A few residents dotted otherwise quiet streets — some walking dogs or returning from drop off at Oakton Elementary School — on a weekday morning in the 9th Ward.
Located in South Evanston, the ward is largely residential. Apart from a few big-box stores on the ward’s east side, its blocks are filled with houses, apartments and parks, rather than bustling business districts.
“I’m a little biased, but I think the 9th Ward is really special,” Ald. Juan Geracaris (9th) said. “It is probably one of the most residential of all of the wards … and I think it’s one of the most economically and racially diverse parts of town.”
Prior to the April redistricting, city data shows that the 9th Ward was the least populous, with 7,920 residents. Now, with 8,796 residents, it is the most populated ward. However, redistricting shrunk the overall disparity between ward populations from more than 20% to less than 3%, according to the city.
Nestled between the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 8th Wards, the 9th Ward falls inside the Ridgeville Park district, an independent park district serving South Evanston. The district provides a variety of services for residents, from maintaining green spaces across the district to hosting recreational programs and events, including an annual summer concert series.
“We’re small, but we’re mighty,” said Natalie Sallee, Ridge Park District director of recreation and special events. “We do a lot of stuff. We’ve got a ton of special events throughout the year.”
On the corner of Ridge Avenue and South Boulevard lies the namesake Ridgeville Park, a public green space scattered with brightly-painted benches and a new, community-built playground.
The park also houses the Ridgeville Community House along with a garage art studio. Monday morning a sign affixed to the garage door read “Gone Adventuring,” directing residents to come another time.
The 9th Ward is home to Oakton and Chute Middle School. Significant parts of the ward are also zoned for Washington and Dawes Elementary Schools. Geracaris praised the ward for its “strong school communities.”
Ridgeville Park District prioritizes programming that doubles as childcare when school is out of session by working in accordance with the Evanston/Skokie School District 65 academic calendar to host events on half days and during vacations, Sallee said.
She added that the district prioritized programs for children of essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to offer scholarship programs for families who may need assistance paying for programs.
Renamed over the summer, the ward’s Dr. Jorge and Luz Maria Prieto Community Center also offers many services aimed toward families with children, such as drop-in playtime and day-off school camps according to the center’s website.
The racial demographic breakdown of the ward is roughly equivalent to that before new ward boundaries went into effect in April.
According to information compiled by the city based on census data, the 9th Ward’s largest demographic groups were white, Black or African American and Hispanic or Latino. Fifty-seven percent of 9th Ward residents identified as white, 19% identified as Black or African American, and 13% identified as Hispanic or Latino.
The ward is far from monolithic, according to Geracaris.
“There are distinct pockets and neighborhoods that have different properties and concerns and experiences than even someone half a mile away,” he said.
Geracaris added that fighting housing costs and displacement is a key priority, citing the desire for Evanston to be “a place where regular people can afford to live.”
Ninth Ward residents echoed this sentiment at a September ward meeting. Community members expressed concern over housing costs at a meeting centered on the city’s Housing4All draft plan.
At the meeting, 9th Ward resident Lorraine Williams said she worried residents are being “squeezed out” of their properties due to rising costs. She added that those who hope to “age in place” may be forced to move because of the financial burden.
9th Ward resident and Land Use Commission member Luke Harris-Ferree made a similar point at the meeting. “My apartment is too small right now for my family, and we’re cost-burdened,” Harris-Ferree said in September. “There are four of us in two bedrooms.”
Geracaris said he is proud of the 9th Ward’s mix of housing types that allows for socioeconomic diversity. “That’s something that has to be preserved, and it’s something I think can be kind of an example of possibilities for other wards,” he said.
Siddarth Sivaraman contributed reporting.
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