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South Deering
Boundaries and Major Infrastructure
- There are three distinct neighborhoods in the northeast corner of the community area: Jeffery Manor to the west, Vets Park/ Slag Valley to the east and South Deering to the south.
- Click on the map to explore each neighborhood.
- The official South Deering community area is bordered by 95th Street, the Calumet River, the S.C. &S. Railroad tracks, 130th Street, and the Bishop Ford Expressway and Stony Island on the west.
Biodiversity
- South Deering contains the region's namesake, Lake Calumet, as well as a number of wetlands, woodlands and prairies that harbor many species.
- Lake Calumet (720 acres) provides critical breeding and foraging habitat for numerous birds, including double-crested cormorants, herons, and sandpipers. It also hosts the largest nesting colony of ring-billed gulls and herring gulls. Over 20 breeds of fish, including the state threatened Iowa darter (threatened in Illinois) live in the lake.
- Rare birds, such as black-crowned night-herons, least bitterns, pied-billed grebes, and common moorhens, use Big Marsh (300 acres) to nest.
- Indian Ridge Marshes (165 acre) wetland attracts numerous wetland birds, including common moorhen and a variety of herons.
Important facts
- South Deering was home to the region's first steel mill. The 'Brown Mill' established at 109th Street in 1875, by the Iron and Steel Company.
- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) selected the City of Chicago's Department of Environment for a Superfund Redevelopment Pilot. Chicago is home to the Lake Calumet Cluster Superfund sites, which are U.S. Drum, the Auburn Incinerator, the Paxton Lagoons, and an unnamed parcel. The sites are in wetlands next to Lake Calumet that were originally 200 acres in size.
- The original wetlands area has been partially filled by a group of waste storage and disposal facilities. The facilities shut down in the late 1970s.
Contemporary Demographics
2000 Total Population: 16,990
Census tracts don't correspond directly to the neighborhood areas. Tract 5102 spreads both the Vets Park and Jeffery Manor Communities. However, Jeffery Manor is predominantly African American, South Deering is mostly Latino and African American and Vets Park is largely Latino with many African American residents as well. The majority of Spanish speakers in the area rated their English speaking ability as 'well' or 'very well' in the 2000 Census. However, there is a sizeable number of residents in South Deering and Vets Park who, according to the 2000 US Census, do not feel they speak English well.
Demographic shift: In 1960 according to the Local Community Fact Book 1990, 99% of the population was white. By 1980, 24% of the population was of Hispanic origin and 55% were African American. In 2000 30% of the population was Hispanic and 61% African American.
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