In 1835, Henry DeKoven purchased prairie land in the region. In 1857, a group of citizens formed theTown of Cicero, a ten-member local governing body that covered modern-day Cicero, Oak Park,Berwyn, and Austin.[3] Eight years later, DeKoven's land was bought byHenry W. Austin. Austin, a businessman and real estate speculator, developed the namesake Austinville subdivision. Its population grew exponentially as the area's attractive amenities and access to suburban railroad service drew in population. In 1870, the Town of Cicero placed its town hall in Austin.[4] However, by the 1890s, the heavily populated Austin area dominated town politics, but did not constitute a majority of voters. The Austin-controlled township government allowed theLake Street Elevated to extend into Oak Park. Outraged, the other residents of Cicero Township voted to allow Chicago to annex the Austin area in an 1899 referendum. The residents of Austin voted against the referendum.[5][3]
After its annexation, Austin continued to maintain an independent, suburban identity.[3] By the 1920s, the area had developed significant street railways to serve its commuter population. This infrastructure attracted a large group of European immigrants to the community.[6] In 1926, the area had an estimated 140,000 residents.[3] In 1923, Austin Hospital opened. In 1938, the hospital, now called William Temperance Hospital, was taken over bySisters of Saint Casimir, who operated the hospital as Loretto Hospital.[2]
In 1949, construction began on theEisenhower Expressway, which bisected the southern portion of Austin.[3]
African-American migration, white flight, and economic decline
AfterWorld War II, African Americans increasingly moved into the surrounding community areas ofEast Garfield Park,North Lawndale, andWest Garfield Park.[3] After the arrival of African Americans during theGreat Migration, race-related prejudices such as a case of theWhite flight movement, with a dramatic decrease in White residents, White-owned businesses, equal city services support and resources, racially motivatedrealtor practices, and industrial jobs.[3] By 1970, the Austin community was 32% Black. A decade later, it was 73% Black. These trends of a decline in city services and resources and jobs would continue for the rest of the 20th century with Austin.[7]
The Austin community became known for violence after the loss of free-flowing capital during white flight when prostitution, drug dealing, gang activity, and shoot-outs became commonplace in the Austin neighborhood. Many trace the problems that impacted this community to thecrack cocaine epidemic, as well as theopioid crisis,mass incarceration, and theHIV epidemic, which resulted in further economic decline and the loss of many social safety nets.[8] This led to many middle- and upper middle-class African Americansleaving for the suburbs. In 1992, the 15th District (Austin) of theChicago Police Department located at 5327 West Chicago Avenue at the time recorded about 48 homicides, which covers most of the Austin neighborhood, making the Austin District the fourth-deadliest police district at the time, before the 11th District (Harrison), which had 93 homicides, 7th District (Englewood), which had 80 homicides, and the 2nd District (Wentworth), which had 69 homicides.
The latter half of the 20th century saw significantdivestment from the community. TheCentral station of the Chicago Transportation Agency'sCongress Line was closed on September 2, 1973.[9] In 1988, West Side Health Authority was formed after the closure of St. Anne's Hospital. In 1991, the Sisters of Saint Casimir gave control of Loretto Hospital to a management company.[2]
In 1999, developers agreed to turn the abandoned Galewood railyard into an industrial park.[10]During the development of the property, then-AldermanIke Carothers solicited a bribe to allow the permitting process and zoning changes to move forward. The subsequent trials created a political scandal,[11] and ended with the conviction of the developer and Carothers on various felony charges.[12] The $60 million development ultimately brought new homes and a movie theater to the neighborhood.[13]
Austin is Chicago's second-largest community area both by population and by land area. The Austin community area is made up of four neighborhoods: Galewood, The Island, North Austin, and South Austin.[14]
Galewood is named for Abram Gale, who bought a farm on the area in 1838.[2] The neighborhood is bordered by theMilwaukee District / West Line to the north, Harlem Avenue to the west, North Avenue to the south, and Narragansett Avenue to the east. The area is a historically Italian-American community with a sizable population of Chicago city employees.[15] Since the 1980s, it has seen an increase in African-American and Latino residents, but this integration has occurred peacefully in contrast with other areas of Chicago.[16]
Galewood has two stations on the Milwaukee District West Line. The first,Mars station functions as a stop for employees of the nearbyMars, Incorporated factory, closing in 2024, andShriners Hospitals for Children, the latter of which is located inMontclare. The Mars station only stops during traditional commuting hours. The second,Galewood station is located east of Mars station and is a regular service station.Canadian Pacific (which operates in the U.S. Midwest as theSoo Line Railroad) operates freight trains on the line via trackage rights.
The neighborhood has strong ties with neighboring Montclare, including sharing a namesake library in theChicago Public Library system, and is sometimes considered as part of that neighborhood and not the Austin community.[17][18]
Galewood is significantly whiter than the remainder of Austin. Galewood is 22.51% White, 50.17% African American, and 1.77% from two or moreraces. Residents who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino of any race were 23.96% of the total Galewood population, with the western half of Galewood being 36% White and 31% African American.[N 1]
The Island neighborhood is located in the southwest corner of the Austin community. It has a population around 1,700 residents.[21] It encompasses roughly a square mile and its western and southern borders are to the suburbs of Oak Park and Cicero, respectively. It is further isolated from the rest of Austin by an industrial corridor to its east and railroad tracks and Interstate 290 to the north. It is only accessible from Austin Boulevard and Roosevelt Road.[14]
The Island was the last of Austin's neighborhoods to integrate. In the 1980s, when the rest of Austin was over 70% African American, The Island did not have a single African-American family. In 1984, when an African-American family attempted to move in on Roosevelt Road, they were met with violent resistance and shortly moved out. Politically, the area went heavily forJane Byrne in the Democratic primary and forEdward Vrdolyak againstHarold Washington in the1987 mayoral election that broke down on racial lines.[7] Today, The Island is an integrated community.[21]
One of Austin's neighborhoods is North Austin; its boundaries start north atMilwaukee District/West Line and Armitage Avenue, western boundaries are Austin Avenue or Austin Boulevard south of North Avenue, eastern boundaries toCicero Avenue, and southern boundaries to Division Street.[14] The Robert LeFlore Jr. Post Office at 5001 West Division Street is in this neighborhood.[23]
Theracial makeup of the area was 4.2% White, 84.2% African American, 0.5% Asian, and 0.80% from other races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 10.3% of the population.[1]
In the area, the age distribution was 30.5% under 19, 20.8% from 20 to 34, 18.7% from 35 to 49, 18.4% from 50 to 64, and 11.60% who were 65 or older. The median age was 33.9 years.[1]
Themedian household income for the area was $31,435 as opposed to $47,831 for the city. The area's residents were disproportionately lower income; 41.0% of residents earned less than $25,000, 27.6% of residents earned between $25,000 and $49,999, 14.1% earned between $50,000 and $74,999, 8.0% earned between $75,000 and $99,999, 6.4% earned between $100,000 and $149,999, and 2.9% earned $150,000 or more.
About 41,807 residents were in the labor force; 18.9% of workers were employed in the healthcare industry, 11.3% were employed in retail, 11% were employed in administration, 8.4% worked in education, and 8.3% worked in hospitality and food services. The area had an unemployment rate of 22.1%.[1]
According to theChicago Tribune "Crime in Chicagoland" page, the Austin neighborhood ranked 11th out of 77community areas in Chicago in violent crime, 25th among Chicago community areas in property crimes, and fifth out of 100 for quality-of-life crimes.[25]
As of 2023, a general lack exists for food-oriented retail in Austin, and many people living in Austin go to suburban communities to the west to buy groceries. The Austin Town Hall City Market is held to stave off thefood desert complex.[26]
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Austin Community Academy High SchoolChildren reading at the "Robert Emmet School" in 1911: The school, located at 5500 W Madison Street, closed in 2013.
Austin Community Academy High School[27] closed after spring 2007.[28] New smaller schools have replaced Austin Community Academy High School: Austin Business and Entrepreneurship Academy, which opened in 2006, and Austin Polytechnical Academy, which opened in September 2007.[29]
Other portions of the community area are zoned to Manley High School, Marshall High School, and Orr Campus.Michele Clark Magnet High School is in Austin.
George Rogers Clark Elementary School - It is a part of the "Island" Community.[31] In 2022 there was a proposal to have CPS acquire an abandoned parking lot to add play space for Clark ES.[32]
Robert Emmet Elementary School - Closed in 2013.[34] The West Side Health Authority acquired the building in 2018.[35] The author planned to make a community service center for a cost of $120,000,000. This was because the Austin community was not interested in the former Emmet School being a medical facility.[34]
Austin Branch - Opened in 1929, named after Henry W. Austin, with Alfred S. Alschuler as the architect. From 1979 to 1981, the library was renovated.[41]
North Austin Branch - Its opening was August 5, 1995.[42]
West Chicago Avenue Branch - Its opening was June 2, 2006.[43]
Austin is served by three free weekly newspapers.The West Suburban Journal,[44] founded in 2004, published by black-owned press Trottie Publishing Group, based in the West Cook County suburb of Westchester. L. Nicole Trottie, founder and publisher ofWest Suburban Journal, is the first black woman in Illinois' 190-year history to found an accredited weekly newspaper. Trottie is also the first African-American woman ever elected to serve on the Illinois Press Association's executive board of directors in its 150-year newspaper-rich history.The Austin Voice[45] has been published in Austin since 1988. TheAustin Weekly News,[46] founded in 2005, is published byThe Wednesday Journal, a publisher of free weekly newspapers based in Oak Park, Illinois. Both papers are published on Wednesdays and distributed in stores, office buildings, and recreational venues throughout the community. Austin is also served byAustin Talks,[47] an online publication maintained by journalism students at Chicago's Columbia College and underwritten in part by the Chicago Community Trust.
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St. Anne's Hospital, located in the Austin community area, had a capacity for 437 patients. Its property had seven buildings on 9.2 acres (3.7 ha) of land.[48] In August 1988 theChicago Tribune reported that it was "expected" to end operations.[49] In September of that year, it closed. In 1997, it was announced to become apartments for elderly people who are financially disadvantaged.[48]
Austin is a stronghold for theDemocratic Party. In the2016 presidential election, Austin cast 37,492 votes forHillary Clinton and 1,280 votes forDonald Trump. Despite this landslide victory, it was Clinton's 23rd-largest margin of victory by percentage points in the 76 community areas she won.[50] In the2012 presidential election, Austin cast 44,734 votes forBarack Obama and 965 votes forMitt Romney. It was Obama's 24th-largest margin of victory by percentage points in the 76 community areas he won.[51]
Peter M. Callan (1894–1965), member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1959-1965. During his time in the legislature, he resided at 5567 West Gladys Avenue.[57]
Ralph Capone, member of the Chicago Outfit and brother ofAl Capone, lived in The Island before moving to Wisconsin.[21]
Ike Carothers, Alderman from Chicago's 29th ward from 1999 until his resignation in 2010, lives in South Austin.[58]
Danny K. Davis, member of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois' 7th congressional district since 1999, resides in South Austin.[60]
Sam DeStefano (1909−1973), member of the Chicago Outfit, resided on the 1600 block of Sayre in Galewood.[61][62]
La Shawn K. Ford, member of the Illinois House of Representatives, resides in Austin.[2]
Sam Giancana (1908–1975), member of the Chicago Outfit, lived in The Island before moving to the suburbs.[21]
Deborah Graham was a member of the Chicago City Council from the 29th ward from 2010 to 2015.[64]
Andrew Greeley (1928–2013), a Roman Catholic priest, sociologist, journalist, and popular novelist, was a childhood resident of the Austin community area.[65]
John Marshall Hamilton (1847–1905), 18th governor of Illinois (1883–1885), resided at 4720 West Madison Avenue at the time of his death.[66]
Edward Hanrahan (1921–2009), Cook County state's attorney from 1968 to 1972, was infamous for his role in the murder ofFred Hampton. He resided in Galewood during his political career.[67]
Pat Quinn, former Governor of Illinois. As of 2020, he lives in Galewood.[75][76]
John Rice (1968–2015), Alderman from the 36th ward from 2009 to 2011. He resided in Galewood while on the Chicago City Council.[77][78]
Philip J. Rock, President of the Illinois Senate from 1979 to 1993. He lived in theMidway Park neighborhood until he relocated to suburban Oak Park in 1977.[79][80]
Nick Sposato, Alderman from Chicago's 36th ward from 2011 to 2015. He lived in Galewood until moving to the 38th ward after redistricting moved Galewood to the 29th ward.[15]
^Kamada, T. (2020). The Emergence of the Crack Epidemic and City-to-Suburb Mobility Between and Within Ethno-Racial Groups. Center for Open Science.https://ideas.repec.org/p/osf/socarx/wkxqv.html
^Buck, Thomas (September 2, 1973). "CTA Shutting Down 7 Rapid Transit Stations Today".Chicago Tribune. p. 5. -Clipping atNewspapers.com.
^"Survivors of School Fire Return to Class Tuesday".Chicago Daily Tribune.Chicago. December 6, 1958. p. Part 1, p. 4.[...]Our Lady Help of Christians school, 851 N. Leamington av. -Clipping atNewspapers.com.
^"EX-GOV. JOHN M. HAMILTON ILL: Early This Morning Reported to Be Near Death at His Residence, 4720 Madison Avenue".Chicago Daily Tribune. September 23, 1905.
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