Note Cards

1. Between 1880 and 1890 the improvements of transportation allowed more of a variety of people to come and live in Brighton Park, including Polish people. The people of B.P were brought together by their churches, which were the foundation of the community. The Polish formed their own churches including Five Holy Martyrs in 1908 and Pancratius in 1924. (1)
2. In 1930 Brighton Park’s population was 46,555 and 37% of people were Polish. In 1990 74.1% of residents, the population being 32,207, were white and 37.4% were of Hispanic origin. In 2000 the population was 44,912 and 50.9% were white, 76.6% were Hispanic, and of that 76.6%, 69% were Mexican. (1)
3. Five Holy Martyrs Church is located at 43^rd (renamed John Paul II) and Richmond St. It is a national parish that Rev. Joseph H. Kruszka helped create. The Rev. originally held mass at Davis public school (3014 w. 39^th Pl.) and by May 1909 it had become a church/school. The central businesses relocated to Archer Ave. and the church wasn’t located in the central point anymore, so Rev. relocated the church to its current location on August 3, 1919. By 1920, 1,298 families belonged to the parish, which is a long way from 1909 when only 95 families belonged to it. (2)
4. On November 8, 1959 3,800 families belonged to Five Holy Martyrs Parish with Fr. Edward A. Mayday as their pastor.  Fr. Mayday had the church enlarged by March 1964. He soon resigned in July 1968 and Reverend Alfred L. Abramowicz became pastor on July 15, 1968. He continued remodeling the place and updating it to make it modern. (2)
5. Since there was a lot of Polish people in Brighton Park Bishop Abramowicz stressed the importance of keeping some Polish culture. Saturday school allowed the Polish language to be taught and customs were observed. This allowed Polish ethics to be kept. (2)
6. The Illinois and Michigan canal and the formation of railways are what brought “industry and working class residents” to Brighton Park. In 1979 Pope John Paul II held a huge mass ceremony at Five Holy Martyrs Church. The masses held there are split between English and Polish. (3)
7. The Polish community of Chicago developed after the Civil War. Polish Chicago was “shaped by at least three distinct immigration waves.” The first is called Za Chlebem and lasted from the 1850s to the early 1920s. The second, the smallest, happened during the postwar period of World War II. The third began in the 1980s and is known as the “Solidarity” immigration. (4)
8. Poles moved to Brighton Park and many other locations when they left Bridgeport and Back of the Yards. By 1980 the Polish were being replaced mainly by Hispanics. Not much changed in the churches except that the masses were given in other languages like Spanish and English.  Polish Chicago “remains a vital ethnic community” because of the Polish immigration and the over 150 years of Polish tradition. (4)
9. St. Pancratius Church’s location is 40^th Pl. and Sacramento Ave. it was created in March 1924 for the Polish residing in the Brighton Park community. It was created because Five Holy Martyrs had become crowded and children had to cross Archer Ave. (busy street) just to go to school. It is a member of the Archer-Brighton Council, along with Five Holy Martyrs. (5)
10.  Brighton Park is a mix of residential areas, commercial zones, industrial works and transportation facilities.  The European immigrants, mainly Polish, created their own businesses along the main street, Archer Avenue because of the attraction it would receive. There are two main railroads, The Corwith Intermodal freight facility and Brighton Park crossing, near Western Avenue and Archer Avenue, which had a big influence on B.p’s demographic because it allowed another way into the neighborhood.(6)

    11. “Alderman Edward M. Burke’s  14th Ward has shifted from an Eastern European area to one mostly populated by Mexicans.” This and the recession have caused a struggle with ethnic tension and disinvestment but Alderman Burke seems to be handling it.  The long time Polish families call and complain that they don’t want to hear “Mexican music” and don’t like that the neighborhood has attracted Mexican people.  They want to remain as a Polish community and not deal with anyone else. (7)

    12. Brighton’s crime rate has gone up and many parents are unhappy with that fact and taken upon themselves to blame the alderman. Yet Alderman Burke keeps getting re-elected with 90% of the vote so no one has done anything and taken charge to show how upset they are. Burke has taken consideration of both the European families and Mexican families’ needs and has done the best he can. He hasn't let the pressure overcome him and have his ward move west where there are less Hispanics. (7)
    13. Due to the influx of Hispanic residents the community has seen a huge increase in the number of children and the average household size. Brighton Park has become “ethnically isolated” due to the fact that the Hispanics who have moved there only accept their values and their culture, which is the biggest impact on how they live their lives. As the number of Hispanic people grew and the number of Polish people decreased, the need for the languages spoken, primarily business, needed to change .Spanish had to become the main language because that's what many of the residents understood. (8)
    

    14. The people in Brighton Park mainly have “blue collar” jobs in manufacturing, construction, and maintenance. The lack of English is the reason for this because most residents aren't able to communicate if they had better jobs since English would be the spoken language. Brighton Park is an industrial, working class character and the people in the industrial work long hours and are paid a minimum wage salary. 35% of its employed labor force works in production, transportation, and materials moving. (8)

    
    

    15. The largest population increase of Hispanics was in Brighton Park in the 1990s with 5,888 persons. From 1990 to 2000 it had had Hispanic population change of 2,500 and over.  The growing Hispanic population called for changes in social, economic, and political changes. Terms for each area needed to be re-thought because of the cultural change; everything had to become suited to a Hispanic lifestyle.(9) 

    
    

    16. About a third of Polish immigrants live in Chicago.  In 1890, 25,726 Polish immigrants lived in metro Chicago, and then increased in 1920 to 151,260 Polish immigrants. Before the 1920s there was (nearly) open immigration to the U.S which was the cause of the increase of population. But in 1921 and 1924 federal legislation ended this “almost unlimited” immigration from Europe to America. This made European immigration (Polish included) reach a low population in 1980. (10)

    
    

    
    

    
    

    17. Starting in 1990 the U.S Congress created “diversity visas” which allowed the larger numbers of immigrants already in the U.S fill applications for their family back in their home-land to migrate to the U.S. The Polish were one of these groups that were able to do that, making themselves the largest number of legal immigrants residing in Illinois. Many Polish people arrived in America during the last decade before 2004. (10)

    
    

    
    

    
    

    18.  In 1990, the population of Polish immigrants residing in Brighton Park was 2,323, which then decreased in 2000 to 684 Polish immigrants. Learning English is the most beneficial factor for Polish natives living in Chicago because it opens more work opportunities for them. About 30% of Polish immigrants (in 2004) do not speak English well, but that’s low compared to the increasing numbers of those who do. Many schools offer classes for Polish children to learn English while still going to school. (10)
    
    

    19. In 2009, 45% of those living in Chicago were born in Mexico, while 8% were born in Poland. Also in 2009, 73% of those who said they were Hispanic said their “specific origin” was Mexico. One of the main communities that have a considerable amount of their population being Mexican is Brighton Park. More than one third of Chicago residents are bilingual; the other spoken languages are: Spanish (being at the top), followed by Polish. (11)
    
    

    20. In 1950 Chicago’s population was 85.9% white, then decreased to having a white population of 43.7% in 1980 and gaining an increase of 14.1% of a Latino population. Then in 1990 the white population decreased to 37.9% and (also decreasing in the years between them) decreased to 33.3% in 2009. The Hispanic population however, continued to increase in size, in 1990 it increased to 19.6% and also increased to 27.3% in 2009. (11)

    
    

    
    

    21. During the 1990s, the Hispanic population in Chicago, IL caused population growth because the number of births exceeded the number of deaths. Brighton Park is one of the areas that have had a steady population growth of 6% since 1990. From 1990-2005, the ages of 0-17 have had a large growth in B.P. (12)
    
    

    22.  Latina women in Chicago have a fertility rate nearly a third greater than African American women, so they have a much higher population. Chicago’s Hispanic growth continued from 2000-2004 by 5.6%, still being a predominant source of its population increase. Between 2000-2004 the city’s white population declined -3.5%. (12)

    
    
    

    23. Brighton Park now is a mainly low-income class neighborhood. The change of white to minority during the last 10 years is the cause of this. From 1990-2005 there has been a 235% increase in the number of minors living in poverty. These large increases of the poverty level still haven’t brought more programs to help these living situations.  (13)
    24. More jobs in the city will be taken over by Mexicans because of their population growth. Over the past 20 years the number of manufacturing jobs that Hispanics have, have doubled in time. This makes the number of bilingual supervisors increase because a lot of low-income classes are Hispanics who don’t speak English or they don’t speak it well. Brighton Park has had one of the greatest increases of Hispanic growth and White population decrease. (14)
    
    

    25. Many of the Hispanic immigrants migrate to the southwest side of Chicago (including Brighton Park). Chicago’s politicians take interest in the Hispanic growth because it gives them an insight of how they need to change their communities to adapt to its new needs. Therefore, many Latinos have been making a breakthrough in the political world since they have an even bigger insight on the Hispanic communities because they themselves know what’s best, being Hispanic themselves. (14)     
    
    

    26. In 1915 the opening of The Crane Manufacturing Company allowed more people to have jobs. The closing of Crane’s in 1977 hurt the economy and decreased Brighton Park’s population by one third between 1930 and 1980. People began looking for different jobs that would be reliable. Then in 2000 its population had increased and was 44,912, 69% being of Mexican origin because there were now more jobs were being provided again. (15)

    
    

    
    

    
    

    27. Protestant churches were the first to appear in Brighton Park for the Yankees who established the early firms. In 1848 the Brighton Park Baptist Church was created and in 1872 St. Agnes Church served the Irish Roman Catholics. It wasn’t until the early 1900s Italians, Poles, and Lithuanians created their own Catholic churches because there was so many of them who followed the same religion. (15)
    
    
    
    

    28. In 1889 Brighton was a “working-class neighborhood” that was populated by many different immigrants. It seemed to be the place to go for a new life, and was providing many jobs. The Santa Fe yards made Brighton Park accessible because it provided an easier way to migrate from around the world. (16)

    
    

    29. Many manufacturing business opening between 1905 and 1915 created jobs that immigrants who spoke little to no English could obtain.  Three of them being: The Central Manufacturing District (opened in 1905), the Crane Manufacturing Company (opened in 1915) and the Kenwood Manufacturing District (opened in 1915). Their different locations in the Brighton Park community were beneficial to the residential workers because it didn’t take long to travel to and from their jobs. (16)
    
    

    30. In 1928, Brighton Park had about 700-800 Mexicans living in the community. They worked at the Santa Fe railroad yards, the McCormick Works factory, and the Crane Manufacturing Company, all three only providing jobs for males. This factor made more Mexican males migrate then Mexican women because they had more of a chance of “survival” and making a life for themselves before bringing their families. (17)

    
    

    
    

    
    

    31. Thirty-eight street served as the “commercial center” for Brighton Park, being a main and accessible street. Many Mexican established businesses began to take over the Jewish and Polish businesses. There were at least three pool-rooms were Mexican males would relax and play pool. The businesses were family owned and everyone knew everyone; Brighton Park was becoming a home for Mexican immigrants. (17)

    
    

    
    

    32. The other side of thirty-eight street by the Santa Fe railroad tracks became where Mexican families would live in railroad boxcars. These were horrible living conditions because they contained no windows and were made of steel and iron which absorbed the sun’s heat during Chicago’s hot summers. It was just as horrible during the harsh winters, being too cold. But nonetheless, it was home and kids were in front of their houses playing soccer with their friends. (17)
    
    
    

    33. The Poles expansion to the Southwest side of Chicago was slow until after the First World War, then the expansion began to pick up speed. Then, McKinley Park and Brighton Park soon had Polish parishes. Soon more and more smaller parishes began forming in the southwest and the northwest because of the local industries and the Santa Fe railroad tracks. (18)
    
    
    

    34. In 2000, Brighton Park was the third largest Mexican community (in Chicago) of 17, 609, compared to South Lawndale with 42,422 and the lower West Side with 20,529. Many “major institutions’ by and for Mexicans include the Mexican Fine Arts Museum (location: 19^th and Ashland), and the Alivio Medical Facilities (locations: 21^st and Morgan and 24^th and Western).The increase in the Mexican population by reproduction is responsible for the large demographic shift. (19)
    
    
    

    35. Illinois’ Latino population between 1990 and 2000 was two thirds of the state’s increase in population.  Young Latino adults have low-income manufacturing jobs because many of them drop out of school and don’t have enough education for better jobs. The increase of the Mexican population in Brighton Park is bringing down the literacy rates and the children tend to follow in their parent’s footsteps by getting a job as soon as possible instead of finishing their education. (20)