South Deering, Chicago

South Deering
—  Community area  —
Community Area 51 - South Deering
Location within the city of Chicago
Coordinates: 41°42.6′N 87°33.6′W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Cook
City	Chicago
Neighborhoods	list Jeffery Manor South Deering Trumbull Park Vets Park
Area
• Total	8.9 sq mi (23.03 km2)
Population (2000)
• Total	16,990
• Density	1,910.7/sq mi (737.7/km2)
	population down 4.31% from 1990
Demographics
• White	7.58%
• Black	60.8%
• Hispanic	30.5%
• Asian	0.05%
• Other	1.08%
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP Codes	parts of 60617 and 60633
Median income	$34,789
Source: U.S. Census, Record Information Services

South Deering, one of the 77 official community areas of the City of Chicago, Illinois, is located on the far south side. It was a very industrial neighborhood, consisting of a small group of homes in the northeast corner and Lake Calumet taking up most of the remainder. It exists in the 10th Ward, what was once the reign of Alderman Edward Vrdolyak, now in private law practice. It was the home of the now defunct Wisconsin Steel Works, originally the Joseph H. Brown Iron and Steel Company, which opened in 1875 and was the first steel mill in the entire Calumet region. Since the closing of the plant, the neighborhood has gone through an economic depression. South Deering was the home of primarily lower middle class dwellers. Jeffery Manor was once a predominantly Jewish community populated by World War II veterans purchasing their first house. It now is mostly African-American. Jeffery Manor is where Richard Speck murdered 8 student nurses in 1966. Jon Burge was raised in South Deering. Louis Rosen documented the racial transition of this and nearby communities in his 1998 book The South Side: The Racial Transformation of an American Neighborhood. The area from 95th to 103rd and from Baltimore Ave to Manistee is commonly referred to as "Slag Valley", in reference to the slag (waste steel) from the former steel plants, being piled in the area. It was also the long time residence of late conspiracy theorist Sherman Skolnick.

Transportation

South Deering is served by a number of CTA bus routes:

• N5 - South Shore Night Bus
• 14 - Jeffery Express
• 15 - Jeffery Local
• 28 - Stony Island
• X28 - Stony Island Express
• 71 - 71st/South Shore
• 95E - 93rd-95th
• 100 - Jeffery Manor Express
• 106 - East 103rd

References

Kornblum, William Blue Collar Community (Studies of Urban Society) University of Chicago Press, 1974 ISBN 0226450376

External links

• Official City of Chicago South Deering Community Map
• Northeastern Illinois University community history project
• Lake Calumet region Journey through Calumet, The Field Museum
  • South Deering community area
    • Jeffery Manor neighborhood
    • South Deering neighborhood
    • Vets Park neighborhood