East St. Louis, Illinois
Encyclopedia
East St. Louis is a city located in St. Clair County, Illinois
St. Clair County, Illinois
St. Clair County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. In 1970, the U.S. Census Bureau placed the mean center of U.S. population in St. Clair County. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 270,056, which is an increase of 5.5% from 256,082 in 2000. Its county seat is...

, USA, directly across the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

 from St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

 in the Metro-East
Metro-East
Metro East is a region in Illinois that comprises the eastern suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri, United States. It encompasses five Southern Illinois counties in the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area. The region's most populated city is Belleville at 45,000 residents...

 region of Southern Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 27,006, less than one-third of its peak of 82,366 in 1950. Like many larger industrial cities, it has been severely affected by loss of jobs in the restructuring of the railroad industry and de-industrialization of the Rust Belt
Rust Belt
The Rust Belt is a term that gained currency in the 1980s as the informal description of an area straddling the Midwestern and Northeastern United States, in which local economies traditionally garnered an increased manufacturing sector to add jobs and corporate profits...

 in the second half of the 20th century. In 1950 East St. Louis was the 4th largest city in Illinois. Other cities in the Metro-East
Metro-East
Metro East is a region in Illinois that comprises the eastern suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri, United States. It encompasses five Southern Illinois counties in the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area. The region's most populated city is Belleville at 45,000 residents...

 that have suffered a similar fate are Granite City
Granite City, Illinois
Granite City is a city in Madison County, Illinois, United States, part of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. At the 2010 census, the population was 29,849, making it the third largest city in the Metro-East and Southern Illinois, behind Alton and Belleville...

 and Alton
Alton, Illinois
Alton is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 27,865 at the 2010 census. It is a part of the Metro-East region of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area in Southern Illinois...

.

One of the highlights of the city's waterfront is the Gateway Geyser
Gateway Geyser
The Gateway Geyser is a fountain located on the riverfront of the Mississippi River in the Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park in East St. Louis, Illinois, directly across from the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri. The fountain is the world's second tallest, lifting water to a height of...

, the tallest fountain in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Designed to complement the Gateway Arch
Gateway Arch
The Gateway Arch, or Gateway to the West, is an arch that is the centerpiece of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis, Missouri. It was built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States...

 across the river in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

, it shoots water to a height of 630 feet (192 m), the same height as the Arch.

History

Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 long inhabited both sides of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

 at this point. The Mississippian culture
Mississippian culture
The Mississippian culture was a mound-building Native American culture that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1500 CE, varying regionally....

 rulers organized thousands of workers to construct villages and complex earthwork mounds
Earthworks (archaeology)
In archaeology, earthwork is a general term to describe artificial changes in land level. Earthworks are often known colloquially as 'lumps and bumps'. Earthworks can themselves be archaeological features or they can show features beneath the surface...

 at what later became St. Louis and East St. Louis, as well as the urban complex of Cahokia
Cahokia
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site is the area of an ancient indigenous city located in the American Bottom floodplain, between East Saint Louis and Collinsville in south-western Illinois, across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri. The site included 120 human-built earthwork mounds...

 to the north of East St. Louis within present-day Collinsville, Illinois
Collinsville, Illinois
Collinsville is a city located mainly in Madison County, and partially in St. Clair County, both in Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 26,016. Collinsville is approximately 12 miles from St. Louis, Missouri and is considered part of that city's Metro-East area...

. Before the Civil War
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....

, settlers reported up to 50 mounds in the area that became East St. Louis, but most were lost to nineteenth-century development and later roadbuilding.

East St. Louis lies within the American Bottom
American Bottom
The American Bottom is the flood plain of the Mississippi River in the Metro-East region of Southern Illinois, extending from Alton, Illinois, to the Kaskaskia River. It is also sometimes called "American Bottoms". The area is about , mostly protected from flooding by a levee and drainage canal...

 area of the present day Metro-East
Metro-East
Metro East is a region in Illinois that comprises the eastern suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri, United States. It encompasses five Southern Illinois counties in the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area. The region's most populated city is Belleville at 45,000 residents...

 area of St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

. This name was given after the United States acquired the Louisiana Purchase
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...

 in 1803, and European Americans began to settle in the area. The village was first named "Illinoistown."

The Great Railroad Strike of 1877

A period of extensive industrial growth followed the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. Industries located in East St. Louis to make use of the local availability of Illinois coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

 as fuel. Another early industry was meatpacking and stockyards
Feedlot
A feedlot or feedyard is a type of animal feeding operation which is used in factory farming for finishing livestock, notably beef cattle, but also swine, horses, sheep, turkeys, chickens or ducks, prior to slaughter. Large beef feedlots are called Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations . They...

, concentrated in one area to limit their nuisance to other jurisdictions.

In the expansion, many businessmen became overextended in credit, and a major economic collapse followed the Panic of 1873
Panic of 1873
The Panic of 1873 triggered a severe international economic depression in both Europe and the United States that lasted until 1879, and even longer in some countries. The depression was known as the Great Depression until the 1930s, but is now known as the Long Depression...

. This was due to railroad and other manufacturing expansion, land speculation
Speculation
In finance, speculation is a financial action that does not promise safety of the initial investment along with the return on the principal sum...

 and general business optimism caused by large profits from inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...

. The economic recession began in the East and steadily moved west, severely crippling the railroads, the main system of transportation. In response to the difficulties, railroad companies began dramatically lowering workers' wages, forcing employees to work without pay, and cutting jobs and the amount of paid work hours. These wage cuts and additional money-saving tactics used by the industry prompted strikes and unrest on a massive scale.

While most of the strikes in the eastern cities during 1877 were accompanied by violence, the late July 1877 St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

 strike was marked by a bloodless and quick take-over by dissatisfied workers. By July 22, the St. Louis Commune began to take shape, as representatives from almost all the railroad lines met in East St. Louis. They soon elected an executive committee to command the strike and issued General Order No. 1, halting all railroad traffic other than passenger and mail trains. John Bowman
John Bowman
John Bowman PhD is an Irish historian and a long-standing broadcaster and presenter of current affairs and political programmes with Raidió Teilifís Éireann . He chaired the audience-participation political programme Questions and Answers on RTÉ One for 21 years...

, the mayor of East St. Louis, was appointed arbitrator of the committee. He helped the committee select special police to guard the property of the railroads from damage. The strike and the new de facto workers' government, while given encouragement by the largely German-American Workingmen's Party and the Knights of Labor
Knights of Labor
The Knights of Labor was the largest and one of the most important American labor organizations of the 1880s. Its most important leader was Terence Powderly...

 (two key players in the organization of the Missouri general strike), were run by no organized labor group.

The strike closed packing industry houses surrounding the National Stock Yards. At one plant, workers allowed processing of 125 cattle in return for 500 cans of beef for the workers. Though the East St. Louis strike continued in an orderly fashion, across the river there were isolated incidents of violence. Harry Eastman, the East St. Louis workers' representative, addressed the mass of employees:
"Go home to your different wards and organize your different unions, but don't keep coming up here in great bodies and stirring up excitement. Ask the Mayor, as we did, to close up all the saloons... keep sober and orderly, and when you are organized, apply to the United Workingmen for orders. Don't plunder ... don't interfere with the railroads here ... let us attend to that".
The strikers held the railroads and city for about a week, without the violence that took place in Chicago and other cities. On July 28 US troops took over the Relay Depot, the Commune's command center, and the strike ended peacefully.

The East St. Louis riots of 1917

East St. Louis in 1917 had a strong industrial economy boosted by World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. Many workers entered the military, and other workers went on strike. As the war prevented immigration from Europe, major companies recruited workers from the South to work at the Aluminum Ore Company and the American Steel Company. They were available because the US Army initially rejected many black volunteers in the years before an integrated military. This was also the period of the first Great Migration
Great Migration (African American)
The Great Migration was the movement of 6 million blacks out of the Southern United States to the Northeast, Midwest, and West from 1910 to 1970. Some historians differentiate between a Great Migration , numbering about 1.6 million migrants, and a Second Great Migration , in which 5 million or more...

, as African Americans left poor rural economies in the South for industrial cities of the North.

Resentment on both sides and the arrival of new workers created fears for job security and raised social tensions. At a white labor meeting on May 28, men traded rumors of fraternizing between black men and white women. Three thousand white men left the meeting and headed as a mob for the downtown, where they randomly attacked black men on the street. They destroyed buildings and physically attacked people; they "killed a 14-year-old boy and scalped his mother. Before it was over 244 buildings were destroyed.". The governor called in National Guard
United States National Guard
The National Guard of the United States is a reserve military force composed of state National Guard militia members or units under federally recognized active or inactive armed force service for the United States. Militia members are citizen soldiers, meaning they work part time for the National...

 to prevent further rioting, but rumors continued to circulate about an organized retaliation from the blacks.

On July 1, 1917, a black man attacked a white man. Whites drove by shooting in retaliation. When police came to investigate, the black attacker proceeded to fire on the police and wounded at least one. The next morning, thousands of white spectators mobbed the black section of town. The rioters burned entire sections of the city and shot blacks as they escaped the flames. They also lynched several blacks.

Although the governor had called in the National Guard to try to control the situation, several accounts reported that they joined in the rioting. The mob included "ten or fifteen white women, [who] chased a negro woman at the Relay Depot in broad daylight. The girls were brandishing clubs and calling upon the men to kill the woman." 2 The woman was a known prostitute frequented by white men.

Recent history

East St. Louis was named an All-America City in 1958, having retained prosperity through the decade as its population reached a peak of 82,295 residents. Through the 1950s and later, the city's musicians were an integral creative force in blues, rock and roll and jazz. Some left and achieved national recognition, such as Ike
Ike Turner
Isaac Wister Turner was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, arranger, talent scout, and record producer. In a career that lasted more than half a century, his repertoire included blues, soul, rock, and funk...

 and Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...

 and jazz great Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...

, who was born in nearby Alton
Alton, Illinois
Alton is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 27,865 at the 2010 census. It is a part of the Metro-East region of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area in Southern Illinois...

 and grew up in East St. Louis. Many were featured on the PBS series River of Song in 1999, covering music of cities along the Mississippi River.

The city was dramatically affected by mid-century deindustrialization and railroad restructuring. As a number of local factories began to close because of changes in industry, the railroad and meatpacking industries also were cutting back and moving jobs out of the region. This led to a precipitous loss of working and middle-class jobs. The city's financial conditions deteriorated. Elected in 1951, Mayor Alvin Fields tried funding measures that resulted in raising the city's bonded indebtedness and the property tax rate. More businesses closed as workers left the area to seek jobs in other regions. Crime increased as a result of poverty and lack of opportunities. "Brownfields" (areas with environmental contamination by heavy industry) make redevelopment more difficult and expensive.

Street gangs appeared in city neighborhoods. Like other cities with endemic problems by the 1960s, East St. Louis suffered riots in the latter part of the decade. In September 1967, rioting occurred in the city's South End and the following summer there were some sniping attacks. The violence added to residential mistrust and adversely affected the downtown retail base and the city's income.

The construction of freeways also contributed to East St. Louis' decline, as they cut through and broke up functioning neighborhoods and community networks. The freeways made it easier for residents to commute back and forth from suburban homes, so more people moved out to newer housing. East St. Louis adopted a number of programs to try to reverse decline — the Model Cities program, the Concentrated Employment Program and Operation Breakthrough. The programs were not enough to offset the industrial restructuring.

In 1971, James Williams was elected as the city's first black mayor. Faced with the overwhelming economic problems, he was unable to make much of a difference. By the election of Carl Officer as mayor (the youngest in the country at that time at age 25) in 1979, many said the city had nowhere to go but up, yet things grew worse. Middle-class whites and blacks left the city. People who could get jobs simply went to where there was work and a decent quality of life. Because the city had been obliged to cut back on maintenance, sewers failed and garbage pickup ceased. Police cars and radios stopped working. The East St. Louis Fire Department went on strike in the 1970s.

In the 1980s the state imposed a financial advisory board to manage the city in exchange for a financial bailout. State legislative approval in 1990 of riverboat gambling and the installation of the Casino Queen riverboat casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...

 provided the first new source of income for the city in nearly 30 years. In 1991 Gordon Bush was elected mayor.

During the last decade, the city has completed several redevelopment projects: in 2001 it opened a new library and built a new city hall. Public-private partnerships have resulted in a variety of new retail developments, housing initiatives, and the St. Louis Metrolink
St. Louis Metrolink
MetroLink is the light rail transit system in the Greater St. Louis area of Missouri and the Metro East area of Illinois. The entire system currently consists of two lines connecting Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and Shrewsbury, MO with Scott Air Force Base near Shiloh, Illinois through...

 light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...

, which have sparked renewal. Some observers have questioned whether access to the Metrolink from the East Side has increased crime in the Saint Louis Metro Area.

The city, now small in terms of population, has drastic urban blight. Sections of "urban prairie
Urban prairie
Urban prairie is a term coined to characterize vacant city lots. Urban prairie results from widespread building demolition to facilitate urban renewal....

" can be found where vacant buildings have been torn down and whole blocks became overgrown with vegetation. Much of the territory surrounding the city remains undeveloped, bypassed for growth in more affluent suburban areas. Many old, "inner city
Inner city
The inner city is the central area of a major city or metropolis. In the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland, the term is often applied to the lower-income residential districts in the city centre and nearby areas...

" neighborhoods abut large swaths of corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

 and soybean
Soybean
The soybean or soya bean is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean which has numerous uses...

 fields or otherwise vacant land. In addition to agricultural uses, a number of truck stops, strip clubs, and semi-rural businesses surround blighted areas in the city.

In 2010 the East St Louis community gardening movement began to develop plots for "urban farming", as has been done in North St. Louis. Inspired by Detroit's planned use of vacant land for green development, community associations, nonprofits and universities collaborated to spark green development in East St Louis.

In the early 1990s, archeological surveys and excavations prior to construction of I55/70 revealed evidence of important prehistoric structures. Illinois researchers discovered the remains of several earthwork
Earthworks (archaeology)
In archaeology, earthwork is a general term to describe artificial changes in land level. Earthworks are often known colloquially as 'lumps and bumps'. Earthworks can themselves be archaeological features or they can show features beneath the surface...

 mounds, the largest believed to have been 40 feet high with a base nearly the size of a football field. Also within the group were burial mounds, a large plaza and palisade, and other features showing this was a ceremonial center. This complex is now called the East St. Louis Mound group. It was built by the Mississippian culture
Mississippian culture
The Mississippian culture was a mound-building Native American culture that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1500 CE, varying regionally....

, which reached its peak in the region about 1250 AD at the nearby major center of Cahokia
Cahokia
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site is the area of an ancient indigenous city located in the American Bottom floodplain, between East Saint Louis and Collinsville in south-western Illinois, across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri. The site included 120 human-built earthwork mounds...

, a UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

 within the present-day boundaries of Collinsville
Collinsville, Illinois
Collinsville is a city located mainly in Madison County, and partially in St. Clair County, both in Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 26,016. Collinsville is approximately 12 miles from St. Louis, Missouri and is considered part of that city's Metro-East area...

. The state and University of Illinois are trying to develop coordinated projects with East St. Louis and businesses that might use the mounds and artifacts as attractions for heritage tourism.

Geography

East St. Louis is located at 38°36'56" North, 90°7'40" West (38.615550, -90.127825).

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the city has a total area of 14.4 square miles (37.3 km²), of which, 14.1 square miles (36.5 km²) of it is land and 0.4 square miles (1 km²) of it is water. The total area is 2.56% water.

East St. Louis usually experiences cold winters and hot summers. On July 14, 1954 the temperature at East Saint Louis reached 117 °F (48 °C), the highest temperature ever recorded in Illinois.

Transportation

East St. Louis is home to four St. Louis MetroLink
St. Louis Metrolink
MetroLink is the light rail transit system in the Greater St. Louis area of Missouri and the Metro East area of Illinois. The entire system currently consists of two lines connecting Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and Shrewsbury, MO with Scott Air Force Base near Shiloh, Illinois through...

 stations; East Riverfront
East Riverfront (St. Louis Metrolink)
East Riverfront is a St. Louis MetroLink station. The station is located by the Casino Queen in East St. Louis.- External links :*...

, 5th & Missouri
5th & Missouri (St. Louis MetroLink)
5th & Missouri is a St. Louis MetroLink station located in East St. Louis, Illinois. The station features 322 Park-Ride spaces, including 25 long term spaces.-MetroBus:*1 Main Street-State St*2 Cahokia*4 Bond Ave-19th & Central...

, Emerson Park
Emerson Park (St. Louis MetroLink)
Emerson Park is a St. Louis MetroLink station. This station features 816 Park-Ride spaces.- External links :*...

, and JJK Center
Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center (St. Louis MetroLink)
Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center is a St. Louis MetroLink station. It is adjacent to the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Youth Center....

.

Interstate 55
Interstate 55
Interstate 55 is an Interstate Highway in the central United States. Its odd number indicates that it is a north–south Interstate Highway. I-55 goes from LaPlace, Louisiana at Interstate 10 to Chicago at U.S. Route 41 , at McCormick Place. A common nickname for the highway is "double...

, Interstate 64
Interstate 64
Interstate 64 is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. 40, and U.S. 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchange with I-264 and I-664 at Bowers Hill in Chesapeake, Virginia. As I-64 is concurrent with...

, Interstate 70
Interstate 70
Interstate 70 is an Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a Park and Ride near Baltimore, Maryland. It was the first Interstate Highway project in the United States. I-70 approximately traces the path of U.S. Route 40 east of the Rocky...

, and US Highway 40
U.S. Route 40
U.S. Route 40 is an east–west United States highway. As with most routes whose numbers end in a zero, U.S. 40 once traversed the entire United States. It is one of the original 1920s U.S. Highways, and its first termini were San Francisco, California, and Atlantic City, New Jersey...

 run concurrently through East St. Louis and are linked to St. Louis by the Poplar Street Bridge
Poplar Street Bridge
The Poplar Street Bridge, officially the Bernard F. Dickmann Bridge, completed in 1967, is a long deck girder bridge across the Mississippi River between St. Louis, Missouri and East St. Louis, Illinois...

. Prior to its decommissioning, the fabled Route 66 also shared a concurrence with these Interstate highways. In addition, US Highway 50 also shared a concurrence prior to its being rerouting and concurrence with Interstate 255
Interstate 255
Interstate 255 is a bypass route of Interstate 55 near St. Louis, Missouri and with Interstate 270, it forms a loop around the city. Even though St. Louis is in Missouri, a majority of the route runs through Illinois. It shares its southern terminus with 270 at the junction with Interstate 55, 270...

.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 31,542 people, 11,178 households, and 7,668 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 is 2,242.9 people per square mile (866.2/km²). There are 12,899 housing units at an average density of 917.2 per square mile (354.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.74% Black or African-American, 1.23% Caucasian, 0.19% Native American, 0.08% Asian-American, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 0.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.73% of the population.

There are 11,178 households out of which 33.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 21.9% are married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 40.6% have a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% are non-families. 27.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.80 and the average family size is 4.02.

In the city the population is spread out with 32.8% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 31 years. For every 100 females there are 81.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 72.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $21,324, and the median income for a family is $24,567. Males have a median income of $27,864 versus $21,850 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the city is $11,169. 35.1% of the population and 31.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 48.6% of those under the age of 18 and 25.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Government and infrastructure

The Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center, operated by the Illinois Department of Corrections, is near East St. Louis.

Education

The city is served by the East St. Louis School District 189
East St. Louis School District 189
East St. Louis School District 189 is a public school district headquartered in the city of East St. Louis, Illinois, United States.In addition to East St. Louis, the district also serves portions of Canteen, Centreville, and Stites Townships in northwestern St. Clair County.-High schools:*East St...

 http://www.estlouis.stclair.k12.il.us/.

All residents are zoned to East St. Louis High School.

Crime

East St. Louis has one of the highest crime rates in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. According to FBI's data of 2007, its murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

 rate hit 101.9 per population of 100,000, surpassing that of cities such as Gary, Indiana
Gary, Indiana
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city is in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The population is 80,294 at the 2010 census, making it the seventh-largest city in the state. It borders Lake Michigan and is known...

 (48.3 per pop. 100,000), New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

 (37.6), Baltimore, Maryland (43.3), and Detroit, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

 (47.3), as well as that of its neighbor St. Louis (37.2). FBI data shows East St. Louis' rate of rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...

 exceeded 250 per population of 100,000.

The following table shows East St. Louis's crime rate in six crimes that Morgan Quitno
Morgan Quitno
Morgan Quitno Press is a research and publishing company based in Lawrence, Kansas, which compiles books with statistics of crime rates, health care, education, and other categories, ranking cities and states in the United States...

uses for its calculation for "America's most dangerous cities" ranking, in comparison to the national average: Year: 2006 number of crimes per 100,000.
Crime East Saint Louis National average
Murder 101.9 5.6
Rape 251.3 32.2
Robbery 1,347.0 195.4
Assault 5,847.3 340.1
Burglary 2,442.8 814.5
Automobile theft 2,067.5 526.5

External links

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