Additionally, it now takes in Iroquois County; most of Ford and Vermilion; eastern Livingston County including half of Pontiac; and the portion of Champaign County north of County Road 3000 N. The 2nd district takes in the Chicago neighborhoods of Hegewisch and Riverdale; most of South Deering and Pullman; the coastal portion of Kenwood; the eastern part of Woodlawn and Hyde Park taking up Jackson Park; the portion of South Shore east of East 71st Street and South Yates Blvd (including Rainbow Beach Park); and part of Roseland.
Outside of the Chicago city limits, the district takes in the Cook County communities of Dolton, South Holland, Chicago Heights, Sauk Village, Park Forest (shared with Will County), Lansing, Burnham, Calumet City, Phoenix, Hazel Crest, East Hazel Crest, Thornton, Flossmoor, Glenwood, Olympia Fields, Ford Heights, Lynwood, Richton Park, South Chicago Heights, and Steger (shared with Will County); part of Blue Island; part of Riverdale; part of Dixmoor; part of Markham; part of Frankfort (shared with Will County); most of Harvey; most of Country Club Hills; and most of Matteson.
The 2nd district takes in the communities of Danville, Tilton, Bismarck, Hoopeston, Rankin, East Lynn, Rossville, Potomac, Henning, Alvin, Fithian, Muncie, Oakwood, Catlin, Westville, and Belgium.
The 2nd district takes in the municipalities of Fairbury, Chatsworth, Strawn, Forrest, Saunemin, Cullom, Odell, Emington, Campus; most of Dwight; and half of Pontiac.
The southeast side of Chicago was for many decades the home of numerous Eastern European and Irish immigrants who sought the industrial work of the steel mills and railroad companies which were then dominant in the area.
However, as local industry declined in the 1950s and 1960s, these groups were increasingly displaced by African Americans who were gradually migrating southward from other parts of the city.
Following redistricting for the 2000s (decade), 59% of the 2nd congressional district's population resides in the suburbs, with a total of 98.4% living in Cook County.
Hispanics represent 10% of the district's population, with sizable communities in East Side and Chicago Heights.
Chicago's South Shore neighborhood was the longtime home to a Jewish community which has since migrated to suburbs such as Homewood and Flossmoor [1].
Olympia Fields, Country Club Hills and Matteson are affluent suburbs with black majority populations, but Ford Heights (only four miles east of Olympia Fields) is one of the most impoverished places in the United States, with a median household income of just $17,500 in 2000 – less than 42% of the national average.
All or parts of Bradley, Bourbonnais, Calumet City, Chicago, Chicago Heights, Country Club Hills, Dolton, Harvey, Hazel Crest, Homewood, Kankakee, Lansing, Markham, Matteson, Park Forest, Richton Park, Riverdale, Sauk Village, Steger and Thornton are included.
Virtually the last remnant of the industry in the area is ISG Riverdale (formerly the Acme Steel Co.), which began a shutdown in 2001 before being sold and restructured as a smaller company.
Federal facilities in the district include Coast Guard Station Calumet Harbor [4] [5] in East Side and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Army Reserve Center, home of the 308th Civil Affairs Brigade, in Homewood.