Thanks to these two websites for sharing some awesome documentation and knowledge of the history in Ford Heights, a place that was difficult to find information on: www.chicagoganghistory.com www.southcookexplore.com American Hoods Playlist: th-cam.com/play/PLkAKbwTlGHeLYlKLyBm1dGc7MRpNhCBZX.html Illinois Playlist: th-cam.com/play/PLkAKbwTlGHeKoOBxconpFSyUSO32NKREy.html Chicago Suburbs Playlist: th-cam.com/play/PLkAKbwTlGHeILgN75aeaBe0EHvhBHyagP.html Edit: The Ford Heights 4 were 4 men. The woman that I showed a picture of was a witness who was also wrongfully charged with a crime. Help me grow my 2nd channel! TH-cam.com/@chrishardenarchives ==================================================================== EVERYTHING THAT I USE IN THE FIELD: Main Camera: amzn.to/3iS4vvF Side Cameras: amzn.to/2WuCYIs Media Mod for Camera: amzn.to/3j7CMGF Lav Mic: amzn.to/3lsMkz9 Drone: amzn.to/3ITcKBV SD Cards: amzn.to/3C2co9O Camera Mounts: amzn.to/2UXVR6p Cables Required for Longer Recordings: amzn.to/3BYnr3Q Computer: amzn.to/3787b2j External Hard Drive: amzn.to/3lb23Tf WHAT I USE AT HOME: Computer: amzn.to/3rKIdiN Sound Mixer: amzn.to/3C15Ubx Microphone: amzn.to/2VaCjvo Microphone Accessories: amzn.to/3v7A35Z INTERACTIVE MAP that shows you all of the places that I've made videos on: (Doesn't always work on mobile devices. Will always work on PC.) www.google.com/maps/d/u/1/edit?hl=en&mid=1Lhzf04ocimPu-ROkg4cfXEYEvKMNnlI5&ll=35.2437531716631%2C-91.53765609999999&z=5 SOCIAL MEDIA & CONTACT INFO: Email: ChrisHardenYT@Gmail.com On Twitter: twitter.com/Chris_Harden55 On Instagram: instagram.com/c_harden7 On Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisHardenYT DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you. As an Amazon Associate I do earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. As always, thank you for supporting my channel!
FYI, next time you decide to prepare a documentary, please do interviews from the people that actually live there or have lived there because this reporting is not including a complete picture of what and when the demise of the town. Your reporting does not capture the true essence of how this community was like a family. I grew up here as well as throughout the South Suburban area.
@aprilsanders8484 ...thank you for saying that, these ppl are the very benefactors of the blight and demise of our communities. One of these ppl will come in backed by politicians and borrowed bank funds scheming so sort of way to squeeze land and equity profits out of Ford Heights. They did it in the South when they seized lands and turned them into PGA golf faiways!
@@aprilsanders8484 Chill out April, lets see You make a video than ? He made this video the best he could, least You could be is Thankful someone at least TRIED. That's more than enough to ask for, effort is more important then getting it right. He can always improve without people complaining and whinning at him. He did a fantastic job with the time and resources he has available. Next time remember that money doesn't grow on trees and everything takes time and he will learn to improve as time goes on.
I used to work for the police department for only six months. Everything you said is accurate. I only work dayshift. The shootouts were real. Cook County sheriffs police came in and took over right after we walked off and quit. Yeah. It’s bad.
I've been on the fire department out here for 10 years man it is finally starting to get better. We got a couple multi-million-dollar projects taking place. There's a plan to build some container homes a lot of the homes that have been burned down have been torn down and rebuilt the mayor is trying to really turn that place around it has been in the gutter for way too long and it's time that he gets back to what it used to be Ford Heights used to be called East Chicago Heights. it was a very thriving neighborhood for some reason it fell apart but it is finally being reimagined to be better than what it was in the past
This would have been a great place to build tiny homes for the migrants or renovate the houses already there for them and it would rather than have then overlapping in the city and on the streets, I wonder why Johnson or Pritzker didn't couldn't wouldn't think of that idea or is the fix already in for whocthey have chosen to oppress and annihilate.
@@ronu6264 well I've been on the fire department for 10 years out there and the mayor that we have right now has got multi-million-dollar projects in development he is getting rid of all the houses that have been burned out and rebuilding them he is really putting forth an effort to try and turn that town around so don't count them out just yet but man were they headed in a very very very very very very bad Direction
This is my hometown. It was funny when he talked about trying to find out what The Bronx and Vietnam looked like, as I have vivid memories of them from the 1970s, '80s, and '90s. I'm glad he did the video and talked about the struggles of the place. When I worked at the Chicago Tribune, I still remember the newsroom got quiet for a second when the woman I was talking to heard I was from Ford Heights. She said, "Nobody comes from there..." Yeah, it was a 'different' place. Funny though, it went from 'Black Mayberry' in the early to mid-'80s to Beirut by the late '80s seemingly overnight once drugs hit the village.
@@michelleavant8627My uncle built the only remaining church that’s still standing there! The Red brick church that affectionately called the house that Jack built. The kindest man you could ever meet who had a big camper in his yard and loved everyone! May he Rest in Peace!
Myself, also a native of Ford Heights.......I was just getting ready to write something about this video on my hometown, too. Even though he's correct on SOME things, he did get some things incorrect. Chris did point out that you can't find much info on Ford Heights...most of that has to do with the media slowly erasing the village's existence from ANY available data pool. His best option to get the true vibe of Ford Heights would've been just to ask the people of the village itself....especially the old-timers if they're still around...depending on how brave he would've been. lol!! My view on this video is that its just another "hit piece" on East Chicago Heights (Ford Heights)....even if its more than deserved or self inflicted! Ive always wondered why ECH was singled out as most impoverished village in the south burbs when you had towns like Dixmoor, Robbins and Phoenix a few miles away. I agree with your example of comparison though, 'Black Mayberry' to Beirut.....but I was thinking more like early '90s Compton!
Grew up in Park Forest Illinois which is 5 miles west of there on Route 30. One day you should that town too. East Chicago Heights/Ford Heights was always bad and considered the local joke until the rest of the area started to decline also. Thanks for this trip down memory lane as painful as it was.
Sorry bro but,east heights in 50 and 60s was middle class black working community. The blight of started when they bought out people to build the projects.
I love how you go in depth and give a history of the neighborhood instead of just driving around it saying "what a sh!thole". Honestly, I don't think I've ever done more head shaking (in disbelief) while watching a video on YT.
dude should go into the store though. its run by south asians but the local business men stand in the parking lot selling their wares. my coworker took me in there. i was like lol really? this the store you wanted to stop at? okay.
I lived in Sauk Village from 76 to 97. I am a Bloom Trail graduate. The area has always struggled. The area was build around manufacturing, and for many people who lacked in education and skills, they could find a job in manufacturing and be represented by a union. Around late 70's-, the economy went bad. I remember very well of the manufacturers and chemical companies laying people off, and lots of people left. When the Chicago Robert Taylor Homes (projects) and Cabrini Greene started being closed down, those people came to the only place they could afford. Section 8 gave those people assistance to purchase houses, but since they didn't work for those houses they didn't take care of them. Many people I went to high school with from East Chicago Heights (It was still that name), wanted to do the right thing and be good upstanding citizens of a respectable community, but crime and other stuff paid better. I heard a person that I graduated with had 11 kids before the 10 year high school reunion. Poor people do NOT have to live in filth, they can clean their area and make an improvement.
Seeing this reminded me of some things I learned in my medical pathology training. You see what you know and you have to know what is normal before you can identify abnormal. In yet another magnificant Chris Harden video we have all that here. No one person can solve the world's problems but we can each make a difference. Drug dealing is a serious crime as is corruption denying a library to a community. Just simple things matter. Give a warm smile to a child, it might be the only one they see in a long time. Take a little time to point out something positive in someone. During my long career prior to retirement two fellow coworkers exhibited skill sets that they were unaware of. Just a couple of minutes with each led to years later two productive people becoming much more productive and content. Thanks again Chris for shining a light on a very dark corner with explanations of the causes and positive productive thoughts. Craig
@craignovy2090: Every country no matter where you go has extremely major high crimes like ours . It's even bad in Japan as well you'll notice drugs and homelessness on their subways and stations.
Adding libraries and things of that nature are a waste of tax payers money. They get destroyed almost as soon as they go up. My steg grandfather worked at the Ford Plant in Ford Heights ( it was the only building that wasn't in decline) and the reason why is because of the razorwire fencing and the security they had there. Throwing money at these problems won't help. I lived in Sauk Village when I was younger and my early teens ( which is about 10 to 15 minutes from Ford Heights). Sauk Village was a town where mostly retired Vets lived and families. A lot of us kids in Sauk Village had both parents who worked ( we were latch key kids) they built a rec center on the police station grounds and we would go there everyday after school, the cops would help us with our home work, play pool, basketball, board games etc etc with us and on Fridays they would rent a movie or two and order a pizza for us, once or twice a month we would have a pot luck dinner on Sunday at the rec center... So from my experience ( and the kids I grew up with) the problems can't be solved with money. The problems are solved when communities unite. Us kids could ride our bikes all over that town until 10pm to 11pm and never had to worry because everyone knew each other. It takes a Village to raise a child and those parents weren't afraid to discipline other people's children back than. I knew if my friends mother's caught me acting a fool , I was getting my ass whooped by them and my mom. Lol
You are right and wrong. Unfortunately the towns with high crime either have alot of gangs or if you look at the demographics of the town the majority of the race in the towns can be the problem. Some towns have too many white people and some have too many African Americans not enough diversity.
Very good points made in the replies! Chris Harden's work is expectional in illustrating places and the why and how behind them. It is like taking a great humanities course and leads me to ponder more my own environment.
Very entertaining video. But it was a time when the three schools in then East Chicago Heights, housed kids from K to 8th grade. Woodlawn, Cottage Grove and Medgar Evers. We competed against each other in everything. Including basketball, volleyball, track and scholastic honors. This would be from 73 to 82 for me. I attended Bloom Trail in the fall of 82 and graduated in 86. Some beautiful times in between living in messed up circumstances. Again, it was a very enjoyable watch. 🙌🏿
Yo Chris Ford heights was booming when people work for Ford motors. That's where Ford heights name come from but people left to Indiana because it's cheaper
Ford Heights is a fascinating place. Used to drive through there often in the 90s. It’s a ghost town surrounded by the rest of Chicagoland. You should do Hammond, East Chicago (include Marktown) and Whiting. All really interesting especially as they go north towards the lake.
The USPS Creed “neither snow nor rain…” doesn’t mention gang violence. Yet back in the 1990s they stopped mail delivery for a couple weeks when the gangs were shooting at each other. So parts of the town had to pick up their mail from the main office located in Chicago Heights.
Awesome Job! Yeah, I grew up on Drexal Avenue, Berkely Avenue, and Finally 1048 Lexington Circle in East Chicago Heights, Went to Medgar Evers, Woodlawn, and Cottage Grove Schools! My family departed in 1974 for Park Forest. My Family and Aunts, Uncles, Cousins made it out! Now, the East Gate Section of Park Forest is not much better than Ford Heights, Especially Allegheny Street. Keep up the Awesome work. I am sure my family has pictures of East Chicago Heights from 1959-1974. Wow, very Powerful.
With all of the content Chris provide to you all, your comment is about how far south of Chicago certain street names continued? Boy! Aren’t you all the smartest in your classroom! You get another scoop of ice cream before we tuck you in tonight.
Sheesh, probably the worst suburb of a 4 million + metro area I've ever seen. I don't know how this ceases to still exist 30 minutes outside of Chicago. Great video as usual, Chris.
It’s other suburbs out there worser than this like Harvey, calumet city, Robbins, that’s worst than ford heights that’s why it’s mass up cause people from Chicago coming there and bring all that gang violence
When I first moved to Chicago Heights from Mississippi, we got off on Lincoln Highway and that liquor store was full of people in the parking lot. My dad said “I never stop in this area” I quickly noticed why. The Cook County Sheriff’s Department is the police in Ford Heights, which says a lot about the economics of the town
I never understood why economics in Ford Heights were so low. They had the Ford Plant out there and 20yrs ago when I lives in Chicago Heights the gas price in Ford Heights was damn near $5 a gallon.
I am in Chicago Heights, literally about 5 minutes away from Ford Heights. I do DoorDash, Uber Eats, and GrubHub for side gigs, there are times I have to deliver in Ford Heights late at night. The other day, someone on a bike from the liquor store rode out right in front of my car and then somehow flipped over the handlebars, I almost ran him over. His phone was busted and there was a large crowd which were yelling at him, maybe he stole the bike and tried getting away?
I am glad you did a video on Ford Heights. I heard awhile back it has a bad reputation, but heard no actual details, just you don't want to go there. So, this is a good video you can watch at home. Sad it was so dangerous even years ago.😮❤
It has been messed up for many years. It has been a bad area for at least 30 years. Look up the demographics. It had several project areas. We accidentally drove through there on our motorcycle and it was day time and we drove through as fast as possible down Lincoln highway. We were so glad we didn’t get shot at for being white. The majority of people there are black with a high murder rate.
Yeah, I just bought a house in Chicago Heights, pretty much as far west as I can be in Chicago Heights where it isn’t too bad, and I actually struggled to identify what is considered “Ford Heights” I see the signage, I see the water tower, I see the Ford plant but it’s like… blink and you’ll miss it! Most of the way down Rte 30 is still considered Chicago Heights and then bam, you’re in Indiana. But yeah, even though where I live in Chicago Heights is no Naperville or Aurora, and we still have a plethora of abandoned homes, it’s definitely not as bad Ford Heights. Plus they’ve been buying a lot of run-down and abandoned homes near me lately and remodeling them, so it’s looking up a little bit over here, especially now they’ve been doing some road resurfacing post-storm drain work.
I’m sorry, but as I’m taken away by the replies I’m reading through about this video and I’m sure others that you’re following by Chris, but at very most, please don’t ask him to keep up the good work! This ain’t WORK! This ain’t INFORMATIVE! This is the use of my 1st Amendment to spew hatred and racism.
This not " good work " ...period ...when us that knows... corrupt corrupt corrupt...people won't talk about that ! now would they.... names that go back even to AL Copo... ( gangster alright )
We drove all the time through East Chicago Heights/ Ford Heights back in the 70's early 80's to visit my aunt and uncle. And it wasn't much better then, I remember seeing all the abandoned buildings along Lincoln Hwy. Nothing but empty lots now, my relatives lived in Chicago Heights and it was a lot better than it is now. You forgot to mention the murder of Richard Will back in 1999, he was beaten and burned near the Vietnam Projects.
Just looked up the Richard Will murder, looks like it actually happened in 1995, but the article about the sentencing was dated 1999. Sounds like it was horrific.
its a damn shame about that guy who got sat on fire, but when you go out to areas like that....to feed your addictions....during those times of the night, you take your own life in your hands. That's not just with Ford Heights....that could happen anywhere.
As a truck driver that had a delivery in Chicago Heights, IL and then followed my GPS to my next destination, I had the opportunity to drive through Ford Heights. It was every bit as depressing as a drive through Cairo, IL. In Cairo I noticed that the Catholic Church, an impressive stone structure, and the Masonic Lodge, another impressive stone structure, were both boarded up. When both the Catholics and the Masons turn their backs on you, you know that your town is toast.
This was pretty fascinating! I grew up in Chicago Heights, just west of this town. We had friends who used to live there in this big green house on Woodlawn Ave but it was abandoned and demolished years ago. Even back in the late 80s/ early 90s, it wasn’t a very nice place to live. A lot of family friends used McCullough’s Funeral Services. Also, there used to be a currency exchange somewhere close to the fried chicken/fish shop, but I wouldn’t be shocked if it closed. This whole town is just a sad, sad mess. Chicago Heights was a little better than Ford Heights, but definitely not by much 😒
I remember when my family moved to Markham in 82, my siblings all wore glasses 🤓 and are opthalmologist was in Harvey, IL outside of that business the city looked like a dump.
I lived in Sauk Village and Chicago Heights ( Ford Heights is in between) Chicago Heights wasn't horrible my friends and I were still able to walk around the neighborhood ( I was born in St.James hospital) but I digress... Chicago Heights and Sauk Village have become unrecognizable to me these past 15 to 20 yrs. It's sad.
Born in Chicago Heights at ST JAMES HOSP. & RAISED IN East Chicago Heights, iL. It's hard to believe how my Hometown has suffered Over the Decades. You would never Imagine how Great My childhood and East Chicago Heights was for me. I lived right off that main Hwy 14th street in a House. Would U believe we had our own Local radio station called WMPP on AM radio (Hosted AL GREEN & several other celebs) . That abandon grade school U mention once hosted the JACKSON 5 who performed during a talent show. So much lost history but Chris you are def on point on your information.
Yep! I was naming the streets as he passed them too. East Chicago Heights/Ford Heights is my hometown too. I grew up in Golden Meadows on Diplomat Lane.
The dude would not know because he is not from there or grew up in the struggle or even walked from the circle to Vietnam across the Bronx to my grandmother's place in little Africa across from the bronx I loved the 80s in the heights
Mine Home as well...and proud to say so... it never was bad as this video trying to speak...and others folks who go by " oh I heard " yall always will take the bad...not nothing God giving truth... shame on "you people" brought em damn drugs in ... Yah call these people ( the destroyers of His inheritance) ...vengeance...is His 😮
I grew up near 14th and Halsted in Chicago Heights. I would listen to WMPP on my transistor radio in the early & mid 60s. The other r&b soul station was WVON in Chicago, but it didn't come in well on my radio. WMPP's signal was designed to reach Gary, so probably it was a main factor in the musical education of the Jackson family. How I miss it!
I used to live in a city near there and even as a little kid, I was told to never visit Ford Heights because of all the issues mentioned in this video. It's always been bad. Filled with crime and drugs. I'm now 55 and glad I moved far away from there many, many years ago.
Da Fuq ! Not a bird in the area...no squirrels, no dogs, no cats...no nuttin' ! 🐦🐿🐶🐱Air planes even avoid flying over the area. Maaaan...it must be one helluva trip driving down some of those streets in "The Bronx" and "Viet Nam" when the Sun goes down. Thanks for the informative post.
Please do a video on Chicago Heights which is pretty close. Also maybe try getting pics or info from older people about Ford Heights. I remember talking badly about Ford Heights to my neighbor an older white lady and she got so offended and quickly corrected me saying " Ford Heights wasn't always bad"
❤I agree I was born and raised there on this street embassy lane and my grandfather passed and his house is still here looking the same don't know how in side may look but outside looks the same and have many beautiful memories of my grandfather home
do that video > yourself > at less you should know the whole truth > even to talk to those who live through all that destruction... " a eye witness " this fellow pay to speak drama out < I see many on this internet > driving through these property neighborhoods > calling them waste and criminal and ghetto > who stupid? who the one own and invest into those lands in the first place < then move when they got rich enough > like all those factory ( all around the East and Hgts ) communities...there was plenty of JOBS ...they ship em out to China ?
I'm gonna surmise that the other school districts are not interested in taking the students from the remaining two Ford Heights schools and can't imagine why.
These kinda areas are a prime example of how wasteful our society is as a whole. What needs to be done here is providing everyone left living in these kinda places a better place to call home and cover any expenses to move them...then just bulldoze it all into a pile and revert the land back to park lands and farm fields...bring back some of the farms from states like California that cannot sustain it. Reverse that "urban sprawl" trend that ate up too much of our fertile farmland.
The gas station there off the highway, there was a yt man that came through and stopped for gas. He was taken back there and lynched in a tree. I lived all over the area, especially crawford countryside in matteson (if you haven't done a video yet) and all over park forest/ south suburbs/ oak lawn etc) thanks for all these awesome documentaries! It's so sad how quickly things turned even when i was growing up there. It's like a depression hole, but it's home. Matteson from what I've seen the last few years is just terrible. The Crack epidemic was definitely hard, especially near the abandoned gas station in Chicago Heights, 5th Avenue etc and the keyhole (the hill) the kingpins, corruption, gangs, and drugs were a plenty
Im an electrician and did work at the phone company central office. I grew up on the Southside, would go into the Taylors and Cabrini. Ford heights was so sketchy. The post office stopped delivering mail. They had to get their mail at the Harvey post office.
I love your videos and what they stand for. Documenting the history of insignificant or forgotten places whose history would otherwise be lost or forgotten. So sad to see how our once great country has degraded in so many areas, especially in the great Midwest that was killed by the loss of industrial and manufacturing jobs, services that we basically handed to China. Great video as always man.
Never forget when I worked for the garage company Republic and 1 time i helped deliver some garbage cans there. Was like whoaaaa, even the church had barbed wire around.
Chris, when you were talking about the businesses in Ford Hights you forgot to mention the McCullough Funeral & Cremation Services. My takeaway: Quit outsourcing jobs. Who will be left with money to buy the cheap import "stuff."
Yeah... I did. Sorry McCullough. Ford Heights' decline was more-so due to public housing and gang activity then it was industrial jobs. Although at the same time, the region around Ford Heights has seen huge economic decline over the years.
Hello 👋🏿 Chris this is the 2nd video that I’ve seen from you I seen the Dixmoor IL video the other day. You seem to have a gift of making these videos that depict and analyze these municipalities. So I’m going to watch more…and go from there my name is Jesse.
My grandpa worked in Chicago Heights, lived in Kankakee and worked on water pumps for fire trucks. He was one of the reasons I got interested in engineering. I had no idea East Chicago Heights existed until this video. I thought that entire area to the State Line was all Chicago Heights.
Glad to see you using the topo maps. I use topoview all the time to look at old maps and building locations. also you can utilize Cook County GIS as well. I wonder what data they have on this area.
In the day when it was called, 'East Chicago Hights,' it was great looking areas. If there were gangs living, there in the 70's? I must not have had a clue?
work for the gas company in this area. Def used to hate having to come into these areas to read meters. Never felt comfortable walking alone in some of these towns.
Grew up in Chicago Heights. West 16th place by the St. James Hospital. Ford Heights was depressing to pass by. Half of Ford Heights locals would be in front of Jacks Liquor 😂 all the OG’s. Don’t miss the area glad I’m back in Hawai’i.
The brick buildings, low level and all look recently painted are not 'slums' they are destroyed inside by the tenants. I have seen the same thing here in St. Louis.
Robbins has been building a lot of new residential homes compared to nearby towns even though they recently closed down The Dollar Tree at 139th and Claire Ave. 😮
Robbins, Harvey, calumet city, Dalton, are all worse than ford heights it’s more cause people from Chicago coming there massing stuff up Iam glad I stay In home wood Flossmoor the best suburb big houses good environment no ghetto peoples no gangs just normal people
@@Imissyoulou posen doesn't look like that you must be talking about Harvey because west of 147th Sibley is a nice area actually clean nothing abandoned and is next to the 294 ramp but east 147th Sibley that's Harvey and yea its horrible there alot of abandoned business and buildings plus crime is really bad there next to that is Dolton just as bad but looks was better then Harvey crime is horrible there too
I grew up just outside this area and I tell ppl all the time I never want to go back and people will argue with me for days about how it's not the same and it's better now and I'm just exaggerating how bad it is. This video says enough.
I do a lot of land and property research for my job - if you’re ever looking for historical maps (especially platt maps, which will show you which areas were designated with their own neighborhood names), check out that area’s County Clerk office. You’ll likely have to navigate via tax map parcel numbers, which you can usually find on a GIS site for that area, but there’s a wealth of research info to be found that way.
This, I have to 100% agree seems like the worst town ever. I bet someone was bribed back in the 60s “Bill just let me have the permits for the apartment building… nothings going to change around here I promise”
From the mid 70's to the late 80's Ford Heights, Harvey, and Chicago Heights when the s Steel mills and other manufacturers took their businesses overseas. The beginning of China before it is like today.
I grew up here. I still go to church here. As a kid it really wasn't that bad. By the time i was almost out of high school is when it was starting be bad. Did you do any interviews?
I grew up in Vietnam, as they called it. They were torn down a few years later which is why everyone moved. The lower income houses you were showing was 15th and 16th street. That wasn't the Bronx or Vietnam, they both were torn down.
The slow increase in the number of communities like this over the past decades, tracks perfectly with the implementation of "social programs" along with the tumor-like growth of the federal government. The rise of the Great Society has all but gutted the family structure of an entire class of people.
I think eventually when there are only a few houses left some big companies will come in and buy up all the land and either build new homes and try to turn it in to a more middle to upper class area OR more warehouses for an amazon or similar will be built. Thanks for the town facts and drive Chris!👍
I grew up 15 miles away in the 1970s/80s, and my dad worked at a local steel mill. The second of the first 5 Federal Super Fund sites (most polluted places in America) happened right around the corner frm Ford Heights, block north on State Str. The Stauffer Chemical plant blew up and leveled a city block, depositing poisonous chemicals all over the area esp Ford Heights and east side of Chgo heights, causing a cancer cluster for at least 15 yrs. I'd bet lots of ford heights ppl left that way.
I'm watching your documentary on Ford heights. I used to live there. It my family that found those two people dead back in those projects caused we lived in them ourselves.
I'm 31, and I remember frequently visiting family that lived in the Lena Canada Projects back in the 90's. Even as a small child back then, I knew it was a wild place. I remember once back in the summer of 1999, two guys came into the area where we were playing outside, and they were holding 2 large, long guns. They told all of us kids to go inside. When my mother and aunt asked us why did we all come rushing inside, we told them what we saw, and they both yelled, in unison it seemed, "get down!!!!". As soon as we all dove to the floor, all hell broke loose outside. Those guys started randomly shooting. Once it was over, we went back outside and saw nothing but dead birds. Why they did that was so confusing, they put a lot of people in danger that day.
Interesting street names, Cottage Grove is a suburb, in my home state, Woodlawn is an avenue near the Mississippi River in a pricier neighborhood of my hometown. They had a Ford plant making Ford Rangers in the post WW2 era there also. It was closed -- had part of the property remained -- it would have been over 100 years old! All in very good condition, also. IDK if it was completely razed for new construction in the area, or not.
Born and raised in Blue Island. I was in h/s in the early 90s, and the running joke was "If you had a problem with someone, drop um off in Ford Heights and you'll never see them again.."
Yep all around there use to be good Mattson, Park Forest, University park, Olympia Village, I stay at the only best suburb around there homewood Flossmoor
They don't count people on welfare as being unemployed. I worked for a sod company in the early 1990's and we had to deliver two loads of sod for every one needed to the public housing subdivision on the north side of 30. You would see people out along US30 with pile of sod for sale and no one did a thing about it. Had to go a long way around to get to the truck to avoid riding up on dryg deals on the corners.
First sadly Ford Heights for years was the poorest in the nation. It was also previously called east chicago heights but i believe it was in the 80's it was changed to ford heights
Should subsidized housing be one unit in each apartment building throughout the U.S.? This would avoid putting subsidized people into low-income high-crime bee hives. Break up this culture, and replace it with one where the people can be phased out of subsidies.
If people are not subsidized they should be able to live anywhere. If they accept the government subsidy, they have to go with the program. @@shawnmiller4781
Wait, this is how far from Chicago? The same Chicago where migrants are being housed in hotels?? A $25 million renovation is a drop in the bucket compared to what it’s costing the city now? Do you know if that has been proposed?
After my divorce, I lived for a time in Section 8 housing in NJ, but it did not look like this. There were only 70 townhome units and it was moderate income as opposed to low income housing. Everyone in the area had jobs. NJ housing is very expensive and although I had a good job there was no way in hell I could afford a house. A normal 4 bedroom home there cost about $400,000 in 2016, and I lived in the styx. I was able to get on my feet eventually and buy a home, so I was lucky.
Its alot of dumped bodies over there. I remember back in the 90s we used to go out there. Believe it or not its a few hardworking families in that neighborhood because of the cheap property and some stubborn old ppl who refuse to move out of their homes.
I remember having to walk thru that area 30 some years ago. It was extremely bad and dangerous then. The housing was full but really rough. It looks better than it did back then in the 80s as it was packed with people on the streets and very dangerous.
There is infrastructure under those streets. Solid slabs and much brickwork that could be reworked. I know that many jobless migrants have skills to make these blighted areas come back to life. If nobody wants these abandoned places, why not give somebody a chance to use what's left and make it nice.
Thanks to these two websites for sharing some awesome documentation and knowledge of the history in Ford Heights, a place that was difficult to find information on:
www.chicagoganghistory.com
www.southcookexplore.com
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Edit: The Ford Heights 4 were 4 men. The woman that I showed a picture of was a witness who was also wrongfully charged with a crime.
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Chris all the information pic data is at village hall on ford heights/ east heights
FYI, next time you decide to prepare a documentary, please do interviews from the people that actually live there or have lived there because this reporting is not including a complete picture of what and when the demise of the town. Your reporting does not capture the true essence of how this community was like a family. I grew up here as well as throughout the South Suburban area.
@aprilsanders8484 ...thank you for saying that, these ppl are the very benefactors of the blight and demise of our communities. One of these ppl will come in backed by politicians and borrowed bank funds scheming so sort of way to squeeze land and equity profits out of Ford Heights. They did it in the South when they seized lands and turned them into PGA golf faiways!
@@aprilsanders8484
Chill out April, lets see You make a video than ?
He made this video the best he could, least You could be is Thankful someone at least TRIED.
That's more than enough to ask for, effort is more important then getting it right. He can always improve without people complaining and whinning at him.
He did a fantastic job with the time and resources he has available.
Next time remember that money doesn't grow on trees and everything takes time and he will learn to improve as time goes on.
@@RaisedxFist stop talking!
Even the trees look like they don't want to be there.
They probably don't!
Lol they don't!😂
😂
Poor tree's 😢
Damn. That says it all.
I used to work for the police department for only six months. Everything you said is accurate. I only work dayshift. The shootouts were real. Cook County sheriffs police came in and took over right after we walked off and quit. Yeah. It’s bad.
So unfortunate!
I've been on the fire department out here for 10 years man it is finally starting to get better. We got a couple multi-million-dollar projects taking place. There's a plan to build some container homes a lot of the homes that have been burned down have been torn down and rebuilt the mayor is trying to really turn that place around it has been in the gutter for way too long and it's time that he gets back to what it used to be Ford Heights used to be called East Chicago Heights. it was a very thriving neighborhood for some reason it fell apart but it is finally being reimagined to be better than what it was in the past
This would have been a great place to build tiny homes for the migrants or renovate the houses already there for them and it would rather than have then overlapping in the city and on the streets, I wonder why Johnson or Pritzker didn't couldn't wouldn't think of that idea or is the fix already in for whocthey have chosen to oppress and annihilate.
I worked in that area for 20 years. Bad place with very little hope……never once were we able to retain a local for employment.
@@ronu6264 well I've been on the fire department for 10 years out there and the mayor that we have right now has got multi-million-dollar projects in development he is getting rid of all the houses that have been burned out and rebuilding them he is really putting forth an effort to try and turn that town around so don't count them out just yet but man were they headed in a very very very very very very bad Direction
That liquor store is popping 24/7 doesn’t matter the weather.
cheers
Used to work the 911 ambulance in a lot of these towns. Been called to that liquor store many times lol
Fr people are just out and about there
This is my hometown. It was funny when he talked about trying to find out what The Bronx and Vietnam looked like, as I have vivid memories of them from the 1970s, '80s, and '90s. I'm glad he did the video and talked about the struggles of the place. When I worked at the Chicago Tribune, I still remember the newsroom got quiet for a second when the woman I was talking to heard I was from Ford Heights. She said, "Nobody comes from there..." Yeah, it was a 'different' place. Funny though, it went from 'Black Mayberry' in the early to mid-'80s to Beirut by the late '80s seemingly overnight once drugs hit the village.
I think i remember you, i use to live in Ford Heights also, in the Bronx Actually, once my mother left i never went back
So back in the days did the old people refer to the town as Ford Heights or East Chicago Heights?
@@michelleavant8627My uncle built the only remaining church that’s still standing there! The Red brick church that affectionately called the house that Jack built. The kindest man you could ever meet who had a big camper in his yard and loved everyone! May he Rest in Peace!
Myself, also a native of Ford Heights.......I was just getting ready to write something about this video on my hometown, too. Even though he's correct on SOME things, he did get some things incorrect. Chris did point out that you can't find much info on Ford Heights...most of that has to do with the media slowly erasing the village's existence from ANY available data pool. His best option to get the true vibe of Ford Heights would've been just to ask the people of the village itself....especially the old-timers if they're still around...depending on how brave he would've been. lol!! My view on this video is that its just another "hit piece" on East Chicago Heights (Ford Heights)....even if its more than deserved or self inflicted! Ive always wondered why ECH was singled out as most impoverished village in the south burbs when you had towns like Dixmoor, Robbins and Phoenix a few miles away. I agree with your example of comparison though, 'Black Mayberry' to Beirut.....but I was thinking more like early '90s Compton!
It would be interesting to see interviews from long-time residents.
Grew up in Park Forest Illinois which is 5 miles west of there on Route 30. One day you should that town too. East Chicago Heights/Ford Heights was always bad and considered the local joke until the rest of the area started to decline also. Thanks for this trip down memory lane as painful as it was.
Are they ever going to demolish The Executive building next to the police station in Chicago Heights?
Don't forget Robbins.
Iam glad I stay in home wood Flossmoor it’s the best suburb all the rest is trash ghetto
Sorry bro but,east heights in 50 and 60s was middle class black working community. The blight of started when they bought out people to build the projects.
Park forest used to be so nice everybody wanted to move there
I almost bought a house in Ford Heights but my family had an intervention 😂😂😂
😂😂😂😂😂
Lol
“No work boots zone”
🤣😂🤣❗️👍
No book stores allowed
Yep any town with a certain percent of 13's is basically ruined.
except for the trucking companies recently closed
Also the "fatherless children zone".
I love how you go in depth and give a history of the neighborhood instead of just driving around it saying "what a sh!thole". Honestly, I don't think I've ever done more head shaking (in disbelief) while watching a video on YT.
dude should go into the store though. its run by south asians but the local business men stand in the parking lot selling their wares. my coworker took me in there. i was like lol really? this the store you wanted to stop at? okay.
I lived in Sauk Village from 76 to 97. I am a Bloom Trail graduate.
The area has always struggled. The area was build around manufacturing, and for many people who lacked in education and skills, they could find a job in manufacturing and be represented by a union.
Around late 70's-, the economy went bad. I remember very well of the manufacturers and chemical companies laying people off, and lots of people left.
When the Chicago Robert Taylor Homes (projects) and Cabrini Greene started being closed down, those people came to the only place they could afford. Section 8 gave those people assistance to purchase houses, but since they didn't work for those houses they didn't take care of them.
Many people I went to high school with from East Chicago Heights (It was still that name), wanted to do the right thing and be good upstanding citizens of a respectable community, but crime and other stuff paid better.
I heard a person that I graduated with had 11 kids before the 10 year high school reunion. Poor people do NOT have to live in filth, they can clean their area and make an improvement.
Seeing this reminded me of some things I learned in my medical pathology training. You see what you know and you have to know what is normal before you can identify abnormal. In yet another magnificant Chris Harden video we have all that here. No one person can solve the world's problems but we can each make a difference. Drug dealing is a serious crime as is corruption denying a library to a community. Just simple things matter. Give a warm smile to a child, it might be the only one they see in a long time. Take a little time to point out something positive in someone. During my long career prior to retirement two fellow coworkers exhibited skill sets that they were unaware of. Just a couple of minutes with each led to years later two productive people becoming much more productive and content. Thanks again Chris for shining a light on a very dark corner with explanations of the causes and positive productive thoughts. Craig
@craignovy2090: Every country no matter where you go has extremely major high crimes like ours . It's even bad in Japan as well you'll notice drugs and homelessness on their subways and stations.
Adding libraries and things of that nature are a waste of tax payers money. They get destroyed almost as soon as they go up. My steg grandfather worked at the Ford Plant in Ford Heights ( it was the only building that wasn't in decline) and the reason why is because of the razorwire fencing and the security they had there. Throwing money at these problems won't help. I lived in Sauk Village when I was younger and my early teens ( which is about 10 to 15 minutes from Ford Heights). Sauk Village was a town where mostly retired Vets lived and families. A lot of us kids in Sauk Village had both parents who worked ( we were latch key kids) they built a rec center on the police station grounds and we would go there everyday after school, the cops would help us with our home work, play pool, basketball, board games etc etc with us and on Fridays they would rent a movie or two and order a pizza for us, once or twice a month we would have a pot luck dinner on Sunday at the rec center... So from my experience ( and the kids I grew up with) the problems can't be solved with money. The problems are solved when communities unite. Us kids could ride our bikes all over that town until 10pm to 11pm and never had to worry because everyone knew each other. It takes a Village to raise a child and those parents weren't afraid to discipline other people's children back than. I knew if my friends mother's caught me acting a fool , I was getting my ass whooped by them and my mom. Lol
You are right and wrong. Unfortunately the towns with high crime either have alot of gangs or if you look at the demographics of the town the majority of the race in the towns can be the problem. Some towns have too many white people and some have too many African Americans not enough diversity.
Very good points made in the replies! Chris Harden's work is expectional in illustrating places and the why and how behind them. It is like taking a great humanities course and leads me to ponder more my own environment.
Very entertaining video. But it was a time when the three schools in then East Chicago Heights, housed kids from K to 8th grade. Woodlawn, Cottage Grove and Medgar Evers. We competed against each other in everything. Including basketball, volleyball, track and scholastic honors. This would be from 73 to 82 for me. I attended Bloom Trail in the fall of 82 and graduated in 86. Some beautiful times in between living in messed up circumstances. Again, it was a very enjoyable watch. 🙌🏿
Now the demographics of all those towns changed them into high crime towns. Lots of towns in the late 70’s and 80’s were nice.
Yo Chris Ford heights was booming when people work for Ford motors. That's where Ford heights name come from but people left to Indiana because it's cheaper
thèse days you see more chicagoans in Indianapolis than native Indiana residents
Exactly. It wasn't always a dump. The plant close down doesn't help for sure
@@aimxdy8680true I lived there 6 years
Chris said that Ford was never there--adjacent. Some jobs--no tax revenue.
Ford Heights is a fascinating place. Used to drive through there often in the 90s. It’s a ghost town surrounded by the rest of Chicagoland. You should do Hammond, East Chicago (include Marktown) and Whiting. All really interesting especially as they go north towards the lake.
Hammond IN is brutal. I live there
What's brutal about Hammond? 😂
Nothing in East chicago.used to be a wonderful city. Got that BLACK MAYOR & well the rest is History.Worst thing that ever happened to that city
@@q.heffner3612no it's not😂😅HAMMOND POLICE DON'T PLAY & THEY HAVE A MAYOR THAT'S NOT HAVING IT
HMD is Thee most beautiful city in da World!
Went to high school and played ball with people from Ford Heights. They were good people, and I very much enjoyed their company.
The USPS Creed “neither snow nor rain…” doesn’t mention gang violence. Yet back in the 1990s they stopped mail delivery for a couple weeks when the gangs were shooting at each other. So parts of the town had to pick up their mail from the main office located in Chicago Heights.
Awesome Job! Yeah, I grew up on Drexal Avenue, Berkely Avenue, and Finally 1048 Lexington Circle in East Chicago Heights, Went to Medgar Evers, Woodlawn, and Cottage Grove Schools! My family departed in 1974 for Park Forest. My Family and Aunts, Uncles, Cousins made it out! Now, the East Gate Section of Park Forest is not much better than Ford Heights, Especially Allegheny Street. Keep up the Awesome work. I am sure my family has pictures of East Chicago Heights from 1959-1974. Wow, very Powerful.
It’d be so interesting to see pictures from that era
Interesting how the Chicago street names extend out this far - Cottage Grove, Ellis, Greenwood, Woodlawn.
Chicago is the easiest city in the country to navigate. Washington D.C. is easy too
@@terrencerandle1184 I agree, with the grid and distance standards. My ancestors lived in “K-town” on the West Side.
Yup stony island too
I deliver on Stoney Island in Crete, IL . 243rd st. In fact the numbers count to the 300's as a typical address 29995!!
With all of the content Chris provide to you all, your comment is about how far south of Chicago certain street names continued? Boy! Aren’t you all the smartest in your classroom! You get another scoop of ice cream before we tuck you in tonight.
Sheesh, probably the worst suburb of a 4 million + metro area I've ever seen. I don't know how this ceases to still exist 30 minutes outside of Chicago. Great video as usual, Chris.
9 million +
It’s other suburbs out there worser than this like Harvey, calumet city, Robbins, that’s worst than ford heights that’s why it’s mass up cause people from Chicago coming there and bring all that gang violence
When I first moved to Chicago Heights from Mississippi, we got off on Lincoln Highway and that liquor store was full of people in the parking lot. My dad said “I never stop in this area” I quickly noticed why. The Cook County Sheriff’s Department is the police in Ford Heights, which says a lot about the economics of the town
I never understood why economics in Ford Heights were so low. They had the Ford Plant out there and 20yrs ago when I lives in Chicago Heights the gas price in Ford Heights was damn near $5 a gallon.
The Sheriff sits there 24hr 7 days
@@jennifermullen9891lazy people that’s why
@@edwardm9975 lol
@edwardm9975 yeah that never happened.
I am in Chicago Heights, literally about 5 minutes away from Ford Heights. I do DoorDash, Uber Eats, and GrubHub for side gigs, there are times I have to deliver in Ford Heights late at night. The other day, someone on a bike from the liquor store rode out right in front of my car and then somehow flipped over the handlebars, I almost ran him over. His phone was busted and there was a large crowd which were yelling at him, maybe he stole the bike and tried getting away?
Dont you have the option to turn down orders?
There is never enough money to fix hopelessness. People in these situations wouldn’t help themselves, has been going on for a few generations.
“A satellite photo from 1938”
Uhhhhh hold up a sec
I like how you don't explain the stupidity of that statement.
Apparently Satellite photos could be produced in the 1930s in the United States, but the quality was pretty poor. So these pics are no doubt legit.
The photo from 1938 was an aerial photo obviously, not satellite.
I am glad you did a video on Ford Heights. I heard awhile back it has a bad reputation, but heard no actual details, just you don't want to go there. So, this is a good video you can watch at home. Sad it was so dangerous even years ago.😮❤
It has been messed up for many years. It has been a bad area for at least 30 years. Look up the demographics. It had several project areas. We accidentally drove through there on our motorcycle and it was day time and we drove through as fast as possible down Lincoln highway. We were so glad we didn’t get shot at for being white. The majority of people there are black with a high murder rate.
Good video? How?
Yeah, I just bought a house in Chicago Heights, pretty much as far west as I can be in Chicago Heights where it isn’t too bad, and I actually struggled to identify what is considered “Ford Heights” I see the signage, I see the water tower, I see the Ford plant but it’s like… blink and you’ll miss it! Most of the way down Rte 30 is still considered Chicago Heights and then bam, you’re in Indiana. But yeah, even though where I live in Chicago Heights is no Naperville or Aurora, and we still have a plethora of abandoned homes, it’s definitely not as bad Ford Heights. Plus they’ve been buying a lot of run-down and abandoned homes near me lately and remodeling them, so it’s looking up a little bit over here, especially now they’ve been doing some road resurfacing post-storm drain work.
I was on 16th st in 2018 ford heights ain’t got shit but about 5 streets
Its basically cottage grove to 394 on rt 30 and the few blocks north and south.
I can't say enough about your videos. Keep up the good work.
Thanks, will do!
Are you stopping at any trailer parks on your routes?
Definitely NOT!
I’m sorry, but as I’m taken away by the replies I’m reading through about this video and I’m sure others that you’re following by Chris, but at very most, please don’t ask him to keep up the good work! This ain’t WORK! This ain’t INFORMATIVE! This is the use of my 1st Amendment to spew hatred and racism.
This not " good work " ...period ...when us that knows... corrupt corrupt corrupt...people won't talk about that ! now would they.... names that go back even to AL Copo... ( gangster alright )
We drove all the time through East Chicago Heights/ Ford Heights back in the 70's early 80's to visit my aunt and uncle. And it wasn't much better then, I remember seeing all the abandoned buildings along Lincoln Hwy. Nothing but empty lots now, my relatives lived in Chicago Heights and it was a lot better than it is now.
You forgot to mention the murder of Richard Will back in 1999, he was beaten and burned near the Vietnam Projects.
Just looked up the Richard Will murder, looks like it actually happened in 1995, but the article about the sentencing was dated 1999. Sounds like it was horrific.
@@Sidewinder1999yeh the cops told the one guy, “your friend is on fire”
It seems like all 50 states have areas like Ford Heights and it's getting much much much worse!!!!!!!
its a damn shame about that guy who got sat on fire, but when you go out to areas like that....to feed your addictions....during those times of the night, you take your own life in your hands. That's not just with Ford Heights....that could happen anywhere.
Ford Heights was a bit more notorious simply because that sort of thing happened quite often, but was rarely reported on
Blame it on everything but the ones that inhabit these places.
They’re never to blame they are perfect people that are just innocent victims.
As a truck driver that had a delivery in Chicago Heights, IL and then followed my GPS to my next destination, I had the opportunity to drive through Ford Heights. It was every bit as depressing as a drive through Cairo, IL. In Cairo I noticed that the Catholic Church, an impressive stone structure, and the Masonic Lodge, another impressive stone structure, were both boarded up. When both the Catholics and the Masons turn their backs on you, you know that your town is toast.
This was pretty fascinating! I grew up in Chicago Heights, just west of this town. We had friends who used to live there in this big green house on Woodlawn Ave but it was abandoned and demolished years ago. Even back in the late 80s/ early 90s, it wasn’t a very nice place to live. A lot of family friends used McCullough’s Funeral Services. Also, there used to be a currency exchange somewhere close to the fried chicken/fish shop, but I wouldn’t be shocked if it closed. This whole town is just a sad, sad mess. Chicago Heights was a little better than Ford Heights, but definitely not by much 😒
The currency exchange gone its something else there plus the chicken spot this there and the made a Family Dollar over there too
I remember when my family moved to Markham in 82, my siblings all wore glasses 🤓 and are opthalmologist was in Harvey, IL outside of that business the city looked like a dump.
Chicago heights just started getting bad
I lived in Sauk Village and Chicago Heights ( Ford Heights is in between) Chicago Heights wasn't horrible my friends and I were still able to walk around the neighborhood ( I was born in St.James hospital) but I digress... Chicago Heights and Sauk Village have become unrecognizable to me these past 15 to 20 yrs. It's sad.
@jay-kq5kv yeah it started about 10 maybe 15 yrs ago, just like Sauk Village, and Steger, and Create.
Born in Chicago Heights at ST JAMES HOSP. & RAISED IN East Chicago Heights, iL. It's hard to believe how my Hometown has suffered Over the Decades. You would never Imagine how Great My childhood and East Chicago Heights was for me. I lived right off that main Hwy 14th street in a House. Would U believe we had our own Local radio station called WMPP on AM radio (Hosted AL GREEN & several other celebs) . That abandon grade school U mention once hosted the JACKSON 5 who performed during a talent show. So much lost history but Chris you are def on point on your information.
Yep! I was naming the streets as he passed them too. East Chicago Heights/Ford Heights is my hometown too. I grew up in Golden Meadows on Diplomat Lane.
@@lanierholt9715 I lived there too
The dude would not know because he is not from there or grew up in the struggle or even walked from the circle to Vietnam across the Bronx to my grandmother's place in little Africa across from the bronx I loved the 80s in the heights
Mine Home as well...and proud to say so... it never was bad as this video trying to speak...and others folks who go by " oh I heard " yall always will take the bad...not nothing God giving truth... shame on "you people"
brought em damn drugs in ...
Yah call these people ( the destroyers of His inheritance) ...vengeance...is His 😮
I grew up near 14th and Halsted in Chicago Heights. I would listen to WMPP on my transistor radio in the early & mid 60s. The other r&b soul station was WVON in Chicago, but it didn't come in well on my radio. WMPP's signal was designed to reach Gary, so probably it was a main factor in the musical education of the Jackson family. How I miss it!
New sub here....... Good content man. Research, a dash of humor and quality editing........
I used to live in a city near there and even as a little kid, I was told to never visit Ford Heights because of all the issues mentioned in this video. It's always been bad. Filled with crime and drugs. I'm now 55 and glad I moved far away from there many, many years ago.
Yeah, I’m from Detroit and whenever I drive through Highway 30 through there I definitely get those vibes
Da Fuq ! Not a bird in the area...no squirrels, no dogs, no cats...no nuttin' ! 🐦🐿🐶🐱Air planes even avoid flying over the area.
Maaaan...it must be one helluva trip driving down some of those streets in "The Bronx" and "Viet Nam" when the Sun goes down.
Thanks for the informative post.
Please do a video on Chicago Heights which is pretty close. Also maybe try getting pics or info from older people about Ford Heights. I remember talking badly about Ford Heights to my neighbor an older white lady and she got so offended and quickly corrected me saying " Ford Heights wasn't always bad"
❤I agree I was born and raised there on this street embassy lane and my grandfather passed and his house is still here looking the same don't know how in side may look but outside looks the same and have many beautiful memories of my grandfather home
do that video > yourself > at less you should know the whole truth > even to talk to those who live through all that destruction... " a eye witness "
this fellow pay to speak drama out < I see many on this internet > driving through these property neighborhoods > calling them waste and criminal and ghetto > who stupid? who the one own and invest into those lands in the first place < then move when they got rich enough > like all those factory ( all around the East and Hgts ) communities...there was plenty of JOBS ...they ship em out to China ?
Like Chicago. Used to be nice on the west side and now it’s a war zone. Used to be nice on the NW side now it’s dodgy and even there isn’t great
I'm gonna surmise that the other school districts are not interested in taking the students from the remaining two Ford Heights schools and can't imagine why.
Bizarre place, gangbangers on one side of the street, and fields/farmland on the other side. Also try Robbins, thats also a terrible south suburb
Robbin’s is worse
Very interesting and informative video. I worked as a teacher's aide at Bloom Trail for 36 years and didn't know much of this.
These kinda areas are a prime example of how wasteful our society is as a whole. What needs to be done here is providing everyone left living in these kinda places a better place to call home and cover any expenses to move them...then just bulldoze it all into a pile and revert the land back to park lands and farm fields...bring back some of the farms from states like California that cannot sustain it. Reverse that "urban sprawl" trend that ate up too much of our fertile farmland.
You do realize that many of your ancestors greatly contributed to what Chris has published and now you want there land back, right?
It seems to me that it should have started out as a rural community--in the first place.
So, WHO would be on the hook for "providing everyone left in these kinda places a better place"?
The gas station there off the highway, there was a yt man that came through and stopped for gas. He was taken back there and lynched in a tree. I lived all over the area, especially crawford countryside in matteson (if you haven't done a video yet) and all over park forest/ south suburbs/ oak lawn etc)
thanks for all these awesome documentaries! It's so sad how quickly things turned even when i was growing up there. It's like a depression hole, but it's home. Matteson from what I've seen the last few years is just terrible.
The Crack epidemic was definitely hard, especially near the abandoned gas station in Chicago Heights, 5th Avenue etc and the keyhole (the hill) the kingpins, corruption, gangs, and drugs were a plenty
I remember in the mid 90s they made a dude walk home after arresting his friend that was driving. Someone lit him on fire. His name was Richard will.
They will do this to any neighborhood that they come close to. And the Democrats will do everything in their power to make it happen
Who else used to buy $5 loud bags out there in high school? 😂
Im an electrician and did work at the phone company central office. I grew up on the Southside, would go into the Taylors and Cabrini. Ford heights was so sketchy. The post office stopped delivering mail. They had to get their mail at the Harvey post office.
Turns out people do not like living in a shooting gallery.
That usual population ❗️
I didn’t even know this was a place
I love your videos and what they stand for. Documenting the history of insignificant or forgotten places whose history would otherwise be lost or forgotten. So sad to see how our once great country has degraded in so many areas, especially in the great Midwest that was killed by the loss of industrial and manufacturing jobs, services that we basically handed to China. Great video as always man.
Thanks! The Midwest has a lot of dying yet historically relevant areas no doubt. A lot of abandoned stuff to look at too
Never forget when I worked for the garage company Republic and 1 time i helped deliver some garbage cans there. Was like whoaaaa, even the church had barbed wire around.
Chris, when you were talking about the businesses in Ford Hights you forgot to mention the McCullough Funeral & Cremation Services. My takeaway: Quit outsourcing jobs. Who will be left with money to buy the cheap import "stuff."
Yeah... I did. Sorry McCullough.
Ford Heights' decline was more-so due to public housing and gang activity then it was industrial jobs. Although at the same time, the region around Ford Heights has seen huge economic decline over the years.
More jobs = less public housing needed. Also jobs help keep "Kids" out of trouble. Chris, again another fine watch.......@@ChrisHarden
@@OmarsShotgunit’s people from Chicago coming there to mass stuff up
Failed to mention Dempsey Travis and efforts on build houses for blacks in late 60's and early 70's (Golden meadows)
Jesus is the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to the father but through him.
Hello 👋🏿 Chris this is the 2nd video that I’ve seen from you I seen the Dixmoor IL video the other day. You seem to have a gift of making these videos that depict and analyze these municipalities. So I’m going to watch more…and go from there my name is Jesse.
My grandpa worked in Chicago Heights, lived in Kankakee and worked on water pumps for fire trucks. He was one of the reasons I got interested in engineering. I had no idea East Chicago Heights existed until this video. I thought that entire area to the State Line was all Chicago Heights.
Glad to see you using the topo maps. I use topoview all the time to look at old maps and building locations. also you can utilize Cook County GIS as well. I wonder what data they have on this area.
In the day when it was called, 'East Chicago Hights,' it was great looking areas. If there were gangs living, there in the 70's? I must not have had a clue?
it might as well be all Chicago Heights.....Chicago Heights, Ford Heights and Sauk Village share the same area code.
There’s a bit of Lynwood right on the border of Indiana.
work for the gas company in this area. Def used to hate having to come into these areas to read meters. Never felt comfortable walking alone in some of these towns.
Grew up in Chicago Heights. West 16th place by the St. James Hospital. Ford Heights was depressing to pass by. Half of Ford Heights locals would be in front of Jacks Liquor 😂 all the OG’s. Don’t miss the area glad I’m back in Hawai’i.
Choco-Cities... Gotta' Love'em.
The brick buildings, low level and all look recently painted are not 'slums' they are destroyed inside by the tenants. I have seen the same thing here in St. Louis.
Since the 1960's the brick nice 2 story Cabanne Houses here in St. Louis have been destroyed by the tenants and rebuilt three times.
Phoenix Illinois which is also in the south burbs was always considered the poorest town in the area with Robbins and Ford Heights close seconds .
Robbins has been building a lot of new residential homes compared to nearby towns even though they recently closed down The Dollar Tree at 139th and Claire Ave. 😮
Robbins, Harvey, calumet city, Dalton, are all worse than ford heights it’s more cause people from Chicago coming there massing stuff up Iam glad I stay In home wood Flossmoor the best suburb big houses good environment no ghetto peoples no gangs just normal people
Phoenix looks like it was recently carpet bombed.
Posen and Dixmore, looks horrible. I saw a place out there that that had chicken coops. Reminded me of Mississippi.
@@Imissyoulou posen doesn't look like that you must be talking about Harvey because west of 147th Sibley is a nice area actually clean nothing abandoned and is next to the 294 ramp but east 147th Sibley that's Harvey and yea its horrible there alot of abandoned business and buildings plus crime is really bad there next to that is Dolton just as bad but looks was better then Harvey crime is horrible there too
"Satellite photo" in 1938 💀💀💀💀
Satellite photos were being produced in the U.S. in the 1930s. Quality was bad though, but it was possible.
@@wendymcbain2263 There were no satellites until 1959. Maybe they snapped some pictures from an airplane.
Again and again, how can the manifestations of brilliant liberalism and socialist policies be held up as a desirable example?
You haven't been to the rural south lately, have you?
I grew up just outside this area and I tell ppl all the time I never want to go back and people will argue with me for days about how it's not the same and it's better now and I'm just exaggerating how bad it is. This video says enough.
You should do the town of Robbins as well! It looks about the same
I do a lot of land and property research for my job - if you’re ever looking for historical maps (especially platt maps, which will show you which areas were designated with their own neighborhood names), check out that area’s County Clerk office. You’ll likely have to navigate via tax map parcel numbers, which you can usually find on a GIS site for that area, but there’s a wealth of research info to be found that way.
This, I have to 100% agree seems like the worst town ever. I bet someone was bribed back in the 60s “Bill just let me have the permits for the apartment building… nothings going to change around here I promise”
This suburb was not destroyed by "gangs". it was destroyed by capital B's
From the mid 70's to the late 80's Ford Heights, Harvey, and Chicago Heights when the s
Steel mills and other manufacturers took their businesses overseas. The beginning of China before it is like today.
Gotta come around between May-Sept between the hours of 4p.m - 9p.m
I grew up here. I still go to church here. As a kid it really wasn't that bad. By the time i was almost out of high school is when it was starting be bad. Did you do any interviews?
I grew up in Vietnam, as they called it. They were torn down a few years later which is why everyone moved. The lower income houses you were showing was 15th and 16th street. That wasn't the Bronx or Vietnam, they both were torn down.
Nope
The slow increase in the number of communities like this over the past decades, tracks perfectly with the implementation of "social programs" along with the tumor-like growth of the federal government. The rise of the Great Society has all but gutted the family structure of an entire class of people.
I think you’re forgetting about the collapse of industry n the area causing people to flee for survival lmao
I think eventually when there are only a few houses left some big companies will come in and buy up all the land and either build new homes and try to turn it in to a more middle to upper class area OR more warehouses for an amazon or similar will be built. Thanks for the town facts and drive Chris!👍
Very possible. Thanks for the watch!
It's cook county, with cook county taxes. No one will build houses there.
From what I'm seeing, houses are no longer being built. Everything going up is apartments. Say goodbye to neighborhood communities. 😢
What kind of people you will get out the community
I grew up 15 miles away in the 1970s/80s, and my dad worked at a local steel mill. The second of the first 5 Federal Super Fund sites (most polluted places in America) happened right around the corner frm Ford Heights, block north on State Str. The Stauffer Chemical plant blew up and leveled a city block, depositing poisonous chemicals all over the area esp Ford Heights and east side of Chgo heights, causing a cancer cluster for at least 15 yrs. I'd bet lots of ford heights ppl left that way.
As a percentage of home value, Ford Heights has the highest property tax rates in the State of Illinois.
As bad as Ford Heights is now, even 15 years ago it looked so much worse.
I believe it. There probably was that much more blight back then.
This is SO true! In its heyday, it was dangerous and scary. Now, it’s just broken down and depressing.
Yep
I'm watching your documentary on Ford heights. I used to live there. It my family that found those two people dead back in those projects caused we lived in them ourselves.
Damn… I miss the easy greasy!!!!
Dip set Fa show!!!!
Nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t wanna live there!!!
I'm 31, and I remember frequently visiting family that lived in the Lena Canada Projects back in the 90's. Even as a small child back then, I knew it was a wild place. I remember once back in the summer of 1999, two guys came into the area where we were playing outside, and they were holding 2 large, long guns. They told all of us kids to go inside. When my mother and aunt asked us why did we all come rushing inside, we told them what we saw, and they both yelled, in unison it seemed, "get down!!!!". As soon as we all dove to the floor, all hell broke loose outside. Those guys started randomly shooting. Once it was over, we went back outside and saw nothing but dead birds. Why they did that was so confusing, they put a lot of people in danger that day.
Yup, you were raised right, YOUNGSTER..
Interesting street names, Cottage Grove is a suburb, in my home state, Woodlawn is an avenue near the Mississippi River in a pricier neighborhood of my hometown. They had a Ford plant making Ford Rangers in the post WW2 era there also. It was closed -- had part of the property remained -- it would have been over 100 years old! All in very good condition, also. IDK if it was completely razed for new construction in the area, or not.
They should fix up the apartment buildings for people in need of housing
One word come to mind watching this video
Born and raised in Blue Island. I was in h/s in the early 90s, and the running joke was "If you had a problem with someone, drop um off in Ford Heights and you'll never see them again.."
B.I. is doing well these days. Olde Western Ave. and on Western south of 127th. anyways.
Should do a video on Richton Park. I grew up there from 72-82. It WAS a decent blue collar town until the late 90's - early 2000's.
Yep all around there use to be good Mattson, Park Forest, University park, Olympia Village, I stay at the only best suburb around there homewood Flossmoor
@@Baja2424my mom and grandpa are buried in Floosmoor 🙏🏾
@@derricklangford4725 oh ok yeah it’s nice over there
After 2012 it got really wild
@@Baja2424STILL IS.
They don't count people on welfare as being unemployed.
I worked for a sod company in the early 1990's and we had to deliver two loads of sod for every one needed to the public housing subdivision on the north side of 30. You would see people out along US30 with pile of sod for sale and no one did a thing about it. Had to go a long way around to get to the truck to avoid riding up on dryg deals on the corners.
Great video by the way, this is the first video I saw of yours
We also learned he never stopped at any of the stop signs😮
You need to do Park Forest (true decline of a once decent suburb), Crete, and Hilbilly Steger
isnt crete nice? art shops and local restaurants... downtown street with businesses.
In the early 90s many courier and delivery services refused to make deliveries to Ford Heights.
Wow
Yep 👍
My buddy and his family lived there in Vietnam I believe, it’s been almost 30 years since I use to go hang out there. Spent many days waking up in FH.
Can you do Dolton Illinois?
The super intelligent voters of Dolton are getting plenty of news coverage right now.
Dolton might be the most infamous town in America right now.
@@cjk8249
What news coverage??
@@Mikebuddy2229Quite a bit because of it's corrupt mayor.
@@cjk8249 If you would just a little RESEARCH, you will understand how Tahoe Tiff, got elected.
First sadly Ford Heights for years was the poorest in the nation. It was also previously called east chicago heights but i believe it was in the 80's it was changed to ford heights
Nice new production buddy
Appreciate it!
19:00 very clean !
The Bronx, and Nam!
Should subsidized housing be one unit in each apartment building throughout the U.S.? This would avoid putting subsidized people into low-income high-crime bee hives. Break up this culture, and replace it with one where the people can be phased out of subsidies.
I agree
Small single family homes maybe? That's an idea. Doubt it'll happen though.
Do you really want to be “That Family” in the complex
If people are not subsidized they should be able to live anywhere. If they accept the government subsidy, they have to go with the program. @@shawnmiller4781
Just one subsidized home on a street with similar small homes. @@ChrisHarden
How did you get a satellite photo from 1938?
Wait, this is how far from Chicago? The same Chicago where migrants are being housed in hotels?? A $25 million renovation is a drop in the bucket compared to what it’s costing the city now? Do you know if that has been proposed?
It's about 20 mins awau
Chicago politicians would never give up the Federal Government's largess. It's never about efficiency, it's about the endless money grab.
I was born on the south east side of Chicago, I lived in the same home from 1958-1983
I lived in Da Heights from '63 to '78; never anything to brag about but an OK but the whole area went downhill pretty quickly in the 70s.
Chicago is no.different than Philadelphia or Baltimore
After my divorce, I lived for a time in Section 8 housing in NJ, but it did not look like this. There were only 70 townhome units and it was moderate income as opposed to low income housing. Everyone in the area had jobs. NJ housing is very expensive and although I had a good job there was no way in hell I could afford a house. A normal 4 bedroom home there cost about $400,000 in 2016, and I lived in the styx. I was able to get on my feet eventually and buy a home, so I was lucky.
What the hell that has to do with the price of tea in china just shut will ya
Its alot of dumped bodies over there. I remember back in the 90s we used to go out there. Believe it or not its a few hardworking families in that neighborhood because of the cheap property and some stubborn old ppl who refuse to move out of their homes.
I remember having to walk thru that area 30 some years ago. It was extremely bad and dangerous then. The housing was full but really rough. It looks better than it did back then in the 80s as it was packed with people on the streets and very dangerous.
fascinating content
Amazing. Ford heights arguably one of the poorest, lack of employment opportunities in the country but yet plenty of $30-40 thousand dollar cars.
There is infrastructure under those streets. Solid slabs and much brickwork that could be reworked. I know that many jobless migrants have skills to make these blighted areas come back to life. If nobody wants these abandoned places, why not give somebody a chance to use what's left and make it nice.