Illinois's 2nd congressional district

Illinois's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Illinois. Based in the south suburbs of Chicago, the district includes southern Cook county, eastern Will county, and Kankakee county, as well as the city of Chicago's far southeast side.

Geographic boundaries
Illinois's 2nd congressional district is adjacent to the 1st congressional district to the north and west, the 16th congressional district to the south, and Indiana's 1st congressional district to the east. The district's northeast border follows Lake Michigan's shoreline for several miles. The district was created following the 1830 U.S. census and came into existence in 1833, five months before Chicago was organized as a town. The 2nd congressional district initially included Southeastern Illinois until 1853 and stretches of Northern Illinois until 1873. It has been based in Chicago since 1853, and part of the southeast side since 1903. Redistricting following the 2000 U.S. census placed a majority of the district's population outside Chicago for the first time in 100 years, and moved the district's borders beyond Cook County for the first time since 1873.

As in the neighboring 1st District, a majority of this district's residents (62.4%) are African American. The district has been reliably Democratic since the 1960s; it has been in Democratic hands for all but two terms since 1935, and last elected a Republican to Congress in 1950. Democratic congressional candidates regularly receive over 80% of the vote here. It has been held by black representatives since 1981.

Demographics
The southeast side of Chicago was for many decades the home of numerous Eastern European and Irish immigrants who sought the industrial work of the steel mills and railroad companies which were then dominant in the area. However, as local industry declined in the 1950s and 1960s, these groups were increasingly displaced by African Americans who were gradually migrating southward from other parts of the city. Whereas barely 20% of district residents were black in the 1960s, this figure increased to 70% by the 1980s, and by the 1990s the racial demographics of the 1st and 2nd congressional districts were very similar. At the same time, decreasing population in the district required expanding its borders into the suburbs, and it is now nearly three times the size it was in the 1980s, when it covered only 68 sqmi.

Following redistricting for the 2000s (decade), 59% of the 2nd congressional district's population resides in the suburbs, with a total of 98.4% living in Cook County. The district's white population (almost 30% of its residents) now primarily resides in the southern suburbs and a few far southeastern Chicago neighborhoods such as East Side and Hegewisch.

Several suburbs closer to Chicago near Interstate 57 have black populations exceeding 75%: Calumet Park, Country Club Hills, Dolton, Harvey, Hazel Crest, Markham, Matteson, Phoenix, Richton Park, Riverdale, and University Park. In contrast, there are five suburbs further southeast with white populations exceeding 75% – Homewood, Lansing, South Chicago Heights, Steger and Thornton – although they surround Ford Heights, with a population of only about 2800 the district's most racially one-sided population (96% black). Chicago Heights features the most even racial mix, with a population that is 45% white and 38% black. The district's largest white ethnic groups are German (5.8%), Irish (4.4%), Polish (4.4%) and Italian (3.1%), similar to other districts in southern Cook County.

Hispanics represent 10% of the district's population, with sizable communities in East Side and Chicago Heights. Chicago's South Shore neighborhood was the longtime home to a Jewish community which has since migrated to suburbs such as Homewood and Flossmoor. South Shore is now primarily a middle-class black community and is also home to a notable minority of Black Muslims including the national headquarters of the Nation of Islam, Mosque Maryam.

The district includes some sharp economic disparities. Olympia Fields, Country Club Hills and Matteson are affluent suburbs with black majority populations, but Ford Heights (only four miles east of Olympia Fields) is one of the most impoverished places in the United States, with a median household income of just $17,500 in 2000 – less than 42% of the national average. It is home to more single mothers per capita than anyplace else in the country.

2011 redistricting
The district covers parts of Cook and Will counties and all of Kankakee, as of the 2011 redistricting which followed the 2010 census. All or parts of Bradley, Bourbonnais, Calumet City, Chicago, Chicago Heights, Country Club Hills, Dolton, Harvey, Hazel Crest, Homewood, Kankakee, Lansing, Markham, Matteson, Park Forest, Richton Park, Riverdale, Sauk Village, Steger and Thornton are included. The representatives for these districts were elected in the 2012 primary and general elections, and the boundaries became effective on January 3, 2013.

2021 redistricting
Following the 2020 redistricting, the district will still encompass the south suburbs's of Chicago, eastern Will County, most of Kankakee County, and Chicago's far southeast side. Additionally, it now takes in Iroquois County; most of Ford and Vermillion; eastern Livingston County including half of Pontiac; and the portion of Champaign County north of County Road 3000 N.

The 2nd district takes in the Chicago neighborhoods of Hegewisch and Riverdale; most of South Deering and Pullman; the coastal portion of Kenwood; the eastern part of Woodlawn and Hyde Park taking up Jackson Park; the portion of South Shore east of East 71st Street and South Yates Blvd (including Rainbow Beach Park); and part of Roseland.

Outside of the Chicago city limits, the district takes in the Cook County communities of Riverdale, Dolton, South Holland, Chicago Heights, Sauk Village, Park Forest, Country Club Hills, and Lansing; and part of Blue Island.

Will County is split between this district and the 1st district. They are partitioned by South Harlem Ave, West Peotone Rd, North Peotone Rd, West Kennedy Rd, Rock Creek, and South Center Rd. The 2nd district takes in the municipalities of Peotone, Beecher, Crete, Steger, and Monee.

Kankakee County is split between this district and the 1st district. They are partitioned by North 5000E Rd, East 6000N Rd, Cardinal Drive, Durham St, East Armour Rd, East Marsile St, Bisallion Ave, and the Kankakee River. The 2nd district takes in the municipalities of Kankakee, Momence, Aroma Park, and Herscher; most of Bradley; and half of Bourbonnais.

Vermillion County is split between this district and the 15th district. They are partitioned by Twin Hills Rd, 1730 East, 1295 North, 1700 East, 1200 North, 1670 Rd East, 1050 North, Highway 150, Westville Ln, 1100 North, 800 East, 1200 North, and Lincoln Trail Rd. The 2nd district takes in the municipalities of Danville, Tilton, Bismarck, and Hoopeston.

Ford County is split between this district and the 16th district. They are partitioned by E 900N Rd, N Melvin St, E 8th St, and N 500E Rd. The 2nd district takes in the municipalities of Paxton, Cabery, Elliott, Kempton, Piper City, Roberts, and Sibley; and part of Gibson City.

Livingston County is split between this district and the 16th district. They are partitioned by N 1800 Rd East, E 1550 Rd North, N 1600 Rd East, E 1500 Rd North, N 1500 Rd East, W Reynolds St, Highway 55, The Slough, E 1830 Rd North, Old IL-66 South, N 1700 Rd East, N 2125 Rd North, and N 1800 Rd East. The 2nd district takes in the municipalities of Fairbury, Dwight, and Chatsworth; and half of Pontiac.

Champaign County is split between this district, the 13th district, and the 15th district. They are partitioned by County Road 3000 N, County Road 1200 E, East Chandler St, and County Road 2000 E. The 2nd district takes in the municipalities of Rantoul,  Ludlow, and Foosland; most of Fisher; and part of Gifford.

Economy
The 2nd Congressional District was, for most of the 20th century, a thriving center of heavy industry centered around Lake Calumet and the Port of Chicago, augmented by the nearby railroad industry which had the Pullman Company as its centerpiece. The steel industry was a major component, with U.S. Steel at one time employing 20,000 district residents, but the Wisconsin Steelworks in South Deering closed in March 1980, and U.S. Steel's South Works plant in South Chicago – source of the steel for Chicago skyscrapers including the Sears Tower – was closed in April 1992; both have since been dismantled. Virtually the last remnant of the industry in the area is ISG Riverdale (formerly the Acme Steel Co.), which began a shutdown in 2001 before being sold and restructured as a smaller company. The most significant remaining industrial presence in the district is now the Ford Motor Company, which operates the Chicago Assembly plant (where the Ford Explorer is manufactured) on the border between South Deering and Hegewisch, as well as the Chicago Stamping facility in Chicago Heights. Like the 1st District, the area is struggling to overcome economic downturns in recent decades.

Local educational institutions include Governors State University in University Park, Chicago State University in Roseland, Prairie State College in Chicago Heights, South Suburban College in South Holland and Olive-Harvey College, a Chicago city college, in Pullman. The University of Chicago is directly west of the district's northern end. Hospitals in the district include Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey, Advocate South Suburban Hospital in Hazel Crest, St. James Hospitals in Chicago Heights and Olympia Fields, Advocate Trinity Hospital in Calumet Heights, La Rabida Children's Hospital in Woodlawn, South Shore Hospital in South Chicago and Roseland Community Hospital in Roseland.

The Museum of Science and Industry is located almost at the district's northern tip. Various areas of the Cook County Forest Preserves are scattered throughout the suburban part of the district, particularly in the area northeast of Chicago Heights. Other notable business and industrial presences in the district include Jays Foods, a manufacturer of snack foods based in Pullman; the Norfolk Southern Railway; Allied Tube and Conduit, a piping and electrical manufacturer in Harvey ; and UGN Inc., an automotive soundproofing manufacturer in Chicago Heights.

Federal facilities in the district include Coast Guard Station Calumet Harbor  in East Side and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Army Reserve Center, home of the 308th Civil Affairs Brigade, in Homewood.

In addition to the Jackson Park Historic Landscape District and the Museum of Science and Industry's GS U-505, district locations on the National Register of Historic Places include:


 * AVR 661, South Deering
 * Bloom Township High School, Chicago Heights
 * Calumet Park, East Side
 * Flamingo-on-the-Lake Apartments, Hyde Park
 * Flat Iron Building, Chicago Heights
 * Ford Airport Hangar, Lansing
 * Hotel Del Prado, Hyde Park
 * Jeffery-Cyril Historic District, South Shore
 * Lake-Side Terrace Apartments, South Shore
 * Allan Miller House, South Shore
 * Olympia Fields Country Club, Olympia Fields
 * Pacesetter Gardens Historic District, Riverdale (suburb)
 * Palmer Park, Roseland
 * Promontory Apartments, Hyde Park
 * Pullman Historic District National Historic Landmark, Pullman
 * Shoreland Hotel, Hyde Park
 * South Shore Beach Apartments, South Shore
 * South Shore Country Club, South Shore
 * Trumbull Park, South Deering

Presidential election results

 * This table indicates how the district has voted in U.S. presidential elections; election results reflect voting in the district as it was configured at the time of the election, not as it is configured today.

Recent election results from statewide races

 * This table indicates how the district has voted in recent statewide elections; election results reflect voting in the district as it is currently configured, not necessarily as it was at the time of these elections.

Presidential voting
This table indicates how the 2nd District has voted in U.S. presidential elections; election results reflect voting in the district as it was configured at the time of the election, not as it is configured today. The candidate who received the most votes in the district is listed first; the candidate who won the election nationally is in CAPS, and the candidate who won the state of Illinois is indicated with a †.