West Elsdon, one of the 77 official community areas, is located on the southwest side of the City of

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. 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 currently constitute a clear majority. It has its own association, "West Elsdon Civic Association," which privately organizes the neighborhood. St. Turibius grade school, a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

elementary school, located at 57th and Karlov, closed in 2013 and is currently inactive though the building remains and is adjacent to St. Turibius

church. The former Lourdes

girls' high school located from 55th to 56th street from Komensky to Karlov Avenue is now a Chicago Public Schools magnet high school, John Hancock High School.

History

Before the early 20th century, the area now designated West Elsdon was a marshy remnant of an ancient lake. The early settlers were

German-American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

s and

Irish-American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

s. During the 1930s, housing was built and Polish-Americans and other Central Europeans settled the area. The land remained rural until

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, 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 Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican ...

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 This national electoral calendar for 2016 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *7 January: Kiri ...

, West Elsdon cast 3,910 votes for

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

and cast 685 votes for

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

(82.18% to 14.40%). In the 2012 presidential election, West Elsdon cast 3,015 votes for

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

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 Jennifer McCarthy Wahlberg (' Jennifer Ann McCarthy; born November 1, 1972) is an American actress, model, and television personality. She began her career in 1993 as a nude model for ''Playboy'' magazine and was later named their Playmate of ...

, actress,

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

model and anti-vaccine activist. She was raised in West Elsdon. * Joanne McCarthy, professional athlete who played for the

Chicago Condors The Chicago Condors were a very short-lived member of the American Basketball League (ABL). Their hometown was much larger than usual for the ABL, which mainly targeted mid-market cities, and initial team merchandising was successful. The team a ...

of the American Basketball League during the 1998 season. Jenny McCarthy's sister, she was also raised in West Elsdon.

References

Encyclopedia of Chicago "West Elsdon"

External links

Official City of Chicago West Elsdon Community Map
{{Geographic Location 2 , Center = West Elsdon, Chicago , North =

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