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Englewood is a neighborhood and community area located on the South Side of
Chicago 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 ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, United States. It is also the 68th of the 77 community areas in the city. At its peak population in 1960, over 97,000 people lived in its approximately , but the neighborhood's population has since dropped dramatically. In 2000, it had a population of approximately 40,000 inhabitants, and the 2010 census indicated that its population has further declined to approximately 30,000. Englewood is bordered by Garfield Boulevard to the north, 75th Street to the south, Racine Avenue to the west, and an irregular border that bends along the
Metra Metra is the primary 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 243 train station, stati ...
Railroad Tracks to the east. On the southwest side of Chicago lies West Englewood, which is generally lumped in with Englewood by Chicagoans. Englewood, a low-income
African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
community, has a high rate of foreclosed properties due to its population drop.


History

Before 1850, Englewood was an oak forest with much swampland. In 1852 several railroad lines crossed at what became known as Junction Grove, stimulating the beginning of what we know today as Englewood. The Union Stock Yard provided employment to early residents. In 1868 Henry B. Lewis, a wool merchant in the Loop and
Board of Education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...
member, suggested a new name from his association with
Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of Engle ...
. In 1865, Junction Grove was annexed to the Town of Lake and to Chicago in 1889. The
World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...
at nearby Jackson Park in 1893 led to real estate speculation and expansion of the community. The Englewood community was largely defined by the Englewood Shopping Center at 63rd & Halsted, a large pedestrian mall. The City, social services, and mall management worked with community leaders and groups to integrate the mall with the community. It was the site of numerous community events, parades, outdoor concerts, live radio broadcasts and the like. This was spearheaded by the Englewood Business Men's Association and its director, Richard Drew; after Drew's death in 1978 the Center lost its major anchor tenants, including Sears Roebuck, and became a collection of smaller merchants. In 1999, Mayor
Richard M. Daley Richard Michael Daley (born April 24, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 54th mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1989 to 2011. Daley was elected mayor in 1989 and was reelected five times until declining to run for a seventh ter ...
announced a $256 million revitalization plan for the area. The keystone of the program is the relocation of Kennedy–King College to the former site of the Englewood Shopping Center. Shortly thereafter the city began an aggressive buyout and relocation program for mall merchants. The campus includes the Washburne Culinary Institute. Groundbreaking for the new, campus occurred on November 9, 2005, and it opened in 2007. Digital images of Englewood can be found in Explore Chicago Collections, a digital repository made available by Chicago Collections archives, libraries and other cultural institutions in the city. Englewood has a community parade every year, which is geared towards preparing its deserving youth for a new school year. The Englewood Back To School Parade is held annually every 3rd Saturday in August. The parade was founded by Willie Pittman in 1961. https://englewoodparade.org/. Mr. Pittman is also known as the first black Plumber to be licensed in the City of Chicago and Pittman Plumbing still exists today.


Demographics

In 2000, Englewood had a
poverty rate Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse
of 44%, substantially higher than the overall poverty rate in Chicago of 20%. Based on census data collected by the city of Chicago in 2008–2012, the poverty rate for Englewood is 46.6% of households below poverty and 28% of people 16 years of age and older are unemployed. In 1960, Englewood had 67,216 African American residents who made up about 69% of its population. At the time most African Americans resided around 63rd Street. At the time the median income of Englewood was $5,579 ($ adjusted for inflation). By 1980, the total population was 62,069, a loss of about 30,000 people in two decades; 99% of the people were black, and the white population was down to 818. Edward McClelland of NBC Chicago stated "Not even ethnic cleansing in the Balkans achieved the levels of turnover that
white flight The white flight, also known as white exodus, is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the Racism ...
in Chicago did." These communities have among the highest incidents of adolescent violence in the city, creating serious safety and public health concerns.


Transportation

Halsted Street Halsted Street is a major north-south street in the U.S. city of Chicago, Illinois. Location In Chicago's grid system, Halsted Street marks 800 West, west of State Street, from Grace Street (3800 N) in Lakeview south to the city limits ...
is a major thoroughfare in the neighborhood. Both the Red Line (stopping at
Garfield ''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis (cartoonist), Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976 (later changed to ''Garfield'' in 1977), then in nationwide Print syndication, syndication from 1978, it chro ...
and 63rd) and Green Line (stopping at Halsted) run through Englewood, as does the Dan Ryan Expressway (
I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...
and I-94). The railroad junction at Englewood, where
Metra Metra is the primary 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 243 train station, stati ...
(the former Rock Island) crosses
Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...
(the former
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
) has long been a cause of delay. In March 2010 a $133 million reconstruction project was announced which improved operations by replacing the diamond crossing between Metra and NS with an
overpass An overpass, called an overbridge or flyover (for a road only) in the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth countries, is a bridge, road, railway or similar structure that is over another road or railway. An ''overpass'' and '' underpa ...
for Metra. The project proposed by Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE) was completed in 2014.


Education

Englewood is host to numerous publicly-operated educational institutions. Primary and secondary schools are operated by
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 ...
, while the community has post-secondary educational needs met at the Kennedy–King College, which was relocated to Englewood in 2005 as part of revitalization efforts in the neighborhood. A public high school, Englewood STEM High School, was opened in September 2019 to serve students in the surrounding area.


Politics

The Englewood community area has supported the Democratic Party in recent presidential elections by overwhelming margins. In the 2016 presidential election, Englewood cast 8,646 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 141 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 ...
(97.11% to 1.58%). In the 2012 presidential election, Englewood cast 12,344 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 45 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 ...
(99.53% to 0.36%).


Popular culture

In 2018, Australian film director
George Gittoes George Noel Gittoes, (born 7 December 1949) is an Australian artist, film producer, director and writer. In 1970, he was a founder of the Yellow House Artist Collective in Sydney. After the Yellow House finished, he established himself in ...
made a documentary about Englewood. The 2019 TV show ''South Side'' takes place in the area of Englewood.


Mental health

The Mental Health Impact Assessment (MHIA) emphasizes mental health outcomes, including depression, anxiety, PTSD, ADHD, and substance abuse. Vacant foreclosed properties often lead to criminal activity, and the amendment aimed to hold banks accountable for security and painting such properties, reducing crime and improving the mental health of affected communities. According to a 2012 mental health impact assessment, Englewood faces various social and economic challenges, including high crime rates and limited access to public services, directly impacting residents' mental health. Community engagement in the MHIA pilot has helped gather input from the community. The findings and recommendations are presented in a policy letter to the Chicago City Council. The proposed amendment to the Vacant Buildings Ordinance was passed, indicating the successful integration of mental health considerations into policy decisions.


Notable people

* Jamie Foster Brown, magazine publisher, and her sister Stella Foster, who are both entertainment journalists * Margaret Bonds, composer, pianist, arranger, and educator. * Young Chop, music producer. * Derrick Rose, former professional basketball player who has played for
Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...
. *
Anthony Davis Anthony Marshon Davis Jr. (born March 11, 1993), nicknamed "AD" and "the Brow", is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Davis, a Power forward (basketball), power f ...
, professional basketball player who has played for the
Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...
and
New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...
. * Bina Deneen, First Lady of Illinois (1905–1913). She resided at 532 West 61st Place until it was destroyed during the ''" Pineapple Primary"''. * Charles Deneen, 23rd
Governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its we ...
(1905–1913) and later
United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...
(1925–1931). He resided at 532 West 61st Place until it was destroyed during the ''" Pineapple Primary"''. *
Lil Durk Durk Derrick Banks (born October 19, 1992), known professionally as Lil Durk, is an American rapper. Regarded as a pioneering artist in the Chicago-based hip-hop subgenre drill music, he is often considered the subgenre's most commercially suc ...
,
rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...
, singer, and songwriter. He was raised in Englewood. "Chief Keef and Lil JoJo, two rappers from the South Side neighborhood of Englewood..." * Hubert Geralds (born 1964), serial killer known as the Englewood Strangler * Kenny Golladay, NFL player. * H.H. Holmes, serial killer and con artist who operated a ''"murder castle"'' at a corner of South Wallace Avenue and West 63rd Street. He was a resident of Englewood from 1886 to 1894. *
Jennifer Hudson Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981), also known by her nickname J.Hud, is an American singer, actress, producer, and talk show host. Having received List of awards and nominations received by Jennifer Hudson, numerous accolades for ...
, singer and actress * Richard Hunt, sculptor who served as Commissioner of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American Art from 1980 to 1986. * Harold L. Ickes, 32nd
United States Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natura ...
(1933–1946). He moved to Englewood as a child and attended Englewood High School. * Ralph Lewis, actor best known as Austin Stoneman in ''
The Birth of a Nation ''The Birth of a Nation'' is a 1915 American Silent film, silent Epic film, epic Drama (film and television), drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and ...
''. * Willard Motley, African-American author. He was raised at 350 West 60th Street. * Bernie Mac, actor and comedian. He was raised in Englewood near West 69th Street and South Sangamon Street. * James Meeks (born 1956), pastor and former 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 ...
(2003–2013). He was raised in Englewood near West 64th Street and South Laflin Street. * William T. Murphy (1899–1978), member of Congress from Illinois's 3rd congressional district (1959–1971). He resided at 6617 South Harvard Avenue during his time in Congress. * Morgan F. Murphy, member of Congress from Illinois's 3rd congressional district. He graduated from Leo High School. * Lil Reese, rapper ''"This is Taylor's second marijuana conviction in Cook County since the Englewood native shot into the limelight with the popularity of drill rap,"'' *
Fredo Santana Derrick Antonio Coleman (July 4, 1990 – January 19, 2018), known professionally as Fredo Santana, was an American rapper. The older cousin of rapper Chief Keef, Santana began his career in 2011. His debut studio album, '' Trappin Ain't Dead ...
, rapper. *
Mavis Staples Mavis Staples (born July 10, 1939) is an American rhythm and blues and gospel music, gospel singer and civil rights activism, activist. She rose to fame as a member of her family's band The Staple Singers, of which she is the last surviving memb ...
, singer * Famous Dex, rapper


References


External links


Official City of Chicago Englewood Community Map


{{Authority control Community areas of Chicago South Side, Chicago