East Side

The East Side is the 52nd of Chicago’s 77 recognized neighborhood areas. It is situated between the Calumet River and the Illinois-Indiana state line. In fact, the neighborhood’s name comes from its location on the east side of the Calumet River, not from its location on Chicago’s eastern side. The East Side has a total area of 2.80 square miles (7.25 km2).

The East Side neighborhood of Chicago is renowned for its recreational opportunities. Calumet Park, a park on Lake Michigan, and Eggers Grove Woodland Preserve, a forest, are also located in the area. The forest preserve offers the people of this area ample hiking/walking trails, picnic areas, and bird watching.

Another distinguishing characteristic of the East Side neighborhood is the Illinois-Indiana State Line Boundary Marker. This stone tower stands in the northeastern corner of the East Side neighborhood, near Lake Michigan, and marks the measured boundary line that separates Indiana and Illinois. Moreover, compared to Chicago’s more recognized North, South, and West Sides, local Chicagoans frequently refer to the whole Southeast Side area as “the East Side.” This encompasses the East Side, South Shore, South Chicago, South Deering, Calumet Heights, and Hegewisch.

People living on the East Side have a huge advantage in transit routes. The neighborhood is only 16.5 miles (26.5 km) away from the downtown Chicago Loop. Traveling via the local bus takes about 51 minutes to reach Chicago’s commercial hub. Highways 12, 20, and 41 connect it to the rest of the country. Other than that, four CTA bus routes serve the East Side. These include the South Shore Express, the 30 South Chicago, the 100 Jeffery Manor Express, and the J14 Jeffery Jump.

Map

Calumet River to the north and west and State Line Road (4100 E) to the east border the East Side neighborhood. On its southern boundary lies 126th Street (12600 S).

The East Side Chicago neighborhood is a part of the 60617 zip code.

Population

The population and economic landscape of the East Side neighborhood were mostly dominated by the Calumet River a few decades ago. Steel mills surrounded the river and created various job opportunities for the people living in nearby areas, making the neighborhood a desired place. Many Slovenian, Croatian, and Serbian families lived in the neighborhood during this time. Most of these people emigrated from Europe to work in the steel mills and other related jobs.

The area is now predominantly Hispanic, with a total population of 21,724 individuals as of 2020. This population experienced a decline of 5.7% from the past decade, from 2010 to 2020. The East Side neighborhood has a population density of 7,760 people per square mile. 74.2% of people are native Americans, while the remaining 25.8% have a foreign background.

The East Side neighborhood is one of Chicago’s most culturally diverse areas. Hispanics constitute the major percentage of the population (82.0%). The second densest cultural group in the East Side neighborhood is the whites (13.7%). Blacks, Asians, and people of other non-Hispanic races are also seen in the area – each of these sectors constitutes 3.7%, 0.4%, and 0.2% of the population, respectively.

Real Estate

There are a total of 7,004 households in Chicago’s East Side neighborhood. Single-person homes account for 19.5 percent of East Side households, while two-person households account for 21.6 percent. Three-person households account for 19.2 percent of these homes, while the majority of homes, around 39.7 percent, shelter four people. There are 3.1 individuals in the average home.

A large portion of East Side’s homes are the Chicago-style bungalow, and the southeast area of East Side features several newer homes built around 1980. By the 1930s, most of the area had been established north of 108th Street, with extension to the south starting in the 1940s and 1950s as new enterprises arose along the neighboring Calumet River. The government plans to connect Calumet Park to Rainbow Beach, Jackson Park, and the South Shore Cultural Center by extending the current lakefront bicycle path to new lakefront parklands in adjacent South Chicago.

Apart from the Calumet River, the East Side neighbor is popular because of its ample recreational sites. One may find a bundle of picnic sites and developed parks in the East Side neighborhood. Wolfe (Richard) Park, Krause (Francis Vernon) Park, Rowan (William) Park, Beniac Greenway Park, and the famous Calumet Park are all located within the East Side’s vicinity.

Another famous recreational site is Millennium Park. It is a 25-acre park in the heart of Chicago’s East Side neighborhood. Locals and foreigners visit the park throughout the year for concerts, biking and running, and admiring the sculptures that dot the countryside. Furthermore, the East Side is conveniently located near other attractions like the Jay Pritzker Pavillion. It hosts a free outdoor performance for more than 11,000 people, usually between the end of spring and early fall.

The property market in East Side has been stable, and prices for both the early 20th century and newer homes being developed around the region have been on the rise lately. The East Side home prices went up by 22.6% since December 2021. Cape Cods, older bungalows, and ranches on the East Side are proving to be excellent investments. East Side homes’ current average selling price is $190,000, which is well below the Chicago average of $335,000.

Schools

Aside from low home costs, the East Side neighborhood boasts some excellent Catholic and Chicago Public Schools. Despite having some top schools in the city in both the public and private sector, the area’s literacy rate is below the Chicago average. The majority of the population (36.3%) has a high school diploma, while 6.3% holds an associate degree. 8.5% of the East Side residents hold a Bachelor’s degree, and only 3.2% possess a Master’s degree.

Here are some of the top-ranked schools in the East Side neighborhood:

1- Douglas Taylor Elementary School

Rating: C

Student population: 391

Teacher-student ratio: 13:1

2- Mathew Gallistel Language Academy

Rating: C

Student population: 654

Teacher-student ratio: 13:1

3- Janes Addams Elementary School

Rating: B

Student population: 277

Teacher-student ratio: 17:1

4- Washington Elementary School

Rating: A-

Student population: 531

Teacher-student ratio: 14:1

5- Southeast Area Elementary School

Rating: C

Student population: 618

Teacher-student ratio: 16:1

6- George Washington High School

Rating: C

Student population: 1,445

Teacher-student ratio: 15:1

Crime Ratings

East Side is one of the most secure areas in South Chicago; more families prefer to settle in this locality. In District 11, the murder cases were reduced from 7 percent to 1 percent from 2021 t0 2022. Robbery cases also decreased from 43 percent to 25 percent, and burglary cases from 21 to 12 percent in the same time frame. Likewise, the reports for theft also fell in number from 27 percent to 25 percent.

History

The East Side became a civilization with the arrival of heavy industry in the Calumet area in the 1870s. Native Americans had dwelled in the land for many years, hunting and fishing for their food. The region’s natural harbor and accessibility to railroads prompted many enterprises to relocate to the area. The industrial sector thrived, and by the 1920s, the East Side, which had previously been known as Taylorville, Goosetown, and Colehour, had become a major iron and steel producer.

As a result, the settlement boomed. In the late 1800s, Germans and Swedes moved to the East Side neighborhood. The Colehour German Lutheran Church was the first religious community to open in 1874, and a chain of congregations quickly followed. In the 1880s, Croatian, Slovene, and Serbian refugees began to arrive, causing the first nationalist divisions. Before their new neighbors, Germans and Swedes advertised their “American-ness.” This signaled the start of a controversial trend that would last into the next century.

Newcomers were ready to form churches of their own. The Sacred Heart parish, located at 96th and Escanaba, was founded by Croatians. In 1914, Italians arrived in the area, settling in the older neighborhoods near the river with the Slavs. Calumet Park was built shortly after, and it influenced the community’s eastward migration. It is now regarded as a valuable East Side resource, with local sports, a waterfront, and other public recreation.

The East Side has long been regarded as a South Chicago suburb. Its citizens have a strong feeling of community; family and friendship relationships last for many years. However, the stability of ethnic harmony has not always been the case. When new immigrants arrived in the area after 1900, they received hostility from the locals. Following World War I, ethnic divisions began to fade as immigration decreased and Americanization impacted the population. The attempted integration of African Americans into the region, on the other hand, sparked particularly fierce and frequently violent opposition from East Side residents. Following endeavors by African American families to come in after World War II, race disturbances erupted at Calumet Park and the surrounding area of Trumbull Park in South Deering. The Hispanic population increased from 13 to 68 percent between 1980 and 2000, yet the neighborhood remained primarily a working-class community.

Since the 1930s, the area had been overwhelmed by industrial conflict caused by local steel’s predominance. The collapse of Chicago’s steel industry had a significant impact on the East Side neighborhood. Steel producers in the Calumet region suffered considerably due to poor economic conditions and foreign competition. Between 1970 and 1980, the population shrunk by tens of thousands. As part of the city’s endeavor to restore the local economy, the region was designated as an official “enterprise zone” in 1982. These attempts did not prove to be much effective.

Two decades later, the East Side is still a troubled and struggling neighborhood, seeking to re-establish its sense of community. However, there are hopes that the area will thrive once again since the Ford Motor Company revealed its plans to redevelop the Republic Steel site in 2000.