Illinois's 3rd Congressional District - Demographics

Demographics

The District, situated between the Hispanic-majority 4th District to the north and the black-majority 1st and 7th Districts to the east, is the home of numerous sizable and historic ethnic groups including Irish, Polish, German, Italian and Czech immigrants and their descendants. At 14.2%, the Irish make up the largest ethnic group in the district, most prominently in the Bridgeport area (the ancestral neighborhood of the Daley family and other Chicago Irish politicians) and the Mount Greenwood-Beverly area; it is the largest Irish population in any district west of Philadelphia's suburbs. The Polish form the next largest white ethnic group at 13.5%, tying the northwest side's 5th District for the second highest percentage of any district, behind only New York's 27th congressional district. The next largest ethnic groups are Germans (11.0%) and Italians (6.9%). Of the suburbs primarily south of 87th Street (in Palos and Worth Townships), 9 of 10 have larger Irish than Polish populations, usually by large margins; but north of 87th Street, in those areas in Lyons Township south of Interstate 55 or in the townships to the east of Harlem Avenue, 9 of 10 suburbs have greater Polish populations than Irish, again by large margins. In Oak Lawn, the district's largest suburb, Irish outnumber Polish 30%-19%; in neighboring Burbank, the district's third largest suburb, Polish outnumber Irish by an identical margin.

More recently a large Mexican community has moved to the district, notably in Berwyn, Cicero, Hodgkins and Summit where they represent over 30% of the population, and along Archer Avenue, a major Chicago artery that runs through the district's northern section. There is also a sizable Greek community in Oak Lawn and Palos Hills. In the last two decades, there has been notable Arab settlement in the vicinity of Bridgeview, and by the 2000 Census, Arabs represented one of the five largest non-Hispanic ethnic groups in Bridgeview and three adjacent suburbs. Approximately 41% of the district's residents live in Chicago. Roughly 21% of the district's population is Hispanic, 68% are Caucasian, 6% are African American and 3% are Asian; redistricting following the 2000 Census and the continued influx of Hispanics tripled the minority population from a decade earlier, as the district in its previous configuration had a population that was 7% Hispanic, 2% African American and 1% Asian. The more affluent areas of the district are generally located in its northwestern portion.