“We need to work with businesses to grow and create jobs,” said Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. of the West Loop and Near-North Side neighborhoods. “But in order for these businesses to do well, we need more access for both employees and potential customers.”

In a recent victory, and part of the Chicago Housing Authority’s ongoing Reconnecting Neighborhoods Program, the Chicago Transit Authority has approved a new stop on the Green Line at Lake and Morgan streets. However, the $38 million stop won’t be open for another two years, and many still see the need for more.

“The area needs transit, transit brings retail, retail brings people,” said Mandy Burrell Booth, assistant communications director at the Metropolitan Planning Council, a nonprofit organization partnered with the CHA whose key recommendation was to build the new Green Line “L” stop. “Communities thrive at transit stops.”

“Lake Street is the lifeline of the 27th Ward,” said Reggie Stewart, infrastructure specialist for Ald. Burnett’s office. “But right now there is no bus or ‘L’ to easily get to businesses there. And what we do have is too few and far between.”

There are an estimated 30,000 employees and 2,000 businesses spanning the Kinzie Industrial Corridor and the Fulton Market area in the 27th Ward.

However, with only one bus stop between the 800 and 1600 West blocks on Lake Street, and the nearest “L” stop over a mile away, access to these areas remains an issue. Public parking is also not a popular option as it is limited and can cost up to $24 per day.

What community leaders want to see are two more “L” stops, one at Damen and Lake, and one at Western and Lake, said Stewart.

The goal is to increase jobs and sales of businesses already in the area as well as attract new business. But economic development will remain stalled without transit feeding into the industrial corridor where jobs and employers currently are, said Stewart.

“The Kinzie Industrial Corridor is a central area to economic development,” said Steve DeBreppo, director of the Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago, an employee-driven organization that advocates for local business with city and state officials.

DeBreppo said the potential for both businesses and clients to get back and forth to the area could be a huge factor in the community’s economic success.

“We’re close to the Loop,” said DeBreppo of the neighborhood’s ability to attract new business. “Business owners and customers could avoid paying the kind of prices that are just eight to 10 blocks to the east.”

One person who agrees with DeBreppo is Michael Keara, a 40-year-old West Loop resident new to Chicago who is looking to open a new tapas-style restaurant in the area, but is concerned over cost and accessibility.

“I would love to open my business here,” said Keara of the reasonable lease prices, which range from $14 to $20 per square foot in the neighborhood, 80 percent less expensive than those one mile east. “But when I jump on the train at Clark, and when I get off at the next stop at Clybourn, there are no people there, no retail, it concerns me.”

The Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago and the CTA are currently applying to the federal government for more grants to increase transit stops on the Green Line, but the wait could be a long one.

“It might not happen quick,” said DeBeppo. “But we got one stop in the works, and we’ll keep pushing for more options.”

On a snowy afternoon on Feb. 9 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Chicago’s Neighborhood Development Awards hosted a “Back to the Future” panel in which experts discussed the opportunities and challenges that Chicago must meet head-on to achieve economic development.

Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th), the newly nominated Democratic candidate for Cook County Board president, joined Scott Myers of World Sport Chicago, Raul Raymundo of the Resurrection Project, and Robert Weissbourd of RW Ventures in a discussion about what Chicago will look like in 2016 and what needs to be done to address job development and neighborhood restructuring.

It didn’t take long for education to rise to the forefront of the discussion. Preckwinkle, a former high school teacher, made it very clear that education needs to become a top priority in Chicago.

“It reflects very badly on the adults and the city that we have let the problem come to this,” she said. “Less than half of our young people graduate high school, and not having a diploma makes their future very difficult.”

Raymundo agreed. He said the graduation rate for the Hispanic population is significantly worse.

“Education is critical for our young people,” he said. “Education is critical to economic growth and development. We need to take a serious look at our education system. Reform and real action are necessary.”

Greg Hinz, the moderator for the event, noted quickly that everyone used the word “education” in their opening addresses. He then asked the panel if that was an indication of what Chicago’s most fundamental problem is: Are our young people not prepared for the workforce? Are they not educated?

Preckwinkle quickly took the question. She said she didn’t mean to “be a broken record,” but all children should receive a quality education and it is this education that is critical for all business growth.

“One of the complaints I hear from local businesses is that it is hard to find good employees,” she said. “The implication being that kids who come looking for jobs couldn’t read very well and didn’t have basic math skills. The most important factor to business growth is education.”

Weissbourd said education is vital to the success of any economy. His example: a half-percent increase in the college education rate of an area’s population would mean a 1 percent increase in regional profit.

“The single biggest impact on economic growth is human capital, and that is expressed in education,” he said. “If you have one investment in your economy, education is it.”

Raymundo said the Hispanic high school drop out rate is near 75 percent and less than 10 percent attend post-secondary school. But he said the Hispanic population is doing more in terms of opening their own businesses.

“Not everyone’s life path is to college,” he said. “We need to do more with workforce training; we need to prepare our young people for the workforce.”

Midway through the panel discussion, Hinz said, “We need money to survive.” He then said Chicago is not keeping up with the nation and asked if there was indeed a positive legacy to 2016.

Preckwinkle, a self-proclaimed “avid supporter” of the 2016 bid, said she, like the rest of Chicagoans, was disappointed when Chicago lost the Olympic bid, but she said the focus needs to shift to what’s next.

“We need to focus on the aftermath of the 2016 bid,” she said. “We need to figure out what our own 2016 should be. We have to find some consensus around this effort to have our own plan as a city, as a business community, as neighborhoods, as economic development organizations to transform the communities that we live in.”

Raymundo stressed that the key factor in real economic development has been the growth of the immigrant population in Chicago. He said comprehensive immigration reform, which, he noted, President Barack Obama supported during his campaign, is necessary.

“We need to unleash some of the talent that is out there, but so many people are unable because of their immigration status,” he said. “In Illinois in 2008, the Hispanic population generated $40 billion; $370 million of that was in Chicago. This is important information to understand how to build a strong economy.”

In the late ’80s and early ’90s, Chicago turned into a global economy and did well, Weissbourd said. But in the past 10 years, Chicago has become “stagnant” and is trailing behind most other cities.

“It is very important to get more strategic about what we are going to do with our metropolitan economy,” Weissbourd said. “Until the crash, our neighborhoods were by and large coming back, but the crash really knocked the neighborhoods out. Regional development is dependent on neighborhoods. You have to understand that these key components work together.”

Myers, who was a part of the the city’s Olympic bid team, said there are alternative routes to building the economy in Chicago. He said sports is one of the tools that Chicago can use to bring people and business into the city.

“By expanding on some of the strengths and capabilities here in the city, we can develop innovative programs that are not only good for our kids, but can also help be a foundation to strengthen our neighborhoods and attract further business into our neighborhoods,” Myers said.

There was no clear solution to the stalling economic development in Chicago, but Weissbourd said there is no reason for every neighborhood to reinvent the wheel.

“A lot of the same problems apply in every neighborhood,” he said. “It is time we start planning for both the short term and long term. We are headed in the right direction, but we still have a long way to go.”

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The private company spearheading the project and the city’s Department of Planning and Development are at odds over how to structure the project. And the economy has thrown a wrench in long-standing plans. But residents and neighborhood leaders still hope that new homes and businesses will soon thrive on what is now empty land, home only to the ghosts of the steel mill.

“I remember the U.S. Steel’s South Works plant, it was a big thing in the neighborhood,” said former plant worker Jose Lopez. “People came from all over the city to work there.”

Many local residents, whose descendants still live in South Chicago today, built the many buildings in the U.S. Steel complex. Now the land surrounding the plant is largely infill composed of layers of slag, a byproduct of steel production.

In its heyday a half-century ago, U.S. Steel employed approximately 25,000 workers at the South Chicago plant, making it the area’s largest employer.

A website run by the Southeast Historical Society describes the plant’s socio-economic importance: “The U.S. Steel Company played a significant role in the lives of the people of South Chicago while it was in operation. The community’s economy evolved because of it, and revolved around it. Bringing so many people to the area, and providing so many jobs, it populated the community.”

To see images of the old U.S. Steel plant and hear the stories of retired workers, watch this YouTube video.

But starting in the 1970s and accelerating in the 1980s, the U.S. steel industry endured a sudden collapse that threw many out of work. U.S. Steel and other American steel companies that still depended upon large numbers of older, inefficient plants failed to withstand the combination of a decline in demand and the rise of international competition, according to the Encyclopedia of Chicago. In 1992 the massive U.S. Steel plant closed down.

“I was upset when the plant closed down. Many people lost their jobs, including myself,” said Jorge Sanchez, a former plant employee.

Although the factory has been shuttered for 17 years, U.S. Steel still owns many vacant residential lots in the neighborhood. When the plant closed, U.S. Steel put the facility and the surrounding land up for sale. Eventually developers Westrum Development Company, McCaffery Interests and Lubert Adler partnered with U.S. Steel to form the Southworks Development LLC. The new company hired the world–renowned architects Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) and Sasaki Associates to design a new development to replace the old steel mill.

(Southworks Development LLC did not respond to numerous requests for comment for this story.)

According to the Area Chicago Web site, South Works is known as a Planned Development, designated by the city’s zoning guide as a “development scheme for a large, multi-lot area that is normally controlled by one party.”

South Works planners have stated they want to see the plot broken down into four or five separate sections or neighborhood areas. In order to finance the project, the developers have said they need up to 30,000 residential units mixed between low-, mid- and high-rise buildings. But the Planning Department would rather have a lower density development with about 5,000 to 6,000 units, according to the Area Chicago Web site. Currently, the South Chicago population is more than 40,000.

The Southeast Historical Society is proposing a museum or park be created to commemorate the steel industry and the workers who made this area one of the most important steel-making locations in the world.

”The mill also had a tremendous effect on the local economy. Bars, restaurants, stores and more had good or bad years that mirrored the success or lack of success of area mills,” said historical society director Rod Sellers. “What I remember the most was driving past the mill at night when they were pouring steel and the orange glow that lit up the area surrounding the mill.”

To view images and more information on the old U.S. Steel plant, check out this piece from Forgotten Chicago or this article from the Southeast Historical Society.

Many Southeast Side Chicago locals are hoping that new development on the site of U.S. Steel South Works will help them re-live the past and bring business to the neighborhood.

“I would enjoy seeing the U.S. Steel South Works become a shining light in the neighborhood, like it was before,” said Sanchez.

Related: Check out Michael Puente’s recent look at the charter school debate and other issues currently facing South Chicago from WBEZ-FM/Chicago Public Radio.

July 2, 2008 – I just want to vent for a minute. I live in Bronzeville. I grew up here during some of its worst days and returned here in the midst of its emergence as Chicago‘s new mecca for the middle class. Now that we have a critical mass of homeowners with discretionary income, the next logical step in the economic development matrix is the creation of a viable business district, restaurants, boutiques, amusements and shopping options.

Lately, I have found some really good stuff right here in my community but am appalled that I don’t see my Bronzeville neighbors beating a path to the doors of the pioneers who are helping imbue our community with economic and social vitality. I hear people bemoaning what we DON’T have but I don’t see that many people supporting what we DO have. We still go north for fun and come back south to sleep.

Going to the Bronzeville Community Market for the last three Sundays in a row is what provoked this rant. Last Sunday, there was also the Lake Meadows Art Fair. Before that it was an event at Little Black Pearl Workshop. None of these events were as well attended as they should have been. At the market, I counted all of 25 people (maybe) at the height of the day. That is a shame!

For this diatribe, I want to focus on the market – and please know that I am not being paid or encouraged by anyone to do this.

It happens every Sunday from 10a.m. to 3p.m. through October 26. Its vendors come from as far away as Indiana, pitch their tents in a greened lot at the corner of 44th & Cottage Grove and play music, sell edibles, natural remedies, clothes, farm fresh produce and flowers – at really good prices.

I want to urge everyone who reads this to take the time to come out and support the market as well as other community activities planned for the summer. The vendors who spend their time and money coming to OUR community can’t stay loyal if we don’t make their efforts worthwhile. If we don’t support them, in due course, these activities will die.

Come on, Bronzeville – we asked for things like this. We need them desperately to make our community come ALIVE. Let’s get out and make it happen!