted to be annexed into the City of Chicago.^[5] A few years after the area was annexed, Adolph Hegewisch died and his company was absorbed into the Pressed Steel Car Company.^[4]

In the early 20th century, the area became home to a large number of

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.^[7]

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.^[8][9] 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.^[10][11]

Though Hegewisch suffered from the decline of heavy industry, the neighborhood did not witness the extreme devastation that other neighborhoods like

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.^[2]

Hegewisch has more undeveloped land than anywhere else in Chicago with 475 acres of open space and 536 acres of vacant space.^[1][13] 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.^[1]

Wolf Lake 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.^[2]

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.^[14]

Hegewisch also contains Chicago's only

The median household income was $50,000 compared to 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 is compared to a distribution of 28.8%, 22.8%, 16.1%, 10.7%, 11.3% and 10.3% for Chicago at large.^[1]

Economy

There are approximately 2,550 jobs in the Hegewisch community area.

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 the workers in these fields reside outside of Chicago.^[1]

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.^[1]

Transportation

The

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 the

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.[1]

Politics

Hegewisch has been part of Chicago's 10th ward since at least the 1960s.

The current alderman is Peter Chico, who has served since 2023.^[33]

In the

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.^[36]
• Glenn Dawson, Democratic member of the Illinois General Assembly. 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.^[37]
• Carmel Bernon Harvey, Jr., Specialist in the United States Army and recipient of the Medal of Honor.^[38] He is a namesake of nearby Olive–Harvey College.^[39]
• Eugene Izzi, Chicago author.^[40]
• John Mallee, Major League Baseball hitting coach currently with the Philadelphia Phillies. Mallee was with the Chicago Cubs from 2014 to 2017. He was raised in the Hegewisch neighborhood.^[41]
• Battling Nelson, born Oskar Matthæus Nielsen, boxer who held the world lightweight championship on two separate occasions.^[42]
• Samuel Panayotovich, member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1983 until 1989. He lived in Hegewisch during his time in office.^[43]
• John Pope, Alderman from Chicago's 10th ward from 1999 to 2015.^[44]
• United Steelworkers of America.^[13]
• Susie Sadlowski Garza, Alderman from Chicago's 10th ward from 2015 to 2019.^[45][46]
• Peter Chico, Alderman from Chicago's 10th ward since 2023.^[47]
• Edward Vrdolyak, Alderman from Chicago's 10th ward from 1971 to 1987. He resided in East Side, but was a dominant political figure in Hegewisch.^[31]
• Edward Joseph 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.^{[citation needed]}

References