Chicago's Mexican population lacks resources despite impact on city's history, culture: report

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A new report shows the vast impact and history of Mexican culture in Chicagoland.

But those behind report say the community has often lacked resources.

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ABC7 is told the city's Mexican community makes up the majority of the city's Latino population but has been overlooked by that umbrella. Those behind the report say it is not meant to be exclusive to anyone, but instead, it is meant to be an encouragement to a community in need.

"They are part of the fabric of Chicago," said Great Cities Institute Senior Fellow Juan González.

It is a fabric that, according to a new report by the University of Illinois-Chicago's Great Cities Institute, has largely been neglected.

"Between Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Colombians and others, and often under the rubric of Latino, we don't actually get at the specific condition of each community," González said.

González says while 70% of Chicago's Latino population is Mexican, the community has been overlooked from housing to education to job opportunities.

"Seventy percent of construction workers are Mexicans, so we are literally building the city," said Cities Institute Director Teresa Córdova.

The report shows the immense history of Mexicans in the city dating back to the 1900s. It was released Monday, on Mexican Independence Day. Monday also marked the 70th anniversary of the largest mass deportation in American history.

"Federal agents descended on Chicago and rounded up hundreds and eventually thousands of Mexicans to be deported," González said.

The report is also a reminder for Teresa Córdova during the Latino Research Initiative Summit to get the community more civically engaged.

"We hope that this report will elevate people's sense of their own importance and their own sense of ownership," Córdova said.

The report shows just two out 10 eligible Latinos voted in the last presidential election. In addition to encouraging people to vote this year, the Great Cities Institute director says they are calling local and state leaders to increase business ownership in Mexican communities, expand health insurance coverage and give more resources to Mexican public-school students who make up a large majority of Latino enrollment.

"It's important for everyone to understand the city level, the state level, beyond, to understand the importance of Mexicans to the Chicagoland area," Córdova said.