Calumet City (commonly referred to locally as "Cal City") was founded in 1893 when the villages of Schrumville and Sobieski Park merged under the name of West Hammond, since it lies on the west side of the Illinois-Indiana line from Hammond, Indiana.[1]
In 1916, when alcohol was prohibited in Indiana, West Hammond became a preferred location for drinkers coming from northwest Indiana.[7]Bootleggers including Al Capone built on this basis once the Prohibition era arrived, and West Hammond gained the nickname of "Sin City".[7]
West Hammond became known for illegal alcohol consumption, gambling, and prostitution.[7] In 1923, residents wishing to rid the city of its reputation voted to change the name from West Hammond to Calumet City.[7][3]
Frank LaPorte is believed to have been the member of the Chicago Outfit who was most responsible for developing and maintaining the "Sin Strip" area of Calumet City.[8] Police avoided Sin Strip and risked violence if they tried to make an arrest.[9]
In 1959, the state of Illinois conducted a police raid that resulted in 98 arrests and the seizure of business records.[10] An article published in Chicago Daily News on June 2, 1959, exposed LaPorte as being instrumental in the illegal activities in Calumet City.[10]
In 1995, the city began demolishing bars and taverns in the "Sin Strip" area.[11][12]
Geography
According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Calumet City has a total area of 7.32 square miles (18.96 km2), of which 7.20 square miles (18.65 km2) (or 98.31%) is land and 0.12 square miles (0.31 km2) (or 1.69%) is water.[13]
Surrounding areas
In addition to being bordered to the east by Hammond, it is also bordered by Burnham and Chicago to the north, Lansing to the south, and South Holland and Dolton to the west.
As of the 2020 census[17] there were 36,033 people, 14,166 households, and 8,607 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,921.20 inhabitants per square mile (1,900.09/km2). There were 16,196 housing units at an average density of 2,211.96 per square mile (854.04/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 72.64% African American, 9.74% White, 0.65% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 10.44% from other races, and 6.30% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.97% of the population.
There were 14,166 households, out of which 31.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 26.65% were married couples living together, 26.42% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.24% were non-families. 36.79% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.38 and the average family size was 2.56.
The city's age distribution consisted of 23.5% under the age of 18, 11.0% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 26% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $50,640, and the median income for a family was $55,612. Males had a median income of $34,474 versus $32,079 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,688. About 15.9% of families and 18.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.6% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.
Calumet City, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
A landmark and point of pride among Cal City residents is the pair of large water towers painted like the popular "Have a Nice Day" smiley faces which are located on Ring Road near River Oaks Mall, the other State Street near Interstate 94.[19]
The mayor of Calumet City is currently Thaddeus Jones. He has served as Mayor since being elected to the office in 2021.[20]
Mayors of Calumet City
Mayors of Calumet City, Illinois
Image
Mayor
Years
Notes
1893 – ?
K. M. Wosczynski
? – April 1915
Paul M. Kamradt
April 1915 – March 1925
Defeated incumbent mayor K. M. Wosczynski in March 1915 primary election in West Hammond (name change to Calumet City in 1923)[21] Defeated Martin Finneran in April 1915 general election.[22] Grandfather of mayor Robert Stefaniak[23]
John W. Jaranowski
March 1925 – April 1935
Defeated Paul M. Kamradt in the general election on March 11, 1925[24][25]
William F. Zick
April 1935 – April 1941
Defeated John Jaranowski in April 1935 general election[26] Lost to Jaranowski in April 1941 general election[25]
John W. Jaranowski (2nd term)
April 1941 – April 1945
Previously served as mayor from 1925 to 1935[25] Lost in reelection bid in April 1945[27]
Son-in-law of former mayor John Jaranowski[28] Choose to not run for reelection in 1961[29]
Joseph W. Nowak
April 1961 – January 28, 1972
First elected in April 1961.[23][30] Resigned on January 28, 1972 [31] after being sentenced to three years in prison for embezzlement[32]
Herbert Breclaw
January 31, 1972 – June 1972
Named interim mayor on January 31, 1972
Robert Stefaniak
June 1972 – 1993
First elected in a special election held on June 6, 1972 to complete the remaining 10 months of former mayor Joseph W. Nowak's term.[32][23] Won in the general election in April 1973[33] Choose to not run for reelection in 1993.[34]
Appointed to fill out the remainder of the term of Jerry Genova until a special election was held in April 2003[35]
Greg Skubisz
April 2003 – September 2003
Elected by 24 votes over Michelle Markiewicz Qualkinbush in a special election held in April 2003. Sworn into office. Overturned on appeal on September 2, 2003 by Circuit Court Judge Michael Murphy who threw out 38 absentee ballots that he determined to have been illegally cast for Skubisz and eliminated about 50 other contested ballots resulting in Markiewicz Qualkinbush winning the election by 27 votes.[36]
Calumet City is featured or mentioned in a number of major movies. John Belushi's "Joliet Jake" and Dan Aykroyd's "Elwood" characters from The Blues Brothers were born in Calumet City, and so is the orphanage they grew up in, which they save "on a mission from God" by paying $5,000 in property taxes from a $10,000 record deal at their concert, as well as "Ray's Music Exchange" that holds the famed Ray Charles "Shake Your Tail-Feather" scene of the movie. In the book and film The Silence of the Lambs, Buffalo Bill is thought to be hiding in Calumet City, when he is actually in Belvedere, Ohio. The Calumet City scenes in the film were filmed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, however. Lily Tomlin's prim but assertive housewife/spokesperson "Mrs. Judith Beasley" is said to be a resident of Calumet City. She said, "Hi. I am not an actress, but a real person like yourself."
Calumet City is also referenced by a number of popular music acts. The Black Crowes included a video of the Smiley Towers in their 1990 video for "Hard to Handle". A photograph of the "Dolton" smiley water tower is featured on the back of the Dead Kennedys album Plastic Surgery Disasters. Rapper Twista has referenced Calumet City. Kanye West's reference to Calumet in his 2005 song "Drive Slow" does not refer to Calumet City, but rather to Calumet High School, which was located in the South Side of Chicago and not in Calumet City.
The Smiley Tower is also featured in the movie Natural Born Killers; it is seen out the window of Mallory's family home (part of that movie was filmed in Hammond, Indiana). In the Nine Inch Nails music video on the director's cut of the same film, the Smiley Tower and Dolton Avenue/State Street is featured.
The founders of the Calumet Baking Powder Company adopted its brand name from the original Native American word for the land that became Calumet City. They later named one of thoroughbred horse racing's most famed and successful enterprises, Calumet Farm, after the company.
In 2004, Alan Keyes purchased a raised ranch house in Calumet City to establish residency in Illinois so he could run for the U.S. Senate in place of Jack Ryan against Barack Obama, although instead of residing in the house, he officially moved into an apartment elsewhere in town, on Garfield Avenue.
In 2010, pop music group Hanson remade the "Shake Your Tailfeather" scene from The Blues Brothers for the music video for their hit "Thinkin' 'Bout Somethin'" in Tulsa, Oklahoma, paying homage to Calumet City's Ray's Music Exchange, John Belushi, and Ray Charles.
Jean Shepherd (writer and narrator of the classic movie A Christmas Story) in radio broadcasts from WOR radio, New York in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s and in his PBS specials of the 1970s and 1980s, and his many books, often refers to it as Cal City or just Calumet. He grew up next door in Hammond, Indiana.
^United States of America Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 90th Congress Second Session. United States Government Printing Office. 1968. pp. 16332–16333. 1924—West Hammond changed its name to Calumet City.
^ ab(1993). "Calumet City Centennial Celebration". Illinois: Centennial History Committee.
^Enke, Anne (2007). Finding the Movement: Sexuality, Contested Space, and Feminist Activism. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. p. 284. ISBN978-0822340836. Until 1924, Calumet City was known as West Hammond, Illinois. Separated from Hammond, Indiana, by State Line Road, saloons and brothels settled on the Illinois side before, during, and after Prohibition.
^ abcdKeating, Ann Durkin (2008). Chicago Neighborhoods and Suburbs: A Historical Guide. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. pp. 120–121. ISBN978-0226428833.
^Lombardo, Robert M. (2013). Organized Crime in Chicago: Beyond the Mafia. University of Illinois Press. pp. 183–184. ISBN978-0252094484.
^"Glitter Fades: Calumet City's Sin Strip Loses to Suburban Respectability". The Cincinnati Enquirer. June 17, 1962. Retrieved September 6, 2023. Everything was on sale in 'Sin Strip' and policemen stayed away from the row. Any officer who tried to make an arrest was generally asking for a beating up.
^ abLuzi, Matthew J. (2012). The Boys in Chicago Heights: The Forgotten Crew of the Chicago Outfit. Charleston, SC: The History Press. p. 79. ISBN978-1609497330.
^'Illinois Blue Book 1997-1998,' Biographical Sketch of Arline M. Fantin, pg. 85
^'Illinois Blue Book 1993-1994,' Biographical Sketch of Frank Giglio, pg. 80
^"John Jurkovic". Football Database.com. 2011. Archived from the original on November 22, 2011. Retrieved May 11, 2011. High School: Thornton Fractional North (Calumet City, IL)
^Foltman, Bob (May 3, 2001), "WMVP shuffles afternoon lineup: Low ratings cost Simonson-Canellis", Chicago Tribune, retrieved May 11, 2011, Jurkovic, who played with the Green Bay Packers and Jacksonville Jaguars before retiring in 1999, was voted the NFL's funniest player in a Sport Magazine poll in 1998. He is a Calumet City native and a graduate of Thornton Fractional North High School.
^Hamnik, Al (September 11, 2010), "Cal City's Tomczak won't ever forget 'miracle' ride", Northwest Indiana Times, retrieved May 11, 2011, They had accepted Tomczak, the rookie, and occasionally he was allowed to play among them. "It was a miracle ride for me," the T.F. North grad and former Ohio State star said.
^Myslenski, Skip; Kay, Linda (September 17, 1986), "Planning ahead: Mike Tomczak reached inside the breast...", Chicago Tribune, retrieved May 11, 2011, Both Jo Ann and Ron Tomczak, who coached Mike at Thornton Fractional North, dashed the theory that their son had a case of the jitters Sunday.
