East Chicago, Indiana
Encyclopedia
East Chicago is a city in Lake County
, Indiana
. The population was 29,698 at the 2010 census.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 15.6 square miles (40.4 km²), of which, 12 square miles (31.1 km²) of it is land and 3.7 square miles (9.6 km²) of it (23.35%) is water.
of 2000, there were 32,414 people, 11,707 households, and 7,937 families residing in the city. The population density
was 2,706.3 people per square mile (1,044.7/km²). There were 13,261 housing units at an average density of 1,107.2 per square mile (427.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 36.54% White, 36.08% African American, 0.51% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 23.98% from other races
, and 2.60% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 51.61% of the population. Whites who are not Hispanic or Latino were 12.10% of the city's population. 54.3% spoke English
, 42.9% Spanish
and 1.2% Polish
as their first languages.
There were 11,707 households out of which 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.8% were married couples
living together, 26.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.2% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.41.
In the city the population was spread out with 30.5% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 91.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $26,538, and the median income for a family was $31,778. Males had a median income of $32,588 versus $21,678 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $13,517. About 22.5% of families and 24.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.3% of those under age 18 and 15.6% of those age 65 or over.
in neighboring Gary
. The South Shore Line (NICTD)
has a station in East Chicago.
US 12
and US 20
go through the Indiana Harbor and East Chicago sections of the city, respectively, before joining up on both sides. Indiana State Road 912
, the Cline Avenue Expressway, connects East Chicago with the Indiana Toll Road
and Borman Expressway
, and serves the casino
and steel mill
s on the lakefront.
. It features three routes: Route 1 Crosstown, Route 2 West Calumet, and Route 4 Woodmar Mall. In addition, Northwest Indiana RBA
operates two routes that run through East Chicago - Green Route and Orange Route. The former primarily runs along Indianapolis Boulevard, running from Chicago's East Side neighborhood to Whiting, Hammond, East Chicago and Highland. The later runs between East Chicago and Hammond. GPRT
Route 12 stops in East Chicago on its way from Hammond to Gary. Finally, PACE
runs Route 892, a special work shuttle that runs between Gary, East Chicago and UPS
' Hodgkins
facility
. Its schedule is designed to coincide with UPS workers' shifts. The route is operated in cooperation with UPS, which partially funds its operations.
East Chicago Public Library System operates a main library at 2401 East Columbus Drive and the Robert A. Pastrick Branch Library at 1008 West Chicago Avenue at Baring Avenue.
East Chicago is home to the following business and industry:
Lake County, Indiana
Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. In 2010, its population was 496,005, making it Indiana's second-most populous county. The county seat is Crown Point. This county is part of Northwest Indiana and the Chicago metropolitan area. The county contains a mix of urban,...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
. The population was 29,698 at the 2010 census.
Geography
East Chicago is located at 41°38′20"N 87°27′44"W (41.638885, -87.462140).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 15.6 square miles (40.4 km²), of which, 12 square miles (31.1 km²) of it is land and 3.7 square miles (9.6 km²) of it (23.35%) is water.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 32,414 people, 11,707 households, and 7,937 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 2,706.3 people per square mile (1,044.7/km²). There were 13,261 housing units at an average density of 1,107.2 per square mile (427.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 36.54% White, 36.08% African American, 0.51% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 23.98% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 2.60% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 51.61% of the population. Whites who are not Hispanic or Latino were 12.10% of the city's population. 54.3% spoke English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, 42.9% Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and 1.2% Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
as their first languages.
There were 11,707 households out of which 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.8% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 26.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.2% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.41.
In the city the population was spread out with 30.5% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 91.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $26,538, and the median income for a family was $31,778. Males had a median income of $32,588 versus $21,678 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $13,517. About 22.5% of families and 24.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.3% of those under age 18 and 15.6% of those age 65 or over.
Transportation
The nearest commercial airport to East Chicago is the Gary/Chicago International AirportGary/Chicago International Airport
Gary/Chicago International Airport is a public airport located three miles northwest of the central business district of Gary, a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The airport, which serves the Chicago metropolitan area, is 25 miles southeast of the Chicago Loop...
in neighboring Gary
Gary, Indiana
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city is in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The population is 80,294 at the 2010 census, making it the seventh-largest city in the state. It borders Lake Michigan and is known...
. The South Shore Line (NICTD)
South Shore Line (NICTD)
The South Shore Line is an electrically powered interurban commuter rail line operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District between Millennium Station in downtown Chicago and the South Bend Regional Airport in South Bend, Indiana...
has a station in East Chicago.
US 12
U.S. Route 12
U.S. Route 12 or US 12 is an east–west United States highway, running from Grays Harbor on the Pacific Ocean, in the state of Washington, to downtown Detroit, for almost . As a thoroughfare, it has mostly been supplanted by I-90 and I-94, but remains an important road for local travel.The...
and US 20
U.S. Route 20
U.S. Route 20 is an east–west United States highway. As the "0" in its route number implies, US 20 is a coast-to-coast route. Spanning , it is the longest road in the United States, and the route sparsely parallels Interstate 90...
go through the Indiana Harbor and East Chicago sections of the city, respectively, before joining up on both sides. Indiana State Road 912
Indiana State Road 912
State Road 912, known along its entire length as Cline Avenue, is a freeway north of the Borman Expressway , and a local access road serving Griffith south of the Borman. The portion of Cline Avenue marked as SR 912 is long. Indiana 912 can be considered a child route of U.S...
, the Cline Avenue Expressway, connects East Chicago with the Indiana Toll Road
Indiana Toll Road
The Indiana Toll Road, officially the Indiana East–West Toll Road, is a toll road that runs for east–west across northern Indiana from the Illinois state line to the Ohio state line...
and Borman Expressway
Borman Expressway
The Frank Borman Expressway is an east–west highway in the northwest part of the U.S. state of Indiana, named after astronaut and former Eastern Airlines CEO Frank Borman. The expressway consists of parts of Interstate 80 , I-94, and U.S. Highway 6 , as well as a short section of US 41...
, and serves the casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
and steel mill
Steel mill
A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel.Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. It is produced in a two-stage process. First, iron ore is reduced or smelted with coke and limestone in a blast furnace, producing molten iron which is either cast into pig iron or...
s on the lakefront.
Bus Transit
The city operates a free bus service known as East Chicago TransitEast Chicago Transit
East Chicago Transit is the provider of mass transportation in East Chicago, Indiana, an industrial suburb of Chicago, Illinois. Three routes are provided within the municipality's limits...
. It features three routes: Route 1 Crosstown, Route 2 West Calumet, and Route 4 Woodmar Mall. In addition, Northwest Indiana RBA
Northwest Indiana Regional Bus Authority
Northwest Indiana Regional Bus Authority is a regional public transit agency operating in Northwest Indiana's Lake and Porter counties. Established in 2000, it was known as Regional Transportation Authority until 2005...
operates two routes that run through East Chicago - Green Route and Orange Route. The former primarily runs along Indianapolis Boulevard, running from Chicago's East Side neighborhood to Whiting, Hammond, East Chicago and Highland. The later runs between East Chicago and Hammond. GPRT
Gary Public Transportation Corporation
The Gary Public Transportation Corporation is a commuter bus system in Gary, Indiana that offers service to numerous stops throughout the city and neighboring suburbs...
Route 12 stops in East Chicago on its way from Hammond to Gary. Finally, PACE
Pace (transit)
Pace is the suburban bus division of the Regional Transportation Authority in the Chicago metropolitan area. It was created in 1983 by the RTA Act, which established the formula that provides funding to CTA, Metra and Pace. In 2010, Pace had 35.077 million riders. Pace's headquarters are in...
runs Route 892, a special work shuttle that runs between Gary, East Chicago and UPS
United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service, Inc. , typically referred to by the acronym UPS, is a package delivery company. Headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States, UPS delivers more than 15 million packages a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 220 countries and territories around the...
' Hodgkins
Hodgkins, Illinois
Hodgkins is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,134 at the 2000 census.A large United Parcel Service sorting facility, known as CACH, is located partly in Hodgkins and partly in nearby Willow Springs on the outskirts of Chicago...
facility
CACH
The Chicago Area Consolidation Hub is a package sorting hub for United Parcel Service. Located approximately southwest of downtown Chicago , the facility is so large it is in two municipalities. Five-sixths of the UPS properties lie within the Village of Hodgkins, Illinois, with one-sixth being...
. Its schedule is designed to coincide with UPS workers' shifts. The route is operated in cooperation with UPS, which partially funds its operations.
Neighborhoods
- Indiana Harbor
- The Harbor
- North Harbor
- Washington Park
- Prairie Park
- Sunnyside
- Lakeside
- East Chicago
- Northside
- Southside
- Calumet
- Roxana Park
- New Addition (West Harbor)
- Marktown
Education
- School City of East ChicagoSchool City of East ChicagoSchool City of East Chicago is a school district headquartered in East Chicago, Indiana, United States. The district serves all of East Chicago.-Mandatory Uniformity of Colors:...
serves the city. All residents are zoned to East Chicago Central High SchoolEast Chicago Central High SchoolEC Central High School is a high school in the industrial city of East Chicago, Indiana, United States, located in the Chicago metropolitan area. Its address is 1100 W. Columbus Drive, on the corner of Columbus Drive and Indianapolis Boulevard...
. - Ivy Tech community college
East Chicago Public Library System operates a main library at 2401 East Columbus Drive and the Robert A. Pastrick Branch Library at 1008 West Chicago Avenue at Baring Avenue.
Industry
- ArcelorMittal's Indiana Harbor Works, the largest steel mill in the USA. Indiana Harbor Works comprises East mill, originally Inland Steel, and West mill, owned for most of its life by Youngstown Sheet and TubeYoungstown Sheet and TubeThe Youngstown Iron Sheet and Tube Company, based in Youngstown, Ohio, was one of the largest steel manufacturers in the world. Officially, the company was created on November 23, 1900, when Articles of Incorporation of the Youngstown Iron Sheet and Tube Company were filed with the Ohio Secretary...
. - The Indiana Harbor and Ship CanalIndiana Harbor and Ship CanalThe Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal is an artificial waterway on the southwest shore of Lake Michigan, in East Chicago, Indiana which connects the Grand Calumet River to Lake Michigan. It consists of two branch canals, the 1.25 mile Lake George Branch and the 2 mile long Grand Calumet River Branch...
complex.
Notable residents
- Betsy PalmerBetsy PalmerBetsy Palmer is an American actress, best known as a regular panelist on the game show I've Got a Secret, and later for playing Pamela Voorhees in the notorious slasher film Friday the 13th.-Life and career:...
Famous actress and television personality - Tim StoddardTim StoddardTimothy Paul Stoddard is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is one of only two known men to have played in both a World Series and an NCAA basketball national championship game....
- Former Major League Baseball player - Junior BridgemanJunior BridgemanUlysses Lee "Junior" Bridgeman is a retired American basketball player.Born in East Chicago, Indiana, Bridgeman was a member of the 1971 East Chicago Washington High School Senators basketball team, which went undefeated and won the Indiana state high school basketball championship...
- Former NBA player - Jim BradleyJim Bradley (basketball)James Arthur "Jim" Bradley was an American basketball player. He played collegiately for the Northern Illinois University and was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 3rd round of the 1974 NBA Draft...
- Former ABA player - Ron SmithRon SmithRon or Ronald Smith may refer to:*Ron Smith , American poet born in Georgia*Ron Smith , British comic artist*Ron Smith , Canadian author, poet and publishing house founder...
- Former NFL player - Kenny LoftonKenny LoftonKenneth Lofton is a former Major League Baseball outfielder known for his great speed on the base paths as well as in the field, award-winning defensive play , timely hitting, and playful spirit. He batted and threw left-handed...
, Major League Baseball player - Larry FritzLarry FritzLawrence Joseph Fritz [Zeb] was a first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Philadelphia Phillies during the season. Listed at 6' 2", 225 lb., Fritz batted and threw left-handed...
, Major League Baseball player - Miguel TorresMiguel Torres (fighter)Miguel Angel Torres is an American mixed martial artist who fights for the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization. He is a former WEC Bantamweight champion. Prior to fighting with the WEC, Torres also held the bantamweight title for the US Shooto organization, as well as for the Ironheart Crown...
, mixed martial artist - Gregg PopovichGregg PopovichGregg Popovich is an American basketball coach, and is currently the head coach of the National Basketball Association's San Antonio Spurs. With the resignation of Jerry Sloan as head coach of the Utah Jazz on February 10, 2011, Popovich is the longest tenured coach in the NBA and also the...
- Coach of the San Antonio SpursSan Antonio SpursThe San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association .... - Cliff RavenCliff RavenCliff Raven Ingram was one of a handful of tattoo artists who pioneered the adoption of the Japanese tattoo aesthetic in the U.S. Born in Indiana as "Cliff H...
- Noted US tattoo artist - Eugene Genisauski- Long Beach Unified Film Pioneer, Ball Boy for L.A. Dodgers, 1969
- Ray WietechaRay WietechaRaymond Walter Wietecha was an American football center in the National Football League for the New York Giants...
- Former NFL player and assistant coach - E'Twaun MooreE'Twaun MooreE'Twaun Donte Moore is an American professional basketball player with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association, who is playing with Italy's Benetton Treviso during the lockout. Moore was drafted by the Celtics in the 2011 NBA Draft after playing college basketball at Purdue...
- Former College Basketball player at Purdue University - Chris Woods - Former European Professional Basketball Player
- Mark P. Hanak - Former Athletic Trainer for New England Patriots (NFL), University of Notre Dame and MIT
- Clarence Walker - First African-American to play in any post-season intercollegiate basketball tournament in 1948
- Richard WilliamsRichard Llewellyn WilliamsRichard Llewellyn Williams, was a career member of the Senior Foreign Service who, over three decades as a career U.S. diplomat, opened the first American consulate in mainland China since the 1940s , served as the first U.S...
- Diplomat, author. First US ambassador to Mongolia.