Flooding is an issue in Chicago’s Jefferson Park neighborhood. There were 2 major storms that occurred in 2010 and 2013 and they produced up to 5 ½ inches of rain. Like most of Chicago, there are no reservoirs, and with the density of buildings, streets and parking lots, there is very little green space to absorb or slow down the onslaught of water in a heavy rain. Because the city of Chicago has a combined storm and sanitary system it means that every time there’s a serious rainstorm, sewers can backup, and people get water and worse in their basements. Couple that with sewer pipes that need to be enlarged and replaced and you have trouble areas. Parks’ Plumbing & Sewer, Inc. has been providing flood control systems including sewer backflow valves and overhead sewers to Chicago’s Jefferson Park neighborhoods since 1981. Call today to protect your home and possessions.
Chicago’s Jefferson Park is located about 10 miles northwest of the Loop. Jefferson Park is bordered by the community areas of Norwood Park to the northwest, Forest Glen to the northeast, Portage Park to the south, and the suburb of Harwood Heights to the south. Although the official map draws the boundary between Jefferson Park and Portage Park at Gunnison Street and Lawrence Avenue, the Jefferson Park neighborhood extends to Montrose Avenue farther south.Settlement near Jefferson Park began in the 1830s with John Kinzie Clark and Elijah Wentworth, whose claim was near what is now the Jefferson Park Metra Station, where they operated a tavern and inn. The tiny settlement of traders, hunters, and farmers consisted of simple one and two room log cabins until Abram Gale, for whom Gale Street is named, built the first frame house in Jefferson. Jefferson Park became the hub of an independent township that was incorporated at the nearby Dickinson Tavern as Jefferson Township in 1850 until annexed by the city of Chicago in 1889. The area was once home to a significant population of Germans and one of the area’s one time local landmarks was a local apartment buildings near the park along Higgins Avenue known by locals as “the Russian Hotel”.Jefferson Park has long been one of Chicago’s transportation hubs, earning the neighborhood the nickname as “The Gateway to Chicago”. The neighborhood is served by a Blue Line station in the median of the Kennedy Expressway at the intersection of Milwaukee and Gale Street, less than three blocks away from the Copernicus Center.Jefferson Park is also known for having a very high number of resident city and county workers. The area is filled with the homes of Chicago Public School teachers and staff, Chicago Police Department, Chicago Fire Department as well as Cook County Sheriff officers and staff.Jefferson Park is a predominantly middle-class neighborhood of people coming from a variety of diverse backgrounds. Like many neighborhoods on the Northwest Side of Chicago the neighborhood has a heavy Polish-American presence.Boundaries are Austin Ave, Chicago River, Railway, Elston Ave, Foster Ave, Edens Expy, Cicero Ave, Montrose Ave, Narraganset Ave, Nagle Ave, Bryn Mawr Ave, Northwest Hwy, Milwaukee Ave.Indian Woods Community – Boundaries are Indian Rd, Central Ave, Ardmore Ave.Gladstone Park is a neighborhood in the northern section of Jefferson Park. It is centered at the large and confusing intersection of Northwest Highway and Central, Milwaukee, and Foster Avenues. The Kennedy Expressway runs nearby as well and has an entrance from Foster Avenue. The park for which the neighborhood is named is located a few blocks to the northwest between Northwest Highway and Milwaukee, on Menard Avenue. The numerous examples of homes in the Dutch Colonial style has led to the area’s nickname as “Little Rotterdam”, an allusion to the Dutch city of RotterdamIn 1990 nearly half of the 23,649 population was of Polish descent. Many congregate at Copernicus Center, a Polish cultural and study organization, established in the former Gateway Theater. Asians and Hispanics also are a significant presence in the community. Although seniors constituted approximately 22 percent of the population in 1990, the end of the decade saw a trend toward younger residents.
