HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Chatham is one of the 77 community areas of
Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, on the city's South Side. It includes the neighborhoods of Chatham-Avalon, Chatham Club, Chesterfield, East Chatham, West Chatham and the northern portion of West Chesterfield. Its residents are predominantly
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, and it is home to former
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
Roland Burris. Housing many city employees and other officials, Chatham has been a central area for Chicago's
middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...
African Americans since the late 1950s.


Neighborhoods and sub-areas

Historically, the Chatham community area consisted of three neighborhoods; Avalon Highlands, Chesterfield, and Chatham Fields. The community area also contains two districts listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
. In addition to two residential historic districts, Chatham is also the location of the
Four Nineteen Building The Four Nineteen Building is a historic gas station building located at 419 E. 83rd St. in the Chatham, Chicago, Chatham community area of Chicago, Illinois. The station was built in 1928 by William D. Meyering and David L. Sutton, two local real ...
, a building which demonstrates the domestic style of gas station architecture, in which stations were designed to resemble small houses.


Garden Homes Historic District

The Garden Homes Historic District is a residential district bound by South Wabash Avenue to the west, East 87th Street to the north, South Indiana Avenue to the east, and East 89th Street to the south. The district was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
on February 28, 2005.


West Chatham Bungalow Historic District

The West Chatham Bungalow Historic District is a residential district bound by South Perry Avenue to the east, West 82nd Street to the south, South Stewart Avenue to the west, and West 79th Street to the north. The district includes 283 Chicago bungalows built between 1913 and 1930 along with a smaller number of other residential buildings. The district was added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
on April 19, 2010.


Demographics

In the 1990 census, Chatham was found to be 1.0% White, 98.7% Black, 0.5% Hispanic, 0.1% Asian and 0.3% other. In the 2000 census, Chatham was found to be 0.32% White, 98.0% Black, 0.59% Hispanic, 0.06% Asian and 1.00% other. The median income was $37,809.


Transportation

The CTA Red Line stations at 79th street and 87th street are in the Chatham community area. The
Metra Electric District 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 fif ...
, which provides daily service between downtown Chicago at
Millennium Station Millennium Station, (previously known as Randolph Street Terminal and occasionally referred to as Randolph Street station or Randolph/South Water Street station) is a commuter rail terminal located in the Chicago Loop, Loop area of Chicago, do ...
and the southern destinations of University Park and Blue Island, runs along the eastern border of Chatham and has stops at the 79th Street station, the 83rd Street station, and the 87th Street station.


Politics

The Chatham community area has supported the Democratic Party in the past two presidential elections. In the 2016 presidential election, the Chatham cast 14,075 votes for
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
and cast 230 votes for
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
(96.91% to 1.58%). In the 2012 presidential election, Chatham cast 16,696 votes for
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
and cast 93 votes for
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...
(99.27% to 0.55%).


Notable people

*
Ernie Banks Ernest Banks (January 31, 1931 – January 23, 2015), nicknamed "Mr. Cub" and "Mr. Sunshine", was an American professional baseball player who starred in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs between ...
(1931–2015), professional baseball player for the Chicago Cubs between 1953 and 1971. Banks resided at East 82nd Street and South Rhodes Avenue during his time in Chicago. *
Chance the Rapper Chancelor Johnathan Bennett (born April 16, 1993), known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, he released his debut mixtape '' 10 Day'' (2012) during one of his high school suspension ...
(born 1993), rapper, record producer, activist, and actor. He was raised in West Chatham. * Taylor Bennett (born 1996), rapper, singer, and songwriter. He was raised in West Chatham. * Keni Burke (born 1953), singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He and his siblings, who made up the Five Stairsteps, were childhood residents of Chatham. * Roland Burris (born 1937), U.S. Senator from Illinois from 2009 to 2010. He is a resident of Chatham. * Charles Chew (1922–1986), member of the
Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the ...
from 1967 to his death in 1986. He resided at 8156 S Champlain Ave. during his political career. * Thomas A. Dorsey (1899–1993), composer recognized as the ''Father of
Gospel Music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...
''. * John P. Fardy (1922–1945),
Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...
in the
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
and recipient of the
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
. He was raised in Chatham at 8144 South Calumet Avenue. *
Mahalia Jackson Mahalia Jackson ( ; born Mahala Jackson; October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972) was an American gospel music, gospel singer, widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. With a career spanning 40 years, Jackson was ...
(1911–1972), gospel singer. She lived at 8358 South Indiana Avenue from 1956 until her death in 1972. * R. Eugene Pincham (1925–2008), attorney, civil rights activist, and Judge of the
Illinois Appellate Court The Illinois Appellate Court is the court of first appeal for civil and criminal cases rising in the Illinois circuit courts. In Illinois, litigants generally have a right to first appeal from final decisions or judgements of the circuit court ...
. He was a resident of Chatham. * Welton Taylor (1919–2012), microbiologist, inventor and civil rights activist. He and his wife were the first Black couple to move to Chatham. * Michael Wilbon, sports columnist for ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' and host, commentator and analyst for
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
. * Brandon Breaux, multi-disciplinary artist


Education

Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the List of the largest school districts in the United States by enrollment, fourth-large ...
operates public schools serving Chatham. The following schools serve students from the Chatham neighborhood.http://www.cps.edu/Schools/Find_a_school/Pages/Findaschool.aspx , Chicago Public Schools' Search Secondary Schools *
Simeon Career Academy Neal F. Simeon Career Academy (formerly known as Westcott Vocational High School, Neal F. Simeon Vocational High School, Neal F. Simeon Career Technical Academy), locally known simply as Simeon, is a public four-year vocational school, vocational ...
Primary Schools *Arthur R Ashe Elementary School * Arthur Dixon Elementary School *James E McDade Elementary Classical School *Jane A Neil Elementary School *John T Pirie Fine Arts & Academic Center ES *Martha Ruggles Elementary School *Oliver S Westcott Elementary School * Ted Lenart Regional Gifted Center


See also

* Lem's Bar-B-Q * List of African-American neighborhoods * History of African Americans in Chicago


References


External links

*
Encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org: Chatham

Official City of Chicago Chatham Community Map
{{Authority control Community areas of Chicago South Side, Chicago