‘This is Still My Neighborhood’

Narrators Janetta Pegues and Allen Schwartz, in conversation with oral historian Liú Chen, share stories of living in the Jane Addams Homes, intimately known as “The Village,” during the 1940s–1980s.

Janetta and Allen share insights about the neighborhood’s different periods of redevelopment and change, including the construction and development of University of Illinois Chicago in the 1960s and the ongoing gentrification of Little Italy.

---

Listen to individual full-length interviews with narrators Janetta Pegues and Allen Schwartz, or to their full joint conversation.

---

Sources and additional reading/watching

For more information about the historical and contemporary issues discussed in the episode, see our sources below and additional learning materials below:

Sources for sound design:

Raymond “Shaq” McDonald and Deral Willis challenging Mayor Richard M. Daley, excerpted from 70 Acres in Chicago documentary by Ronit Bezalel (2014). Accessed Sept. 5, 2024, www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwW-Gw9CxyI

Florence Scala, excerpted from “Florence Scala for the People,” a video made by Italian Heritage Chicago (2011). Accessed Sept. 5, 2024, www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8FMZOD3r3E

Chicago Indigenous Communities:

List of Illinois American Indian Organizations, Native American Chamber of Commerce of Illinois: www.nacc-il.org/illinois-american-indian-organizations

An Exploration of Native American History in Chicago with Geoffrey Baer, WTTW (2021): interactive.wttw.com/playlist/2021/11/29/native-american-history-geoffrey-baer

Center for Native Futures: www.centerfornativefutures.org

Chicago American Indian Oral History Project Records, The Newberry Library: i-share-nby.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01CARLI_NBY/i5mcb2/alma991762098805867

John N. Low, “Chicago is on the Lands of the Potawatomi: Why Land Acknowledgments for Chicago should acknowledge this historical fact,” johnnlow.com/2023/02/05/updates-at-long-last-chicago-is-on-the-lands-of-the-potawatomi-why-land-acknowledgments-for-chicago-should-acknowledge-this-historical-fact/

Plan for Transformation and Roosevelt Square Redevelopment:

Finalization of Lease for the Chicago Fire Football Club Training Facility, Chicago Housing Authority (2023): www.thecha.org/lease-chicago-fire-football-club-training-facility

“This Land Was Promised for Housing. Instead It’s Going to a Pro Soccer Team Owned by a Billionaire.” ProPublica & WTTW, Mick Dumke & Nick Blumberg (2022): www.propublica.org/article/chicago-housing-abla-fire-soccer-cha

“Chicago Claims Its 22-Year ‘Transformation’ Plan Revitalized 25,000 Homes. The Math Doesn’t Add Up.” ProPublica, Mick Dumke (2022): www.propublica.org/article/chicago-housing-authority-hud-transformation-plan

Roosevelt Square Development Articles, DNAInfo News Aggregator: www.dnainfo.com/chicago/places/roosevelt-square/

University of Illinois Chicago demolition, displacement, and development:

“Renewal for Whom? The Origins of the University of Illinois Chicago Circle Campus,” Chicago History Museum, Katherine Quiroa (2023): www.chicagohistory.org/origins-of-university-of-illinois-chicago/

The Boss & the Bulldozer documentary, WTTW, Stacy Robinson (2023): interactive.wttw.com/chicago-stories/boss-and-the-bulldozer/video

“Daley vs. Little Italy” Interactive Article, WBEZ, Monica Eng (2016): interactive.wbez.org/curiouscity/littleitaly/

“Displaced: When the Eisenhower Expressway Moved in, Who Was Forced Out?” Interactive Article, WBEZ, Robert Loerzel: interactive.wbez.org/curiouscity/eisenhower/

Florence Scala Collection, University of Illinois Chicago Special Collections and University Archives: archivesspace.uic.edu/repositories/2/resources/1078

Flashback: Florence Scala took on City Hall and Fought for Little Italy and a ‘gutsy’ Chicago, Chicago Tribune, Ron Grossman (updated 2022): www.chicagotribune.com/2022/03/10/flashback-florence-scala-took-on-city-hall-and-fought-for-little-italy-and-a-gutsy-chicago/

Florence Scala: A Disowned Community Leader, Italian Americana, Sandro Corso (2019): www.jstor.org/stable/45210818