Our Community
Setting
Blue Island is located just south of Chicago, IL on the end of an ancient glacial ridge. The city is 4 square miles in size but is surrounded by 8 other communities within 2-3 miles from Blue Island. These communities include Robbins, Crestwood, Posen and Calumet Park – some of the poorest areas in Illinois. Blue Island is a railroad and public transportation hub with easy access to Chicago, parks, libraries, schools and a main street shopping district with many small stores and restaurants. It has a population of about 23,000 people, with 40% of its residents under the age of 24.
Blue Island developed from a primarily white Chicago suburb to becoming increasingly diverse. Compared to 1960 when the city was 98% white, in 2000 61% of Blue Island’s residents were either African American or Hispanic. This change has been wrought with strife, as this city and the entire Chicago area has been plagued with racism for well over a century. While national legislation was passed in 1954 to desegregate schools, Chicago was still having hearings in 1980 to find a desegregation plan that would not incite riots and demonstration by white residents. Since that time, the city and the neighboring suburbs have seen much of the white population leave for other areas as African American and Hispanic populations have moved in. There are massive inequalities in the schools of affluent white suburbs versus those in poor, usually African American, areas. Even today, many of the descendants of Italian, German and Irish settlers who have grown up in Blue Island do so with a continued stronghold of racial intolerance and segregation. The majority of the south side of Chicago is home to low-income African American and Hispanic residents, which creates tension with south side Chicago suburbs struggling to maintain their primarily white, affluent way of life.
Drug abuse, gang activity and broken families are prevalent issues plaguing Blue Island and the neighboring communities. Lack of fair resources like education, jobs and housing have contributed to a rise in crime and drug abuse. Area parents struggling to find work has resulted in a lack of positive role models for many children in the area. Often the parks, pools or streets are filled with kids looking for a place to be, and something to do. Some of the areas of greatest need are a lack of outreach to these youth as well as to seniors – two groups of neglected people in the area.
Blue Island exists as a hub for the neighboring 8 communities that make up our target area – the Chicago South Side. God has given the War College leaders a vision for reaching out to these communities from Blue Island, where the Corps command center will be located.
The War College Chicago exists to renew, rebuild and restore the Chicago south side through ongoing relationships and intense intercession giving individuals God’s plans, hopes and future. We’re winning the World for Jesus starting in the Chicago south side!
History
Blue Island has a rich heritage, having received its share of settlers and commerce beginning in the 1830s. Early settlers saw a blue hue emitting from the top of the glacial ridge that had once been an island, which led to its being named Blue Island. Many of the first settlers were of European descent and they worked to build small scale factories, breweries, cigar shops and brickyards until 1950, when the railroad industry boosted employment. The city is still home to many rail lines and an 1868 brick depot is still in use today. The Pullman Strike of 1894 found the city under martial law as railroad workers fought to reverse declining wages.
During its settlement, African Americans were barred from living within the city limits. This prompted them to form their own neighboring city in 1917, called Robbins. During the next several decades, Robbins remained one of the few areas in Chicago where African Americans could attempt to purchase a home without fear of violent repercussions. However, because of its very few resources, 22% of homes in 1950 did not have indoor plumbing, and 40% of the homes were considered substandard in 1960.
The neighboring cities of Calumet Park and Riverdale are similar in makeup and history. Both have faced a long, uphill road of racial reconciliation. Many neighboring communities have faced many changes since the Civil Rights movement – either becoming primarily white (such as Oak Lawn – 93% white) or shifting from a majority white citizenry to a primarily African American population. Blue Island is home to the founding member of one of the first racist skinhead gangs in 1987. Nazi propaganda has continued to surface at various locations in the city.
Facts
Blue Island recently hired a development expert from a neighboring affluent community to further improve the commerce and economic standing of the city. Desiring to rise above what some refer to as the “trash suburbs” that it neighbors, many residents living in the area look forward to expanded shopping centers and expensive condominiums. However, there remains a remnant of those within Blue Island as well as in other communities within walking distance of it that find themselves on the outskirts of this new frontier. Gentrification (rehabilitation of a deteriorated neighborhood by new residents who are wealthier than the long-time residents) regularly leads to a collapse in affordable housing and pressure to uproot and move poorer families to more affordable locations.
Racism, along with drug abuse, broken families and strongholds of despair are among the fronts that we seek to engage with the power of the Gospel of Jesus during the War College year.
