Blue Island, Illinois
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Blue Island is a city in
Cook County, Illinois Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 2 ...
, located approximately south of Chicago's Loop. Blue Island is adjacent to the city of
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
and shares its northern boundary with that city's Morgan Park neighborhood. The population was 22,558 at the
2020 United States Census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
. Blue Island was established in the 1830s as a way station for settlers traveling on the
Vincennes Trace The Vincennes Trace was a major trackway running through what are now the American states of Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois. Originally formed by millions of migrating bison, the Trace crossed the Ohio River near the Falls of the Ohio and continue ...
, and the settlement prospered because it was conveniently situated a
day's journey A day's journey in pre-modern literature, including the Bible, ancient geographers and ethnographers such as Herodotus, is a measurement of distance. In the Bible, it is not as precisely defined as other Biblical measurements of distance; the dis ...
outside of Chicago. The late-nineteenth-century historian and publisher Alfred T. Andreas made the following observation regarding the appearance of the young community in ''History of Cook County Illinois'' (1884), "The location of Blue Island Village is a beautiful one. Nowhere about Chicago is there to be found a more pleasant and desirable resident locality." Since its founding, the city has been an important commercial center in the south Cook County region, although its position in that respect has been eclipsed in recent years as other significant population centers developed around it and the region's commercial resources became spread over a wider area. In addition to its broad long-standing industrial base, the city enjoyed notable growth in the 1840s during the construction of the feeder canal (now the Calumet Sag Channel) for the
Illinois and Michigan Canal The Illinois and Michigan Canal connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. In Illinois, it ran from the Chicago River in Bridgeport, Chicago to the Illinois River at LaSalle-Peru. The canal crossed the Chicago Por ...
and as the center of a large brick-making industry beginning in the 1850s, which eventually gave Blue Island the status of brick-making capital of the world. Beginning in 1883, Blue Island was also host to the car shops of the
Rock Island Railroad The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At the end ...
. Blue Island was home to several breweries, who used the east side of the hill to store their product before the advent of refrigeration, until the Eighteenth Amendment made these breweries illegal in 1919. A large regional hospital and two major clinics are also located in the city. Although initially settled by "
Yankee The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Its various senses depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, residents of the Northern United St ...
" stock, Blue Island has been the point of entry for many of America's immigrants, beginning in the 1840s with the arrival of a large German population that remained a prominent part of the city's ethnic makeup for many years. By 1850, half of Blue Island's population was either foreign-born or the children of foreign-born residents. Later, significant groups came from Italy, Poland, Sweden and Mexico. The city is one of eleven incorporated areas in Illinois to have been designated by the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
as a "Preserve America" community.


History


Uptown

Norman Rexford came to Chicago from
Charlotte, Vermont Charlotte is a New England town, town in Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. The town was named for Queen Charlotte, though unlike Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlottesville, Virginia, and other cities and towns ...
in 1835 and in 1836 became the first permanent settler of Blue Island when he established the Blue Island House near the intersection of present-day Western Avenue and Gregory Street just north of the Western Avenue bridge. Before Rexford built the Blue Island House he had constructed a four-room log cabin in the wilderness at the north end of the Blue Island ridge that he intended as a tavern for wayfarers, but after a year realized that the place was not likely to be profitable for him and began to look for another site where he might have more success. Although farther from
Fort Dearborn Fort Dearborn was a United States fort built in 1803 beside the Chicago River, in what is now Chicago, Illinois. It was constructed by troops under Captain John Whistler and named in honor of Henry Dearborn, then United States Secretary of War. ...
and the settlement at
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
(which by that time was incorporated and had a population of several thousand persons) by about , the new inn was better situated because it was located on the Wabash Road (in Blue Island now Western Avenue), which was then a part of the Vincennes trail that went from Chicago to
Vincennes, Indiana Vincennes is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Indiana, Knox County, Indiana, United States. It is located on the lower Wabash River in the Southwestern Indiana, southwestern part of the state, nearly halfway between Evansville, Indi ...
. It was considerably larger and more refined than Rexford's previous venture, being a two-and-a half-story white frame building that also had various outbuildings to accommodate the needs of his guests. Because it was a day's journey from Chicago, within a few years the inn became the nucleus for a group of businesses that catered to the soldiers, cattlemen (with their herds) and other travelers who arrived by
stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
or otherwise frequented the Vincennes trail. Events hosted by the inn frequently lasted until the small hours of the morning, requiring an overnight stay before guests returned the next morning to their homes and places of business in Chicago and the hinterland. Through the 1970s, Blue Island's central business district ("uptown" to the locals) was regarded as an important regional commercial center, with stores such as
Woolworth's Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses * F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores * Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shops ...
, Kline's,
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,
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,
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and
Steak 'n Shake Steak 'n Shake Operations, Inc. (doing business as Steak 'n Shake) is an American casual restaurant chain concentrated primarily in the Midwestern United States with locations also in the South, Mid-Atlantic and Western United States, Europe, ...
. Today, downtown Blue Island is better known for its antique stores, art galleries, ethnic delicatessens and fine dining. Much of this shift in business activity has been brought on by " big box" development outside of town that space constraints make it impossible for uptown to accommodate. However, several local businesses have served the area for generations: DeMar's Restaurant, for example, opened its doors in 1950; Jebens Hardware was established in 1876; and Krueger Funeral Home was founded in 1858. In the 21st century, the city and a dedicated group of volunteers, working with the Metropolitan Planning Council of Chicago and the Center for Neighborhood Technology devised the ''Blue Island Plan for Economic Development'', which addresses not only the commercial expansion of the historic uptown business district, but also the continued improvement of the housing stock and industrial base. The Blue Island Opera House was built by Blue Island's first mayor John L. Zacharias to replace the Robinson Block, which was destroyed by the Great Blue Island Fire of that year. The opera house was host to
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
and
repertoire A repertoire () is a list or set of dramas, operas, musical compositions or roles which a company or person is prepared to perform. Musicians often have a musical repertoire. The first known use of the word ''repertoire'' was in 1847. It is a ...
shows until 1913, when it became the Grand Theater and a venue for
motion pictures A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
. In later years the building was home to the Blue Island ''Sun-Standard'' newspaper and Kline's Department Store. Although the auditorium has been remodeled out of existence, the building, with its award-winning exterior restoration, today provides both commercial and office space to the historic "uptown" district. The building has been designated as a landmark by the Blue Island Historic Preservation Commission It was designed by the American/Canadian architect Hugh Griffith Jones, who also designed Blue Island's first Greenwood School (demolished) and a commercial building with a flat above (c. 1895, extant, also now a city landmark) for Albert and Emma Schmidt at 312 (now 13022) Western Avenue. The architect's drawings for the opera house were used by Jones in the package he prepared to justify his successful application for membership in the
Royal Architectural Institute of Canada The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) is a not-for-profit, national organization that has represented architects and architecture for over 100 years, in existence since 1907. The RAIC is the leading voice for excellence in the built ...
.
Moraine Valley Community College Moraine Valley Community College is a public community college in Palos Hills, Illinois. Founded in 1967, it is surrounded by the Cook County Forest Preserves. The college also operates satellite centers in Blue Island and Tinley Park, Illin ...
operates a satellite facility uptown.


The Blue Island Market

For many years on the first Thursday of every month, Western Avenue south of the canal and to the city limits on 139th Street was host to an open-air market, the Blue Island Market, more commonly known as Market Day. The market was a place where farmers from a wide area surrounding Blue Island came to town to sell their wares to each other and to the public at large. As the postcard image to the right shows, items offered included produce, farm equipment, and livestock, with a local band thrown in to provide entertainment. Market Day began sometime in the last quarter of the 19th century and lasted until May 1924, when it was closed by the city council after a gradual influx of peddlers offering shoddy merchandise discouraged farmer participation and the market was deemed a public nuisance.


Brickyards

After it was discovered in the early 1850s that rich deposits of clay surrounded the ridge, Blue Island became the center of a significant brick-making industry that lasted for over a century. In the early years, these efforts were small, with the bricks being made by hand and the turnout created mostly for local use, but by 1886 the Illinois Pressed Brick Company (organized in 1884) was employing about 80 men and using "steam power and the most approved machinery", which allowed them to produce 50,000 bricks per day. By 1900, the Clifton Brickyard alone—which had opened in 1883 under the name of Purington at the far northeast corner of the village—was producing 150,000,000 bricks a year. In 1886, the Chicago architectural firm of Adler and Sullivan designed a large complex for the Wahl Brothers brickyard (the main building of which was ) on the west side of the Grand Trunk tracks south of 123rd street. These buildings had been demolished by 1935, and all of Blue Island's brickyards were re-purposed by the latter part of the mid-20th century. The larger ones for a while become landfills, and the Wahl Brothers location is now the site of the Meadows Golf Club.


The Portland question

Some sources state that the city of Blue Island was once officially (or commonly) known as Portland. This claim is erroneous. *Norman Rexford became the community's first permanent resident when he established the "Blue Island House" at the southern edge of the ridge in November 1836, where in 1838 he became the settlement's first postmaster. In his reminiscences published in the Blue Island ''Standard'' in 1876, Heber Rexford (who first came to the area in 1834 and was Cook County treasurer at the time of the
Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 10 ...
in 1871) related the following:
"The north end of the bench of land on which Blue Island stands was originally covered with a dense forest, and from Chicago, before the view was obstructed by buildings, this timber presented a blue appearance like smoke. Water was like-mirrored forth by the mirage which almost always prevailed, giving the timber the appearance of land surrounded by water, and it was from this circumstance that the hunters called it Blue Island, which name was perpetuated by my brother getting a Post Office located there, which was also called Blue Island – so much for the name."
*On April 13, 1839, Peter Barton and his partners (who included Gurdon Hubbard and John H. Kinzie) registered the plat of "Portland" with the state of Illinois. Portland had been laid out on land purchased from the federal government which was situated south of Vermont Street (more or less) and east of Wabash Road (what is now Western Avenue uptown, again, more or less). The
Little Calumet River The Calumet River is a system of heavily industrialized rivers and canals in the region between the south side of Chicago, Illinois, and the city of Gary, Indiana. Historically, the Little Calumet River and the Grand Calumet River were one, the ...
ran through the center of the platted area, and its promoters felt with this advantage that it would become a prosperous river town. They used their influence to have the local post office name changed from Blue Island to Portland (a circumstance that as time went by would be a source of aggravation to the people of Blue Island), and on May 1, 1839, this was accomplished. The post office, however, wasn't located within the platted area of Portland since there were no buildings in which to operate it, but in fact was on contiguous property to the west at the Blue Island House. Portland was never incorporated – it existed for many years by and large only as a plat of survey. No buildings of any consequence were erected there for nearly half a century. While some of the street names from Portland remain (although sometimes not entirely on their original courses), any of them that ''were'' laid out (and in fact a majority of them never were) waited in most cases for many years until they were needed. About half of the area was eventually annexed within what would become the corporate boundaries of Blue Island as time went by, and significant other sections of it became parts of the villages of
Calumet Park Calumet Park is a 198-acre (79-hectare) park in Chicago, Illinois. It provides access to Lake Michigan from the East Side neighborhood on the city's Southeast Side. The park contains approximately 0.9 miles (1.5 km) of lake frontage from ...
and Riverdale, the Joe Louis the Champ golf course, and unincorporated Calumet Township. According to John Volp, whose family had lived in Blue Island since 1862:
"'Portland' did not become a river town. Neither did the name 'Portland' ever come into general use. In spite of all the efforts of its promoters to popularize the locality the people preferred to live on top of the hill and call the place 'Blue Island'..."
*For reasons that remain unclear (but most likely because all of the development that was taking place in the area was occurring in the as yet unincorporated settlement of Blue Island to the north and west), the state legislature changed the name of the platted "town" of Portland to correspond with that of its neighbor. From the ''Laws of Illinois – 1842 and 1843'':
"An Act entitled AN ACT TO CHANGE THE NAME OF PORTLAND IN COOK COUNTY TO THE NAME OF BLUE ISLAND: Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly that the name of the place called Portland in Cook County, Illinois is hereby altered and changed to Blue Island and the same shall hereafter always be known and called by such name of Blue Island. Approved February 24, 1843."
At the same time, the post office department in Washington, D.C. changed the name of the post office to "Blue Island". In the 1903 edition of ''Blue Book for the State of Illinois'', the state shows 1843 as the year Blue Island was granted "incorporation under special acts", recognizing the existence of Portland, but not as an incorporated entity. (Blue Island would not officially incorporate for almost another three decades – see below.) *On April 20, 1850, the post office name was changed to " Worth", this time to coincide with the name of the township in which it was located. *The
Rock Island Railroad The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At the end ...
inaugurated service to the community in 1852. From the Chicago ''Journal'', May 27, 1852:
"The work of laying ties upon this Road (sic) between Chicago and Blue Island will be commenced next week. Mr. H. Fuller... will complete the work in the course of ten or fifteen days. Two hundred and thirty-six men are now employed on it."
:The "Rocket", as the train was called, pulled into the Vermont Street station (the only one in town then) for the first time on October 10, 1852. The Rock Island called the station "Blue Island". *On January 10, 1860, the post office name reverted again to "Blue Island". *On October 26, 1872, Blue Island incorporated as a village using the name by which it has always been known. Although about twenty percent of Portland was included within the corporate boundaries of the new village, that Portland was not an incorporated entity can be determined from the following excerpt that was taken from the petition that was submitted to the state to permit the election to consider incorporation: "... Your petitioners further represent that the territory herein described and bounded is not more than two (2) square miles, and that no part of the same is now included within the limits of any incorporated town, Village or City ..."


Historic buildings and structures

Bertrand Goldberg Bertrand Goldberg (July 17, 1913 – October 8, 1997) was an American architect and industrial designer, best known for the Marina City complex in Chicago, Illinois, the tallest reinforced concrete building in the world at the time of complet ...
designed the Dr. Aaron Heimbach House (1939). The house is one of only six surviving residential designs by the architect, and is a designated landmark in the City of Blue Island. In 2009, its owners received the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Award from Landmarks Illinois for the outstanding quality of the restoration work performed on the house during the previous four years. Because of its long history, the
built environment The term built environment refers to human-made conditions and is often used in architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, public health, sociology, and anthropology, among others. These curated spaces provide the setting for human ac ...
of Blue Island exhibits a broad range of
architectural style An architectural style is a set of characteristics and features that make a building or other structure notable or historically identifiable. It is a sub-class of style in the visual arts generally, and most styles in architecture relate closely ...
s and periods. Although largely built in the
vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
tradition, the works of notable architects, including
Adler and Sullivan Adler & Sullivan was an architectural firm founded by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan in Chicago. Among its projects was the multi-purpose Auditorium Building in Chicago and the Wainwright Building skyscraper in St Louis. In 1883 Louis Sullivan wa ...
, George Maher, August Fiedler,
Oscar Wenderoth Oscar Wenderoth (1871–1938) was an American architect who served as director of the Office of the Supervising Architect from 1912 to 1915. He is identified as the architect of many government buildings built during that period, including some li ...
, Robert E. Seyfarth, Perkins and Will, and
Bertrand Goldberg Bertrand Goldberg (July 17, 1913 – October 8, 1997) was an American architect and industrial designer, best known for the Marina City complex in Chicago, Illinois, the tallest reinforced concrete building in the world at the time of complet ...
, are featured throughout the community. The Bell/Hendriks house was designed and construction in 1947 for the Prize Homes competition which was sponsored and promoted by the ''Chicago Tribune'', and several thousand persons toured the "modified Colonial" home when it was built, with many of the visitors' comments reported in the newspaper during the month the house was open to the public for tours. Opening ceremonies were broadcast over WGN radio, and plans of the house and of the other twenty-three prize-winning designs from the competition were the subject of an exhibition at the
Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...
the previous year. The oldest section of Blue Island's city hall, built in 1891, was designed by Edmund R. Krause, who was the architect of the Majestic Building (along with its recently restored
Bank of America Theatre CIBC Theatre is a performing arts theater located at 18 West Monroe Street in the Loop area of downtown Chicago. It is operated by Broadway In Chicago, part of the Nederlander Organization. Opened in 1906 as the ''Majestic Theatre'', it currently ...
) in Chicago's
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The first buildings of Northwest Gas, Light and Coke Company in Blue Island were designed by
Holabird & Roche The architectural firm now known as Holabird & Root was founded in Chicago in 1880. Over the years, the firm has changed its name several times and adapted to the architectural style then current — from Chicago School to Art Deco to Modern ...
in 1902 (demolished). The city also has 22 houses known to have been built with mail-order kits sold by
Sears Modern Homes Sears Modern Homes were catalog and kit houses sold primarily through mail order by Sears, Roebuck and Co., an American retailer. From 1908 to 1942, Sears sold more than 70,000 of these houses in North America, by the company's count. Sears Mo ...
. There is one building in Blue Island listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
, 27 are included as part of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency's Historic Architectural and Archaeology Resources Geographic Information System, and 41 individual buildings and one district have been designated as local landmarks by the Blue Island Historic Preservation Commission. The city's newest development is Fay's Point, a gated community built at the confluence of the Calumet River and the Calumet Sag Channel on the site of the home of Jerome Fay, who had settled there in 1850. The
Libby, McNeill and Libby Building The Libby, McNeill and Libby Building is an industrial building on Western Avenue (Chicago), Western Avenue in Blue Island, Illinois. It was designed by Philip Larmon and built between 1917 and 1919. It originally served as Libby, McNeill and Libb ...
, which operated as Libby, McNeill and Libby's main Midwest processing plant from 1918 to 1968, is a prominent historic remnant of Blue Island's industrial heritage, located three blocks south of downtown Blue Island on Western Avenue.


The American House

One of the oldest buildings in Blue Island, the American House was built in 1839 as the courthouse for
Lake County, Indiana Lake County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. In 2020, its population was 498,700, making it Indiana's List of counties in Indiana, second-most populous county. The county seat is Crown Point, Indiana, Cro ...
—a function it never actually had the chance to serve, as the county seat was moved from Liverpool to Crown Point in 1840. In 1844, the building was disassembled, sent by raft up the
Little Calumet River The Calumet River is a system of heavily industrialized rivers and canals in the region between the south side of Chicago, Illinois, and the city of Gary, Indiana. Historically, the Little Calumet River and the Grand Calumet River were one, the ...
, and reassembled in Blue Island. The building originally stood on the west side of Western Avenue north of Vermont Street, (where Three Sisters Antique Mall stands today. It was popular among Southerners who used it as a summer boarding house and with the contractors who built the feeder canal for the
Illinois and Michigan Canal The Illinois and Michigan Canal connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. In Illinois, it ran from the Chicago River in Bridgeport, Chicago to the Illinois River at LaSalle-Peru. The canal crossed the Chicago Por ...
. After the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
it was used as a home for retired soldiers. Although it was built after the invention of balloon framing, the building is constructed using the
timber framing Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...
method, evidence of which is still clearly visible in the basement and attic. However, while its
Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...
roots are discernible, the building is much remodeled and serves today as a private residence. Greek Revival was the architectural style of choice in the early years of Blue Island's history. Many of the buildings that remain from those days have been similarly remodeled, but some of the most well-preserved examples of the style, albeit in a vernacular form, can be seen either in the Walter P. Roche House on York Street or the Henry Schuemann House on Western Avenue.


The Joshua P. Young House

An ad appeared in the book ''Chicago and Its Suburbs'', which was published in 1874 in part to promote the interests of real estate developers in the Chicago area. Note the mention of the firm's holdings in Englewood, South Lawn (later
Harvey Harvey, Harveys or Harvey's may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Harvey'' (play), a 1944 play by Mary Chase about a man befriended by an invisible anthropomorphic rabbit * Harvey Awards ("Harveys"), one of the most important awards ...
), Homewood and Washington Heights (later Morgan Park), the latter of which was purchased in 1869 for $150 per acre from the tract that was then being developed by the Blue Island Land and Building Co. The house was built by Carlton Wadhams (1810–1891), who came to Blue Island in 1839 from
Goshen, Connecticut Goshen is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,150 at the 2020 census. Geography Goshen is in central Litchfield County and is bordered to the east by the city of Torrington. According to the United State ...
, and farmed on land north of the village until he opened the American House Hotel (building extant) in 1844. During his time in Blue Island, Wadhams made his first fortune as the owner of the hotel and as a cattle dealer, staying until c. 1857 when he sold his holdings and moved to
South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...
. In South Bend he was one of the founders of the Dodge Manufacturing Company and of the First National Bank, where he was a director until his death. Wadhams sold the house along with all of the property on which it was located, which included the American House and all of the land between what is today Western Avenue, Maple Avenue, Burr Oak Avenue and Vermont Street to Joshua Palmer Young (1818–1889), who, by himself beginning in 1848 and in a partnership with John K. Rowley that was established in 1866, played an important role in the development of the Chicago communities of
Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...
, Morgan Park, Near West Side, Washington Heights and Englewood, as well as the suburban communities of Blue Island, South Lawn (now
Harvey Harvey, Harveys or Harvey's may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Harvey'' (play), a 1944 play by Mary Chase about a man befriended by an invisible anthropomorphic rabbit * Harvey Awards ("Harveys"), one of the most important awards ...
), Homewood and South Holland. Young operated the hotel for a time and was otherwise active in local affairs. He served from 1878–1880 as the president of the village board, and was a founder of the Congregational church (now Christ Memorial United Church of Christ). He was one of the incorporators, a director and secretary of the Chicago, Blue Island and Indiana Railroad Company (now part of the
Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; french: Grand Tronc) was a railway system that operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The rai ...
), whose charter was approved by the state of Illinois on March 7, 1867. The house is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
and is included in the State of Illinois' Historic Architectural and Archaeology Resources Geographic Information System.


USS ''Blue Island Victory''

On December 28, 1944, 91 days after her keel was laid, the USS ''Blue Island Victory'' was launched from the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard in
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, Maryland. Dubbed "the Ugly Duckling of the merchant marine" by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
,
Victory ship The Victory ship was a class of cargo ship produced in large numbers by North American shipyards during World War II to replace losses caused by German submarines. They were a more modern design compared to the earlier Liberty ship, were sli ...
s were armed cargo ships that were built during
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 opposin ...
to transport troops and supplies wherever in the world their services were required. Of the 550 or so built, 218 were named after American cities. The USS ''Blue Island Victory'' was a type VC 2-S-AP2, which was long, wide, and had a
draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...
. It was equipped with a gun on the stern for enemy submarines, a anti-aircraft gun, and a 20 mm cannon. The ''Blue Island Victory'' served variously as a troop ship and as a cattle transport ship, and saw service in the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. It was scrapped in 1972.


City hall

The oldest portion of Blue Island's city hall was built in 1891 and designed by Edmund R. Krause, a prominent Chicago architect who among other buildings designed the 20-story Majestic Theatre building in Chicago's Loop at what is now 22 W. Monroe Street (the theater, whose interiors were designed by
Rapp and Rapp C. W. & George L. Rapp, commonly known as Rapp & Rapp, was an American architectural firm famed for the design of movie palaces and other theatres. Active from 1906 to 1965 and based in Chicago, the office designed over 400 theatres, inclu ...
, has been renamed several time in the last fifty years – most recently in 2015 when it became the
PrivateBank Theatre CIBC Theatre is a performing arts theater located at 18 West Monroe Street in the Loop area of downtown Chicago. It is operated by Broadway In Chicago, part of the Nederlander Organization. Opened in 1906 as the ''Majestic Theatre'', it currently ...
). An annex to city hall was built in 1925 according to plans by the Chicago architectural firm of Doerr, Lindquist and Doerr. The design for the annex was apparently a conscious effort to complement the post office building across the street and built using similar brick and a closely related architectural style, although not on as grand a scale. The Blue Island Post Office was designed by
Oscar Wenderoth Oscar Wenderoth (1871–1938) was an American architect who served as director of the Office of the Supervising Architect from 1912 to 1915. He is identified as the architect of many government buildings built during that period, including some li ...
and built in 1914. Wenderoth was associated with the building of many government buildings of the period, including the Senate and House Office Buildings in Washington, D.C. Beginning in the 1870s, the water supply for Blue Island was supplied by three
artesian wells An artesian aquifer is a confined aquifer containing groundwater under positive pressure. An artesian aquifer has trapped water, surrounded by layers of impermeable rock or clay, which apply positive pressure to the water contained within th ...
, whose water was pumped by a windmill to a storage tank that sat on top of a high stone tower behind the City Hall building. The city began to receive its water from
Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...
in August 1915 after the water from the wells began to acquire a gaseous odor whose source was apparently the Public Service Company whose facilities were located about a quarter mile to the southwest, and the tank was subsequently removed.


Religion

Although religious gatherings have taken place in Blue Island almost since the community was founded in 1836, the first denominational services took place in 1850 with the founding of the Central Methodist Church (predecessor to today's Grace United Methodist Church). Blue Island continues to respect the tradition of its early settlers by maintaining many of the congregations that were established there during these early years, and also by hosting new places of worship that serve the needs of new residents of this culturally diverse community.


Etymology

The north-central section of the city of Blue Island is located at the south end of a glacial moraine that once was an island when the waters from
Lake Chicago Lake Chicago was a prehistoric proglacial lake that is the ancestor of what is now known as Lake Michigan, one of North America's five Great Lakes. Fed by retreating glaciers, it drained south through the Chicago Outlet River. Origin The c ...
covered the surrounding area at the former lake's Glenwood Stage. Early pioneers gave the ridge the name because at a distance it looked like an island set in a trackless
prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
sea. The blue color was attributed to atmospheric scattering or to blue flowers growing on the ridge. The Chicago ''Democrat'', February, 1834 described it:
"Nearly south of this town and twelve miles
9 km 9 km (russian: 9 км) is the name of several rural localities in Russia: * 9 km, Republic of Mordovia, a settlement of the crossing in Plodopitomnichesky Selsoviet of Ruzayevsky District of the Republic of Mordovia; * 9 km, Orenburg Oblast, a cr ...
distant is Blue Island. This name is particularly appropriate. It is a table of land about six miles 0 kmlong and an average of two miles .2 kmwide, of an oval form and rising some forty feet 2 mout of an immense plain which surrounds it on every side. The sides and slopes of this table, as well as the table itself, are covered with a handsome growth of timber, forming a belt surrounding about four or five thousand acres of beautiful table land. In summer, the plain is covered with luxurious herbage. It is uninhabited, and when we visited it, from its stillness, loneliness, and quiet, we pronounced it a vast vegetable solitude. The ridge, when viewed from a distance, appears standing in an azure mist of vapor, hence the appellation 'Blue Island'."


Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Blue Island has a total area of , of which (or 97.93%) is land and (or 2.07%) is water.


Surrounding areas

:
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
: Alsip
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
: Alsip / Robbins
Calumet Park Calumet Park is a 198-acre (79-hectare) park in Chicago, Illinois. It provides access to Lake Michigan from the East Side neighborhood on the city's Southeast Side. The park contains approximately 0.9 miles (1.5 km) of lake frontage from ...
: Midlothian Riverdale : Posen / Dixmoor


Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 22,558 people, 7,926 households, and 5,457 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 9,137 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 30.71%
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 22.53%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 1.93% Native American, 0.44%
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.07%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 26.47% from
other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 17.84% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...
of any race were 51.95% of the population. There were 7,926 households, out of which 61.06% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.42% were married couples living together, 22.63% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.15% were non-families. 26.27% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.45% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.56 and the average family size was 2.91. The city's age distribution consisted of 24.7% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $51,859, and the median income for a family was $58,815. Males had a median income of $32,453 versus $30,785 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...
for the city was $23,061. About 12.4% of families and 18.3% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 27.5% of those under age 18 and 13.3% of those age 65 or over. ''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''


Arts and culture


Tourism


Blue Island Area Sports Hall of Fame

As part of its focus, the park district serves the needs of the community by sponsoring
Little League Baseball Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizationfootball Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
, softball and other sports activities. It is also host to the Blue Island Area Sports Hall of Fame, which was sponsored by the Blue Island ''Sun Standard'' and founded by its sports editor, Don Rizzs. As part of a community that is heavily involved in sports on many levels, the Hall of Fame is a repository of photos and biographies of many individuals who have distinguished themselves on the playing field, both on the local level and in the international spotlight.


Parks and recreation

The
park district A park district is a form of local special-purpose district for providing public parks and recreation in or near its geographic boundaries. Some park districts also own or maintain related cultural facilities such as monuments, zoos, sports venu ...
was formed in 1909 and in 1912 acquired the property of the late Benjamin Sanders, who was Blue Island's first village president when the village incorporated in 1872 and served as the chairman of the building committee of the
Cook County Board The Cook County Board of Commissioners is a legislative body made up of 17 commissioners who are elected by district, and a president who is elected county-wide, all for four-year terms. Cook County, which includes the City of Chicago, is the Uni ...
after the
Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 10 ...
of 1871. The property was laid out by the Chicago engineer V.B. Roberts with architectural work by A.R. Grosse and included Sanders' home, which was remodeled into a field house and also provided living quarters for the park's superintendent. Central Park eventually offered tennis courts, playground equipment, and the community's first swimming pool. It was vacated by the park district in 1965 when St. Francis Hospital acquired the property for $325,000. () to build its east campus there. Memorial Park, the city's next public park, was dedicated on Decoration Day (now
Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...
), 1922, in ceremonies that were presided over by Brigadier General Abel Davis of Glencoe, Illinois. The section of Memorial Park running adjacent to Burr Oak Avenue with of frontage on Highland Avenue had originally been laid out as a cemetery in the early 1850s, when this section of Blue Island was a long walk from the populated section of the town. Although the cemetery was added to and improved in subsequent years, it was closed by village ordinance in 1898, and almost all of the remains interred there were moved to Mt. Greenwood Cemetery in Chicago, which had been developed by citizens from Blue Island. The acquisition of the entire parcel bounded by Burr Oak Avenue, Highland Avenue, Walnut Street and the B & O tracks was completed by the park district in 1935. The park at that point had reached its present size of , and eventually, with the help of President
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
's Alphabet agencies, was provided with landscaping and acquired an outdoor swimming pool, playground equipment, and an
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
stadium that seated 1,000 persons (demolished in December 2009). With the closing of Central Park, Memorial Park has become the flagship of the Blue Island park system. The site of Centennial Park on the east side of Blue Island was acquired from the East Side Development Association in 1935 for $11,500 (). This park provides a field house, athletic fields and playground equipment. The city operates the Meadows Golf Club, a , 18-hole
golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...
that was designed by J. Porter Gibson and opened in 1994.


Government

Nearly all of Blue Island is in
Illinois's 1st congressional district Illinois's first congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Illinois. Based in Cook County, the district includes much of the South Side of Chicago, and continues southwest to Joliet. From 2003 to early 2013 it ext ...
; the portion east of
Interstate 57 Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway in Missouri and Illinois that parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route. It runs from Sikeston, Missouri, at I-55 to Chicago, Illinois, at I-94. I-57 ess ...
is in the 2nd district.


Education

As the largest settlement in the southern part of Cook County in the middle of the nineteenth century, Blue Island was an important trading and cultural center. The village offered educational opportunity to its residents as early as 1845 in the form of a private school for girls that was operated by local citizens, and public education was introduced in 1846 with the construction of a one-room schoolhouse that served the community exclusively for that purpose until the first Whittier School was built in 1854. The one-room schoolhouse was repurposed several times in subsequent years and still stands, much remodeled, as a comfortable house on Greenwood Avenue. Blue Island hosted a number of educational conferences during the 1850s, and because of this (and through the influence of Benjamin Sanders, whose tenure with the Cook County Board was during that time)
Chicago State University Chicago State University (CSU) is a predominantly black public university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1867 as the Cook County Normal School, it was an innovative teachers college. Eventually the Chicago Public Schools assumed control of t ...
was founded in Blue Island in 1867 as the Cook County Normal (or Teacher's) School in the classrooms of the old Whittier School building on Vermont Street. This arrangement lasted until 1870, when the new campus for the college was completed in what is now the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago on of land that was donated by L. W. Beck for the purpose in 1868. The public school district as a legal entity (now Cook County School District 130) was established in 1887, and the current high school district (Community High School District 218) was created in 1927, replacing earlier versions from 1897 and 1903. Blue Island Community High School (now Dwight D. Eisenhower High School) was accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools (now North Central Association – Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement) in 1899. As president of
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
,
Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
was the keynote speaker at the dedication of the new facility on Sacramento Avenue for Blue Island Community High School in 1951, and the building was renamed in his honor in 1962.AmericanTowns.com
accessed 02/05/2009
A portion of Blue Island is within the
Posen-Robbins School District 143½ Posen-Robbins School District 143½ is a school district based in Posen, Illinois near Chicago, United States. The district, which serves all or portions of Posen, Robbins, Blue Island, Harvey, and Markham, is about 20 minutes of transportation ...
.


Elementary and middle schools

Most residents of Blue Island live within the boundaries of Cook County School District 130. The grade school district serves not only Blue Island, but also much of Crestwood, some of Robbins and a fraction of Alsip. Residents in the far Southeast of the city have students who attend Calumet Public School District 132. There are no schools from District 132 within the Blue Island boundary. District 130 Boundaries: * Blue Island: 123rd Street and 119th Streets (south sides only); Westside of Division * Crestwood: Eastside of Central Avenue; 139th Street to the Turnpike (north sides only) * Crestwood/Alsip: 127th Street * Robbins/Blue Island: North side of 135th Street Name changes: *Greenwood School → Blue Island Community High School Freshman Building → Everett Kerr School → Veterans Memorial School (2015) What is now called Greenwood School is not the original (which is located on the corner of 123rd St. and Greenwood Street)(Currently inactive) *Blue Island Community High School → Eisenhower Freshman Campus → Everett Kerr School Other public schools include: *Everett F. Kerr Middle School – 12915 S. Maple Ave. Serving grades 6–8 *Greenbriar School – 12015 S. Maple Ave. Serving students in alternative placement, grades 1–8 *Greenwood School – 12418 Highland Ave Presently used as a parent education and training site *Horace Mann – 2975 W. Broadway Serving students in pre-K *Lincoln Elementary School – 2140 W. Broadway St. Serving students in grades K–3 *Paul Revere Intermediate School – 12331 S. Gregory St. Serving students in grades 4–6 *Paul Revere Primary School – 2300 W. 123rd Pl. Serving students in grades K–3 *Veteran's Memorial Middle School – 12320 S. Greenwood Serving grades 6–8 *Whittier Elementary School – 13043 S. Maple Serving students in grades 4–6 Private elementary and middle schools include: * St. Benedict School – 2324 W. New St. * St. Donatus – inactive


High schools

The public high school is: * Dwight D. Eisenhower High School – 12700 S. Sacramento Ave. In 1903, a high school district, separate from District 130 was voted into law by the IL state legislature. For many years (at least until 1938), the superintendent of the high school district was the same for District 130; their school boundaries being virtually identical (the only difference being the inclusion of a cemetery in the high school district!). In August 1927, the Blue Island Community High School District 218 was established.Blue Island: The First 100 Years by John Henry Volp In 1916, there were 250 pupils at Seymour School who were following the high school curriculum. By 1927, the population had grown to 428 pupils despite the fact that the school was built to accommodate 250 students maximum. There are no active private high schools in the Blue Island community, although the Mother of Sorrows High School for Girls operated from 1954 through 1983. It was run by sisters from the order of the Servants of Mary ( Mantellates). There was an attached grade school that served both boys and girls and had a boarding option for students who lived there full time. Most students were boarders.


Higher education

*
Moraine Valley Community College Moraine Valley Community College is a public community college in Palos Hills, Illinois. Founded in 1967, it is surrounded by the Cook County Forest Preserves. The college also operates satellite centers in Blue Island and Tinley Park, Illin ...
– 12940 S. Western Ave.


Special education

Public schools include: *Able Program, Garfield School – 13801 S. Chatham St. *Academy for Learning – 13813 S. Western Ave. Private schools include: *Blue Cap School – 2155 W. Broadway St. The keynote speaker for the dedication of Blue Cap in October 1967 was then-Senator
Charles H. Percy Charles Harting Percy (September 27, 1919 – September 17, 2011) was an American businessman and politician. He was president of the Bell & Howell Corporation from 1949 to 1964, and served as a Republican U.S. senator from Illinois from 1967 ...
.


Infrastructure


Transportation


Public transportation

The city is a hub for
Metra Metra is the commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 242 stations on 11 rail lines. ...
trains, with six stations, four of them along the
Rock Island District The Rock Island District (RI) is a Metra commuter rail line from Chicago, Illinois, southwest to Joliet. Metra does not refer to its lines by color, but the timetable accents for the Rock Island District line are "Rocket Red" in honor of the Ch ...
line: 119th Street, 123rd Street, Prairie Street, and Vermont Street. The Rock Island District line splits at Gresham, northeast of Blue Island, and the branch, known alternately as the "Beverly", "Blue Island", or "Suburban" branch, serves the Chicago communities of Gresham,
Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...
, and Morgan Park. The Rock Island District uses the stations in Blue Island between 119th Street to the north and Vermont Street, where the tracks rejoin the main line, to the south. The branch line was built in 1888 as a result of efforts by the Blue Island Land and Building Company to promote its interests in what was to become the town, and eventually, the Chicago neighborhood of Morgan Park. The Vermont Street station—which is one of the oldest in the Metra network, having been built in 1868—is across the street from the fifth station, which serves as the terminus of a
Metra Electric The Metra Electric District is an electrified commuter rail line owned and operated by Metra which connects Millennium Station (formerly Randolph Street Station), in downtown Chicago, with the city's southern suburbs. As of 2018, it is the fift ...
(formerly the Illinois Central) spur line. This depot was witness to national history in a series of events that began on June 29, 1894, when rioting broke out in the Blue Island yards of the
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At the end ...
after an appearance by the president of the American Railway Union,
Eugene Debs Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the sin ...
, who had given a speech that day in support of the striking workers of the
Pullman Palace Car Company The Pullman Company, founded by George Pullman, was a manufacturer of railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Through rapid late-19th century ...
in
Pullman, Illinois Pullman, one of Chicago's 77 defined community areas, is a neighborhood located on the city's South Side. Twelve miles from the Chicago Loop, Pullman is situated adjacent to Lake Calumet. The area known as Pullman encompasses a much wider ...
, four miles (6 km) to the east. During the riot several buildings were set on fire and a locomotive was knocked off the tracks. After numerous incidents in Blue Island and elsewhere that continued through July 2, President
Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...
responded by sending federal troops to Illinois to maintain the peace and to ensure the safe delivery of the mail. Troops arrived in Blue Island on July 4 and remained for several days. The sixth station, also on the electric line, is a half mile north on Burr Oak Avenue (127th Street) and Lincoln Avenue. Blue Island is also served by Pace Suburban Bus.


Other transportation

Blue Island is from O'Hare International Airport and from
Midway International Airport Chicago Midway International Airport , typically referred to as Midway Airport, Chicago Midway, or simply Midway, is a major commercial airport on the Southwest side of Chicago, Illinois, located approximately 12 miles (19 km) from the Lo ...
. It is located a half mile west of
Interstate 57 Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway in Missouri and Illinois that parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route. It runs from Sikeston, Missouri, at I-55 to Chicago, Illinois, at I-94. I-57 ess ...
, one and a half miles east of the
Tri-State Tollway The Tri-State Tollway is a toll highway in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. It follows: *Interstate 80 from I-94/I-294/IL 394 in South Holland to I-294 in Hazel Crest; *Interstate 294 from I-80/I-94/IL 394 in South Holl ...
, and is bisected by Western Avenue, which in Blue Island is part of the historic
Dixie Highway Dixie Highway was a United States auto trail first planned in 1914 to connect the Midwest with the South. It was part of a system and was expanded from an earlier Miami to Montreal highway. The final system is better understood as a network of ...
that in its heyday connected Chicago with
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
, Florida.


Public library

A
lending library A lending library is a library from which books and other media are lent out. The major classifications are endowed libraries, institutional libraries (the most diverse), public libraries, and subscription libraries. It may also refer to a library ...
has been in existence in some form or another in Blue Island since about 1845, when Thomas McClintock began to make his private library of about 100 volumes available to the public for a nominal fee. The founding of the library as a publicly supported institution dates to 1854, when the library's collection, which at this time numbered around 800 volumes, was housed in the new Whittier School building on Vermont Street. The library expanded again in 1890 when the Current Topics Club, predecessor to the Blue Island Woman's Club, opened a small reading room above Edward Seyfarth's hardware store on Western Avenue with a collection of about 1,500 books and various
periodicals A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a journal are also exampl ...
which were acquired with funds that were donated by the community through public subscription. Except for what was in the hands of patrons, this library's collection was destroyed by the Great Blue Island Fire of 1896. The public library as a taxpayer-supported institution was founded in 1897, and the first building built in Blue Island expressly for the purpose of housing the library's collection (by this time up to 3,200 volumes) was made possible by a matching grant of $15,000 () provided by
Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...
in 1903. This building was demolished in 1969 when the current library, which opened housing the library's collection of over 70,000 volumes, was built. Today, the Blue Island Public Library provides a host of services, including multi-language reading materials, computers with internet access, public meeting rooms and a wide variety of educational programs. The library is a member of the Reaching Across Illinois Library System and is host to the Blue Island Historical Society's award-winning Museum Room.


Health care

Blue Island was for many years home to St. Francis Hospital and its successor MetroSouth Medical Center, long nationally recognized as one of the nation's premier
cardiovascular The blood circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the entire body of a human or other vertebrate. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, tha ...
primary care Primary care is the day-to-day healthcare given by a health care provider. Typically this provider acts as the first contact and principal point of continuing care for patients within a healthcare system, and coordinates other specialist care t ...
centers. The hospital was founded as Saint Francis Hospital in 1905 by the Sisters of St. Mary (currently the
Franciscan Sisters of Mary The Franciscan Sisters of Mary is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of religious sisters based in St. Louis, Missouri, noted for its operation of SSM Health Care, a group of some 20 hospitals throughout the Midwestern United States. It was ...
). They had purchased the home of the late Ernst Uhlich in 1905 for $30,000 () and updated its systems to outfit the building for its new purpose. At the time, this section of Gregory Street was lined with churches and the homes of some of Blue Island's more prosperous citizens. The facility was outgrown immediately, and within a few weeks of opening plans were being drawn up to add additional rooms and a laundry so that the hospital could accommodate up to 30 patients. A major addition was added in 1916, at which time the house was converted to office space. It was demolished in 1948 to allow room for the next addition. The Sisters of St. Mary relinquished ownership of the facility to MetroSouth Medical Center on July 30, 2008. In 2014, '' U.S. News & World Report'' ranked MetroSouth as one among the top 25 percent of hospitals in the Chicago metropolitan region and among the top 15 percent in the state of Illinois. Citing "low patient volume" the hospital was closed in 2019. The campus of the former hospital occupies about in the heart of Blue Island's uptown commercial business district.


Notable people

* Marcheline Bertrand, actress, mother of
Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...
, born in Blue Island *
Gary Bettenhausen Gary Bettenhausen (November 18, 1941 – March 16, 2014) was an American auto racing driver. He was born in Blue Island, Illinois, raised in Tinley Park, Illinois, graduated in the class of 1962 from Bremen High School (Midlothian, Illinois) in ...
, 1980 & 1983
USAC Silver Crown Series The United States Auto Club (USAC) is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapol ...
Champion, was born in Blue Island. * Peter Brown, singer-songwriter and performer, co-wrote Madonna's song "
Material Girl "Material Girl" is a song recorded by American singer Madonna for her second studio album, '' Like a Virgin'' (1984). It was released on November 30, 1984, by the Sire label as the second single from ''Like a Virgin''. It also appears slightly ...
"; born in Blue Island * Danny Clark, NFL linebacker 2000–10; born in Blue Island * Kris Cooke, Arena Football League player, was born in Blue Island * Joe Day, retired ice hockey center *
John Franklin Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. After serving in wars against Napoleonic France and the United States, he led two expeditions into the Canadian Arctic and through t ...
, actor and writer * Bobby Frasor, basketball player for
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
's 2009 NCAA champions, was born in Blue Island *
Curtis Granderson Curtis Granderson Jr. (born March 16, 1981), nicknamed the "Grandyman", is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Ange ...
, outfielder for
Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...
,
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
,
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
,
Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
, and
Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
; three-time All-Star, was born in Blue Island *
Marty Grebb Marty may refer to: Names * Marty (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters, also includes stage names * Marty (surname), a list of people Places in the United States * Marty, California, a former settlement * Marty, ...
, musician * Helen L. Koch, developmental psychologist who studied characteristics of twin and non-twin siblings *
Don Kolloway Donald Martin Kolloway (August 4, 1918 – June 30, 1994), was a Major League Baseball player who played 12 years as an infielder for the Chicago White Sox (1940–1943, 1946–1949), Detroit Tigers (1949–1952) and Philadelphia Athletics (1953). ...
, Major League Baseball infielder for
Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...
,
Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...
* Ted Leverenz, Illinois businessman and state legislator *
Tony Lovato Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...
, musician in band
Mest Mest is an American rock band originally formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Tony Lovato, bassist Matt Lovato, drummer Nick Gigler, and guitarist Jeremiah Rangel. They broke up in 2006 after eleven years, but temporarily reformed in Califor ...
* Pete Lovrich, Major League Baseball pitcher * Douglas A. Melton, professor and
stem cell In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type o ...
research scientist at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
who ''Time'' magazine in 2007 included as one of the "...100 men and women whose power, talent or moral example is transforming the world." *
Joe Moeller Joseph Douglas Moeller (born February 15, 1943 in Blue Island, Illinois) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1962 to 1971. Moeller is the youngest starting pitcher in Dodgers history at 19 yea ...
, Major League Baseball pitcher for
Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
, was born in Blue Island *
Rob Ninkovich Robert Michael Ninkovich (born February 1, 1984) is a former American football outside linebacker who played eleven seasons in National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Purdue as a defensive end and was drafted by the New Orle ...
, defensive end for New England Patriots, two-time Super Bowl champion, was born in Blue Island * Romie J. Palmer, jurist and legislator *
Christian Picciolini Christian Marco Picciolini (born November 3, 1973) is an American former extremist who is the founder of the Free Radicals Project, a global network working to prevent extremism and help people disengage from hate movements. He is the author of ...
, author, Emmy Award winner, social justice activist * La Julia Rhea (1898–1992), first black performer to star in the title role of a major opera company, in 1937 *
Rick Rizzs Rick Rizzs (born November 17, 1953) is an American sportscaster and is the lead radio voice for Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners. Early life and career Rizzs is from Blue Island, Illinois, where he attended Eisenhower High School, and h ...
, Major League Baseball commentator for
Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...
, grew up in Blue Island *
Ronald Rotunda Ronald D. Rotunda (February 14, 1945 – March 14, 2018) was an American legal scholar and professor of law at Chapman University School of Law. Rotunda's first area of primary expertise is United States Constitutional law, and is the author of an ...
, noted Constitutional scholar, Assistant Majority Counsel for the
Senate Watergate Committee The Senate Watergate Committee, known officially as the Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, was a special committee established by the United States Senate, , in 1973, to investigate the Watergate scandal, with the power to inv ...
, and Senior Fellow at the
Cato Institute The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.Koch Ind ...
, grew up in Rock Island. * Eugene Rousseau, saxophonist, was born in Blue Island *
Robert A. Schuller Robert Anthony Schuller (born October 7, 1954) is an American author, televangelist and pastor. He is the only son of Crystal Cathedral founders Robert H. Schuller and Arvella Schuller. He was formerly a minister on the ''Hour of Power'' weekly ...
, televangelist, former minister on the ''
Hour of Power ''Hour of Power'' is a weekly American Evangelist television program broadcast from Shepherd's Grove Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California, near Los Angeles. It is one of the most watched religious broadcasts in the world, seen by approximat ...
'' TV show at the
Crystal Cathedral Christ Cathedral (Latin: ''Cathedralis Christi''; Spanish: ''Catedral de Cristo''; Vietnamese: ''Nhà Thờ Chính Tòa Chúa Kitô''), formerly and informally known as the Crystal Cathedral, is an American church building of the Diocese of Or ...
, was born in Blue Island * Robert E. Seyfarth, early 20th century architect *
Gary Sinise Gary Alan Sinise (; born March 17, 1955) is an American actor, humanitarian, and musician. Among other awards, he has won a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards. He has also received a sta ...
, actor, director, and musician * Del Staecker, author * Tom Toth, NFL player, was born in Blue Island * George "Babe" Tuffanelli, mafia boss * Steve Wojciechowski, MLB pitcher for
Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...
, was born in Blue Island *
Anthony E. Zuiker Anthony E. Zuiker (pronounced ; born August 17, 1968) is an American television writer, television producer, and author. He is best known as the creator of ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''. He produced all four editions of the ''CSI'' franc ...
, creator of TV series '' CSI'', was born in Blue Island *
Chip Z'nuff Enuff Z'Nuff (a sensational spelling of "enough's enough") is an American rock band from Blue Island, Illinois, founded by singer Donnie Vie and bassist Chip Z'Nuff. The Chicago-area band is best known for their charting singles " Fly High Miche ...
, bassist and frontman of rock band Enuff Z'Nuff, raised and still resides in Blue Island


In popular culture


Writers and literature

Over the years, Blue Island has provided the setting for the works of at least a couple of writers. In 1935, for example, the Chicago playwright and
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
-winning author Margaret Ayer Barnes (1886-–1967) wrote the novel ''Edna, His Wife, an American Idyll'', using Blue Island as the first locale of the four that make up her story (the other three being Chicago,
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, and
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
). The book chronicles the life of the title character who spent her formative years in Blue Island but leaves after she marries, becoming increasingly unhappy as she leads a more sophisticated life elsewhere while "...remain nga Blue Island girl at heart." The book was later adapted into a one-woman play by
Cornelia Otis Skinner Cornelia Otis Skinner (May 30, 1899 – July 9, 1979) was an American writer and actress. Biography Skinner was the only child of actor Otis Skinner and actress Maud Durbin. After attending the all-girls' Baldwin School and Bryn Mawr College ...
, and her opening night performance of it at the Harris Theater was enthusiastically received by Chicago society, which was pleased to "...have a chance to see a Chicago play in a Chicago theater..." Twelve years later, ''Gus the Great'', the
Book of the Month Club Book of the Month (founded 1926) is a United States subscription-based e-commerce service that offers a selection of five to seven new hardcover books each month to its members. Books are selected and endorsed by a panel of judges, and members ...
selection for September 1947, was published. The book was a runaway best seller, and its author, Thomas W. Duncan, is reputed to have earned $250,000 () in royalties from it, including $100,000 () from Universal Studios for the movie rights. It is the story of the life and adventures of Gus Burgoyne, a circus owner of questionable character. Duncan was a college friend of Hill Lakin, the editor of the Blue Island ''Sun-Standard'', and, after a visit to the town's industrial section, he was inspired to use it for several scenes for his book.


Music

Because of the wide popularity of performers such as
W. C. Handy William Christopher Handy (November 16, 1873 – March 28, 1958) was an American composer and musician who referred to himself as the Father of the Blues. Handy was one of the most influential songwriters in the United States. One of many musici ...
, the
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
became a popular musical genre during the
Roaring Twenties The Roaring Twenties, sometimes stylized as Roaring '20s, refers to the 1920s decade in music and fashion, as it happened in Western society and Western culture. It was a period of economic prosperity with a distinctive cultural edge in the ...
. It is not surprising, then, that when
Wendell Hall Wendell Woods Hall (August 23, 1896, St. George, Kansas – April 2, 1969, Fairhope, Alabama) was an American country singer, vaudeville artist, songwriter, pioneer radio performer, Victor recording artist and ukulele player. Biography Hall wa ...
, Harry Geise and Emory O'Hara were looking for a title for their 1923 composition, they hit upon the name "Blue Island Blues" The sheet music for it was published that year by Waterson, Berlin & Snyder Co. Described by ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' art critic John S. Wilson as a "striking and colorful original composition", it is a plaintive love song about a man who is missing his girl and "...has a ticket to Chicago..." that will be used to help him "... lose – those Yesterday's – Blue Island Blues". It was performed in 1923 by Hall with The Virginians on the
Victor Talking Machine Company The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...
(now
RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
) record label and again in 1929 by Tiny Parham. An instrumental version is currently available on the CD by
George Shearing Sir George Albert Shearing, (13 August 1919 14 February 2011) was a British jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. Shearing was the composer of over 300 ...
and
Brian Torff Brian Q. Torff (born March 16, 1954 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American jazz double-bassist, songwriter and composer. Career Teacher Brian Q. Torff is a Professor of Music and the director of the music program at Fairfield University in Fairfie ...
entitled ''Lullaby of Birdland: Blues Alley Jazz/On a Clear Day'' which was released by
Concord Records Concord Records is an American record label owned by Concord and based in Los Angeles, California. Concord Records was launched in 1995 as an imprint designed to reach beyond the company's foundational Concord Jazz label. The label's artists have ...
in 2000.


Television and film

This layout is from a 1911 Sanborn map Founded in 1856 as the Busch and Brandt brewery and consolidated with United Breweries in 1898, this was one of four such establishments that operated in Blue Island for many years. The long narrow building marked "Stable in Bst" was afterwards owned by the Klein Elevator Co., who used it until c.1990, at which time it was demolished. Because of its picturesque nature, Blue Island has been used for location shots in several movies and television series: * Scenes from the 1987 film ''
Light of Day ''Light of Day'' is a 1987 American musical drama film starring Michael J. Fox, Gena Rowlands and Joan Jett in her film debut. It was written and directed by Paul Schrader. The original music score was composed by Thomas Newman and the cinemato ...
'', starring
Michael J. Fox Michael Andrew Fox (born June 9, 1961), known professionally as Michael J. Fox, is a Canadian-American retired actor. Beginning his career in the 1970s, he rose to prominence portraying Alex P. Keaton on the NBC sitcom ''Family Ties'' (1 ...
, were filmed there, including the scenes at the arcade "The Video Zone," which. for many years after filming was completed, served as a Big Boy submarine sandwich shop until it was demolished in June 2009. * Scenes from the 2006 Paramount Pictures film ''
Flags of Our Fathers ''Flags of Our Fathers'' (2000) is a book by James Bradley with Ron Powers about his father, Navy corpsman John Bradley, and five United States Marines, who were made famous by Joe Rosenthal’s '' Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima'' photograph. Th ...
'', directed by Clint Eastwood, were filmed in Blue Island. * Scenes from the 2008
Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
film '' The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', the story of Ernie Davis, who was the first black football player to win the
Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...
, were also filmed here. * Scenes from the 2008 film ''The Lucky Ones'' were filmed in Blue Island. * On October 21, 2010, leaves were plucked from trees and artificial snow fell as
New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after ...
prepared to film exterior shots for the film '' The Rite''. Blue Island also appeared regularly in the television show '' Cupid'', and two episodes of the TV series ''
Early Edition ''Early Edition'' is an American fantasy comedy-drama television series that aired on CBS from September 28, 1996, to May 27, 2000. Set in Chicago, Illinois, it follows the adventures of a man who mysteriously receives each ''Chicago Sun-Times' ...
'' were filmed there.


Sports

Blue Island is home to Santos Degollado, a soccer team in the CLASA league, and Club Morelia, another soccer team and the 2017 CLASA Mayor Division Champions.


References


Further reading

* * * * * * *


External links

* {{authority control Populated places established in 1836 Cities in Illinois Chicago metropolitan area Cities in Cook County, Illinois 1836 establishments in Illinois Majority-minority cities and towns in Cook County, Illinois