South Chicago residents launch new community plan

Title: South Chicago residents launch new community plan South Chicago residents unveiled their new Quality of Life Plan on Saturday, marking the first comprehensive community vision for the neighborhood since 2007.

The plan draws from input by more than 1,000 residents who identified priority areas for the next five to seven years: arts and culture, economic development, education, environment and infrastructure, health, housing and safety.

The timing coincides with major developments reshaping the South Side neighborhood. The Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park broke ground and represents a multibillion-dollar investment. Advocate Health Care plans a new 52-bed hospital north of the quantum campus.

“As you look at the last 20 years, the resilient nature of South Chicago is pretty impressive,” said Meghan Harte, senior executive director at the Local Initiatives Support Corporation Chicago. “We are going through other challenges, politically and socially, and yet they’re still growing. That’s why these plans are super important, because it does get everybody focused on momentum and opportunity.”

LISC Chicago and Claretian Associates, a South Chicago nonprofit focused on affordable housing and social services, collaborated on the plan. Community engagement began in summer 2024, before the quantum campus announcement.

“When suddenly IQMP came on the scene, we were like, ‘This is great. We have an opportunity to help the community speak what it needs, so then these other partners can come to the table knowing what the community has said it’s needed,’” said Angela Hurlock, CEO of Claretian Associates.

The plan reveals stark demographic shifts. While income and education levels have grown in South Chicago, the population has dropped 24% since 2000. Much of the decline stems from the closure of the U.S. Steel South Works mill, which forced workers and their families to leave.

Residents expressed concerns about neighborhood safety and vacant lots left behind by the plant closure. “There’s a perception of unsafety,” Hurlock said of the vacant lots. “How do you fight perception? You plan around that.”

LISC Chicago has helped create 30 neighborhood quality of life plans across the city and has directed more than $2 billion toward implementing them, according to Harte.

Jaime Arteaga, a LISC Chicago program officer, said South Chicago residents want to grow the neighborhood’s population while improving conditions for longtime residents.