Future of Portage Park is Latino (Chicago, Rockford: section 8, 2015, foreclosures)

[Pebbs78]

Originally Posted by HamlinandLyndale

A few people I know are very worried about the growing Latino population. I wonder about White Flight will they panic and move from EP?

Italians still run EP. And they are very passionate, so to speak.


I'd be more worried about trash moving in, of any sort of race. Some of the housing on the north side is undervalued due to forclosure/short sales. I fear that slumlords will capitalize, and rent to anything that moves.


People there just need to get/stay involved with their block and know who lives where. And if there's anything shady going on, report it. If the home is rented, report it to their landlord. The cops in EP are good about stuff like that.

[meatpuff]

Originally Posted by SJaye

- Polish pride. Have to admit I don't know too much about this, but when I drive along Milwaukee from Logan Square to Jefferson Park, I do see a lot of Polish stores, Polish newspapers, etc. There could be a strong resistance to giving up the neighborhood.

I'm no expert on the Polish history of Chicago. But from what I know, they are not noted for their determination to hold on to a given spot of land.

The old Polish downtown might have been the most heavy duty Polish settlement there ever was in Chicago (I wasn't there to confirm that) and they've been gone so long from there that the hipsters in Wicker Park replaced the group that replaced the Poles. I know they used to be heavy in Calumet City and they are definitely completely out of there only in the last ten years. Just in the last thirty years Brighton Park, Archer Heights, etc. went from being proud Polish areas to increasing dangerous Hispanic areas. As for Avondale and Portage Park, the Census maps show Hispanics were moving in at a good clip already from 1990-2000.

The weird thing is, the Poles do have a ton of pride. They build lots of tangible monuments to Polish pride. And then they move on and leave them all behind. The Polish Museum of America is still down there at Milwaukee and Augusta. The Red Apple in Avondale (well, maybe a Polish landmark mostly for non-Poles) is in a mostly Hispanic neighborhood. You've got the Polish Highlanders Alliance of America building down there in an Archer Heights neighborhood that is fading fast. And oh my...let's not even get started on the churches.

[Holdencaulfield]

Growing up as a kid I remember seeing many taverns with signs that read "Zimne Piwo" You don't see too many around anymore. I also remember the "The Bob Lewandowski Show" on am radio.

[MKE-Ed]

Portage Park is ceratainly starting to change and become more latino. It has always had a small latino population, mainly puerto rican, but now that's changing. All the recent arrivals are Mexican, the legal status of which is in question. I know some friends that live in the area of Lawrence and Austin that are starting to become very concerned about this trend and are taking a wait and see approach, seeing how things shake out this summer. They are concerned that many of these new arrivals sadly have a big ghetto atitude and way of life. I was down there three weeks ago and I did start noticing some gang activity and a general neglect of their homes and surrounding property. This reminds me how the area around Diversey and Narragansett started to change until the old brickyard mall fell on hard times and then went out of business. This is the sort of thing that many long term residents in Portage Park really fear.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by meatpuff

As for Avondale and Portage Park, the Census maps show Hispanics were moving in at a good clip already from 1990-2000.

And all over the nation. I don't have the immigration numbers right in front of me but they were huge between the late 1980s through just recently, when it started to contract because of the bad economy.

I think at least some of the answer to this inquiry lies in what the country does on the immigration front. If we continue to allow completely free immigration of low skilled labor from Central America, as we have over the past two decades, then a lot of areas are going to become majority Latino, including some which will probably surprise many. If we curtail it then things will stabilize.

[Chicagoland60426]

Originally Posted by HamlinandLyndale

EP is what people from Elmwood Park call their town, it is just west of the city it runs along Harlem from just north of Diversey south to North Avenue from East to West it goes from Harlem to 8000 W. Harlem is known as Chicago's Little Italy outside of Taylor street. EP has seen it's Latino population double from 12% to nearly 25% since 2000. It has large Italian American community plus a Polish community which is now nearly as large. A few people I know are very worried about the growing Latino population. I wonder about White Flight will they panic and move from EP?

It seem like whenever Latinos or blacks are moving in, white flight occurs. Maybe if the Polish or any other white ethnic group weren't so quick to leave when they see a brown face moving in the neighborhood, they will remain a significant percentage of the area. If the Polish or Italians want to remain a large influence in the area, then they shouldn't be so quick to leave for another neighborhood. Whites on average have less babies, so that is another reason why the white population in some of these areas are decreasing fast.

[HamlinandLyndale]

White Flight is actually foolish when you think about it with the nation becoming more non white. If an area becomes like Austin, Hermosa, West Logan Sqaure, Belmont Craigin than people must get out. The key is the community working across racial lines to keep the community safe.

[otters21]

With the economy and the high and still rising prices ( owning cars -gas, upkeep, monthly payments,insurance and the colossal costs of maintaining homes in the newer outer auto centric suburbs and exurbs etc) I believe white flight will slow down and possibly halt in those areas in question ( northwest Chicago and Elmwood Park etc.) Today it is not affordable to simply "pull your suitcases out of the closet" pack and flee. Not all Caucasions are rich, yuppie or upper middle class. In fact most are not. As long as the Hispanics are decent and want to assimilate with their more longtime neighbors , people will probably stay put. It is not the Latinos themselves who are the problems- the real problems is are the trashy criminal thug element, gangbangers , filthy shooters etc. I think that the longtimers will now be more resistant to give up their neighborhoods because they cannot simply afford to move like they were in the past. Maybe before this recession things were skewing toward white flight but it changed things quite a bit. Also my ex roomate's boyfriend had spoken to some of his Latino co-workers. They had told him with the economy being so bad and the construction and home remodeling industry tanking many of their people are leaving the Midwestern region including Chicagoland because it is getting harder and harder to find work. That also can factor into a possible downturn of Latino influx in the neighborhoods. We will have just wait and see and only time will tell.

[promis1]

Originally Posted by Pebbs78

Italians still run EP. And they are very passionate, so to speak.


I'd be more worried about trash moving in, of any sort of race. Some of the housing on the north side is undervalued due to forclosure/short sales. I fear that slumlords will capitalize, and rent to anything that moves.


People there just need to get/stay involved with their block and know who lives where. And if there's anything shady going on, report it. If the home is rented, report it to their landlord. The cops in EP are good about stuff like that.

The Elmwood Park Neighborhood Civic Organization, Elmwood Park Neighborhood Civic Organization, is what will stabilize the Elmwood Park community. This neighborhood organization began last August and now has almost 400 members. Life long residents are joining together to make a difeerence. They hold their meeting every third Tuesday of the month at 700 p.m. at the Elmwood Park Library conference center. I am now a proud member. Since their founding about 7 months ago, they have brought a very reputable police officer and gang trainer from Gang Combat Dynamics, to begin gang suppresion training to the Elmwood Park police dept. They donate large amounts of money and time to needy residents in town. They held a huge Toys for Tots Christmas breakfast with Santa, an all free event for EP residents to come for a free pancake and egg breakfast. They had beautiful horse and carriage rides outside to take the families for a winter stroll- all free events. Now, they are holding a fundraiser for the EP baseball and softball league and their goal is to raise over 10,000 to rehab one of their ball fields for the kids. This organization will save EP and bring the town back to life, hopefully attracting yuppies to come and buy in the near future.

[promis1]

Originally Posted by Humboldt1

Poker,

Calm down with this brown talk. I live with my Mexican girlfriend in Oak Park where most of our neighbors are affluent whites. Oak Park is not as much of an exception as people think as it truly not integrated. There poor black parks, mixed parts and rich white parts as you approach River Forest.

I don't think Mexicans like roaches anymore than others. In my experience my renters have roaches because they don't clean and leave food out which greatly annoys one lady who is very clean and gets occasional roaches from the less clean lady above her. I fumigate the place every year or so but when you leave food out you attract bugs. Poor people may just not be as clean, regardless of where they come from. Again, there are poor people who are very clean but many who are not. I never once had roaches when I lived there, but I was clean and ate all my meals out.

Regarding Portage Park it has been trending hispanic for awhile as we call the ballys at 6 corners the latin ballys for the past 5 years. I also had my car broken into while parked in the parking lot of that same ballys. Not once was my car broken into in Humboldt Park, where I parked on the street.

My friends car was broken into and his window was bashed out at the six corner Ballys about 5 months ago. He has not gone back since.