Illinois's 2nd congressional district | ||
---|---|---|
The 2nd congressional district of Illinois since 2003 | ||
Current Representative | Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D–Chicago) | |
Area | 184.64 mi² (478.22 km²) | |
Distribution | 99.9% urban, 0.1% rural | |
Population (2000) | 653,647 | |
Median income | $41,330 | |
Ethnicity | 29.7% White, 62.4% Black, 0.6% Asian, 10.4% Hispanic, 0.2% Native American, 1.8% other | |
Occupation | 23.8% blue collar, 60.1% white collar, 16.1% gray collar | |
Cook PVI | D+36 |
Illinois's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Illinois. Based in Cook and Will counties, the district includes the south suburbs of Chicago, extending slightly into Will County, and also includes the city's far southeast side; it covers 184.64 square miles (478.2 km2), making it one of the 70 smallest districts in the country and the seventh smallest in Illinois.
Contents |
Illinois's 2nd Congressional District is adjacent to the 1st Congressional District to the north and west, the 11th 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[1][2] and stretches of Northern Illinois until 1873.[3][4] 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, having not elected a Republican to Congress since 1950. Democratic congressional candidates regularly receive over 80% of the vote here.
The 2nd Congressional District includes the suburban municipalities of Burnham, Calumet City, Chicago Heights, Dolton, East Hazel Crest, Flossmoor, Ford Heights, Glenwood, Harvey, Hazel Crest, Homewood, Lansing, Lynwood, Matteson, Olympia Fields, Park Forest, Phoenix, Richton Park, South Chicago Heights, South Holland and Thornton, nearly all of Country Club Hills, Riverdale and Sauk Village, parts of Calumet Park, Dixmoor, Markham, Steger and University Park, and some small sections of Blue Island, Frankfort and Oak Forest. The district's area south of 95th Street is almost entirely east of the Dan Ryan Expressway (Interstate 57) until reaching Rich Township.
In the City of Chicago, the district includes the communities of East Side, Hegewisch, Pullman, Riverdale and South Deering; almost all of South Chicago; part of Hyde Park and the portion of Woodlawn east of Stony Island Avenue (largely consisting of Jackson Park); most of Avalon Park, Calumet Heights and South Shore east of Stony Island; most of Roseland south of 95th Street; most of Washington Heights southeast of 99th Street and Racine Avenue; part of Morgan Park east of Racine; and West Pullman excepting the portion southwest of 119th and Racine.
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,[5] this figure increased to 70% by the 1980s,[6] 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 square miles (180 km2).
Following redistricting for the 2000s, 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.[7]
Several suburbs closer to Chicago near Interstate 57 have black populations exceeding 75%: Calumet Park, Dolton, Harvey, Hazel Crest, Markham, Phoenix and Riverdale. 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, which has 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%),[8] 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 [4]. 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.[9]
Election results from presidential races | ||
---|---|---|
Year | Office | Results |
2008 | President | Barack Obama 90 - John McCain 10% |
2004 | President | John Kerry 84 - George W. Bush 16% |
2000 | President | Al Gore 81 - George W. Bush 17% |
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 [10] closed in March 1980, and U.S. Steel's South Works plant in South Chicago [11] – 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.[12] The most significant remaining industrial presence in the district is now the Ford Motor Company, which operates the Chicago Assembly plant (where the Ford Taurus 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 [5]; and UGN Inc., an automotive soundproofing manufacturer in Chicago Heights [6].
Federal facilities in the district include Coast Guard Station Calumet Harbor [7] [8] 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 U-505, district locations on the National Register of Historic Places include:
Representative | Party | Years | District home | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
District created March 4, 1833 | ||||
Zadok Casey | Jacksonian | March 4, 1833 - March 3, 1837 | Mount Vernon | Lost re-election |
Democratic | March 4, 1837 - March 3, 1841 | |||
Independent Democrat | March 4, 1841 - March 3, 1843 | |||
John A. McClernand | Democratic | March 4, 1843 - March 3, 1851 | Shawneetown | Retired |
Willis Allen | Democratic | March 4, 1851 - March 3, 1853 | Marion | Redistricted to the 9th district |
John Wentworth | Democratic | March 4, 1853 - March 3, 1855 | Chicago | Later served as Mayor of Chicago (1857–58, 1860–61) |
James H. Woodworth | Republican | March 4, 1855 - March 3, 1857 | Chicago | Retired; previously served as Mayor of Chicago (1848–50) |
John F. Farnsworth | Republican | March 4, 1857 - March 3, 1861 | Chicago | Retired |
Isaac N. Arnold | Republican | March 4, 1861 - March 3, 1863 | Near North Side | Redistricted to the 1st district |
John F. Farnsworth | Republican | March 4, 1863 - March 3, 1873 | St. Charles | Lost renomination |
Jasper D. Ward | Republican | March 4, 1873 - March 3, 1875 | Near West Side | Lost re-election |
Carter H. Harrison | Democratic | March 4, 1875 - March 3, 1879 | Near West Side | Retired; later served as Mayor of Chicago (1879–87, 1893) |
George R. Davis | Republican | March 4, 1879 - March 3, 1883 | Near West Side | Redistricted to the 3rd district |
John F. Finerty | Independent Democrat | March 4, 1883 - March 3, 1885 | Chicago | |
Frank Lawler | Democratic | March 4, 1885 - March 3, 1891 | Near West Side | |
Lawrence E. McGann | Democratic | March 4, 1891 - March 3, 1895 | Armour Square | Redistricted to the 3rd district |
William Lorimer | Republican | March 4, 1895 - March 3, 1901 | North Lawndale | Lost re-election |
John J. Feely | Democratic | March 4, 1901 - March 3, 1903 | Englewood | Retired |
James Robert Mann | Republican | March 4, 1903 - November 30, 1922 | Hyde Park/ South Shore |
Redistricted from the 1st district; Died; House Minority Leader (1911–1919) |
Vacant | November 30, 1922 - April 3, 1923 | |||
Morton D. Hull | Republican | April 23, 1923 - March 3, 1933 | Kenwood | Retired |
P. H. Moynihan | Republican | March 4, 1933 - January 3, 1935 | Calumet Heights | Lost re-election |
Raymond S. McKeough | Democratic | January 3, 1935 - January 3, 1943 | South Shore | Retired |
William A. Rowan | Democratic | January 3, 1943 - January 3, 1947 | East Side | Lost re-election |
Richard B. Vail | Republican | January 3, 1947 - January 3, 1949 | South Shore | Lost re-election |
Barratt O'Hara | Democratic | January 3, 1949 - January 3, 1951 | South Shore | Lost re-election |
Richard B. Vail | Republican | January 3, 1951 - January 3, 1953 | South Shore | Lost re-election |
Barratt O'Hara | Democratic | January 3, 1953 - January 3, 1969 | South Shore | Lost renomination |
Abner J. Mikva | Democratic | January 3, 1969 - January 3, 1973 | Hyde Park | Moved, lost re-election in the 10th district |
Morgan F. Murphy | Democratic | January 3, 1973 - January 3, 1981 | Beverly | Redistricted from the 3rd district; Retired |
Gus Savage | Democratic | January 3, 1981 - January 3, 1993 | South Shore | Lost renomination |
Mel Reynolds | Democratic | January 3, 1993 - October 1, 1995 | Chicago | Resigned |
Vacant | October 1, 1995 - December 12, 1995 | |||
Jesse Jackson, Jr. | Democratic | December 12, 1995–present | South Shore | Incumbent |
Illinois's 2nd Congressional District Election (2002) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |
Democratic | Jesse Jackson, Jr.* | 151,443 | 82.30% | |
Republican | Doug Nelson | 32,567 | 17.70% | |
Totals | 184,010 | 100.00% | ||
Voter turnout | % | |||
Democratic hold |
Illinois's 2nd Congressional District Election (2004) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |
Democratic | Jesse Jackson, Jr.* | 202,176 | 88.34% | |
Libertarian | Stephanie Sailor | 26,693 | 11.66% | |
Totals | 228,869 | 100.00% | ||
Voter turnout | % | |||
Democratic hold |
Illinois's 2nd Congressional District Election (2006) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |
Democratic | Jesse Jackson, Jr.* | 146,347 | 84.84% | |
Republican | Robert Belin | 20,395 | 11.82% | |
Libertarian | Anthony W. Williams | 5,748 | 3.33% | |
Totals | 172,490 | 100.00% | ||
Voter turnout | % | |||
Democratic hold |
Illinois's 2nd Congressional District Election (2008) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |
Democratic | Jesse Jackson, Jr.* | 251,052 | 89.41% | |
Republican | Anthony W. Williams | 29,721 | 10.59% | |
Totals | 280,773 | 100.00% | ||
Voter turnout | % | |||
Democratic hold |
Illinois's 2nd Congressional District Election (2010) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |
Democratic | Jesse Jackson, Jr.* | 150,666 | 80.52% | |
Republican | Isaac Hayes | 25,883 | 13.83% | |
Green | Anthony W. Williams | 10,564 | 5.65% | |
Totals | 187,113 | 100.00% | ||
Voter turnout | % | |||
Democratic hold |
The total number of representatives allotted to Illinois during each period follows the years in parentheses; boundaries went into effect beginning with the previous year's elections:
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 †.
Election | District winner | Runnerup | Other candidates |
---|---|---|---|
1852[25] | PIERCE† (D), 8,021 (49%) | Scott (W), 5,882 (36%) | Hale (Free Soil), 2,500 (15%) |
1856[25] | Frémont (R), 21,556 (67%) | BUCHANAN† (D), 9,843 (30%) | Fillmore (American), 966 (3%) |
1860[25] | LINCOLN† (R), 30,856 (64%) | Douglas (D), 16,993 (35%) | Bell (Constitutional Union), 192 (0.4%); Breckinridge (D), 128 (0.3%) |
1864[25] | LINCOLN† (R), 18,305 (78%) | McClellan (D), 5,231 (22%) | |
1868[25] | GRANT† (R), 20,946 (77%) | Seymour (D), 6,270 (23%) | |
1952[26] | Stevenson (D), 94,905 (51%) | EISENHOWER† (R), 91,522 (49%) | |
1956[26] | Stevenson (D), 81,570 (50%) | EISENHOWER† (R), 81,296 (50%) | |
1968[27] | Humphrey (D), 103,924 (59%) | NIXON† (R), 52,311 (30%) | Wallace (AIP), 18,896 (11%) |
1972[28] | McGovern (D), 116,534 (66%) | NIXON† (R), 60,220 (34%) | |
1976[29] | CARTER (D), 137,384 (83%) | Ford† (R), 28,498 (17%) | |
1980[30] | Carter (D), 145,205 (84%) | REAGAN† (R), 20,946 (12%) | Anderson (Indep.), 3,612 (2%) |
1984[31] | Mondale (D), 168,174 (84%) | REAGAN† (R), 32,693 (16%) | |
1988[32] | Dukakis (D), 150,387 (84%) | BUSH† (R), 25,896 (15%) | |
1992[33] | CLINTON† (D), 194,639 (80%) | Bush (R), 31,634 (13%) | Perot (Indep.), 16,950 (7%) |
1996[34] | CLINTON† (D), 170,819 (85%) | Dole (R), 22,204 (11%) | Perot (Reform), 6,395 (3%) |
2000[35] | Gore† (D), 188,289 (89%) | BUSH (R), 21,838 (10%) | Nader (Green), 1,626 (1%) |
2004[36] | Kerry† (D), 230,613 (84%) | BUSH (R), 43,822 (16%) |
|