Center for Metropolitan Chicago Initiatives (CMCI)

The Latino Landscape: A Metro Chicago Guide and Nonprofit Directory (6.0MB)
Berenice Alejo with demographic data provided by Roger Knight. prepared for The Chicago Community Trust by the Center for Metropolitan Chicago Initiatives
December, 2008
In addition to a directory of Latino-serving and Latino-led nonprofit organizations in the metropolitan Chicago area, this publication provides a demographic overview of the Latino population in the region, a brief chronicle highlighting events in Latino history, and profiles of Latino groups by country of origin and by residence patterns over time in five metro Chicago suburban municipalities. For an interactive, searchable version of the directory go to http://latinostudies.nd.edu/cmci/latinolandscape/.

Latino Educational Equity: Introducing a Web-Based Index plus Three Essays on Best Practice in Latino Education in the United States (12MB)  Smaller, low-resolution version of document (2.8MB)
Timothy Ready, with essays by Sonia Soltero, José R. Rosario and Christine Wedam Rosario, and James Rosenbaum
October, 2008
The future of the United States and the well-being of all Americans depend on the quality of education that our nation’s children receive. If we are to achieve the American ideal of a society in which there is equal opportunity for all, we must ensure that access to high-quality learning opportunities and resources is universal and equitable. Latinos are the fastest growing segment of the US population but historically have been among the least well-served by schools.In addition to juxtaposing information about achievement and access to learning-relevant resources through the web-based index, we hope that the information in these papers on Best Practices will help to guide efforts to improve learning outcomes, especially for Latino students.

See also the web-based educational equity index at latinostudies.nd.edu/equityindex.

Forging the Tools for Unity: A Report on Metro Chicago’s Mayors Roundtables on Latino Integration (3.4MB)
Berenice Alejo, Sylvia Puente
November, 2007
In spring 2007 the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus partnered with the Center for Metropolitan Chicago Initiatives of the Institute for Latinos Studies at the University of Notre Dame to host four Suburban Latino Roundtables that focused on the issue of the incorporation of the Latino community in the Chicago metropolitan area.

The State of Latino Chicago: This Is Home Now (5.7MB)
Timothy Ready and Allert Brown-Gort
November, 2005
Metropolitan Chicago is undergoing a profound transformation from a region dominated politically and demographically by European Americans to one in which no single racial or ethnic group will be the majority. Long a preeminent center of manufacturing and trade, Chicago is known as a city that works. In The State of Latino Chicago, we examine the status of the region's fastest growing and, arguably, hardest working population.

Strategies for Success: Cicero Education Forum Summary (1.2MB)  Versión en Español (1.0MB)
Sylvia Puente, Martha Zurita, Eva Serrano, Verónica Castr
March, 2004
Education is undeniably a path to upward mobility, yet Latino access to this path remains limited. The United States is increasingly dependent upon the success of Latinos, both for its labor supply and for the contribution Latinos make to the social security of retirees. Despite this fact, Latinos are the least formally educated group in the nation today, and many Latino youth lack the basic skills and knowledge required for economic and social mobility in today’s economy.

Latino Population in Illinois and Metropolitan Chicago: Young and Growing Fast! (222KB)
Martha Zurita
December, 2003
This edition of Latino Research @ ND highlights major demographic changes taking place in Metropolitan Chicago and Illinois, which have profound implications for the delivery of quality educational, health, and social services to the young people of the region and of the state.

School Segregation by Race and Poverty in Metropolitan Chicago (176KB)
Martha Zurita and Timothy Ready
December, 2003
The continued segregation of low-income and minority students from more affluent White students is a serious obstacle to the elimination of race - and class - related gaps in student achievement.

Bordering the Mainstream: A Needs Assessment of Latinos in Berwyn and Cicero, Illinois (912KB)  Summary Version (488KB)
January, 2002
The Latino populations of Berwyn and Cicero, Illinois—two of Chicago’s oldest suburbs—have increased dramatically in the last decade. What issues matter most to Latinos in the two communities? Our 2002 study, Bordering the Mainstream: A Needs Assessment of Latinos in Berwyn and Cicero, Illinois, provided a timely and valuable snapshot.

The report's release is the first step in a major initiative undertaken by the University of Notre Dame's Institute for Latino Studies to conduct research and promote community capacity-building in Berwyn and Cicero. On April 24, 2002, the Institute held a public briefing to share results of the study with the media and local leaders at the Second Federal Savings and Loan in Cicero.

Among the study's key findings:

• Despite lower education levels and incomes, Latino workers and business owners are making an important contribution to the local economy.
• Church and community organizations, extended families, and nascent citizen participation are among the assets that strengthen the Latino community.
• Both Latino and non-Latino residents of Berwyn and Cicero believe that the most important issues facing the community relate to children, education and youth.

The Institute for Latino Studies produced Bordering the Mainstream with funding from the MacNeal Health Foundation, in partnership with DePaul University's Egan Urban Center and Center for Latino Research and the Interfaith Leadership Project.

Online Resource Materials

Latino Immigrant Civic Engagement in the Chicago Region (446KB)
Magda Banda and Martha Zurita
January, 2009
At the very core of our society is the active participation of its members. However, not all members of our society, particularly immigrants, have access to our more official form of participation, namely voting. It is important that all have access to various forms of participation so that their voices can be heard and needs be met. This paper examines the civic participation of Latino immigrants in the metropolitan Chicago region, as well as the role of community-based organizations as facilitators for many Latino immigrants’ civic engagement.

Representing and Connecting: Immigrant-Serving Organizations in Metro Chicago (296KB)
Martha Zurita and Magda Banda
January, 2009
Have non-profit agencies kept up with metro Chicago’s population shifts? What do these demographic changes mean for non-profits in terms of meeting the needs of immigrant and disadvantaged groups? In this paper we examine several indicators, such as racial/ethnic distribution, poverty, and nativity, for both the geography and the organizations themselves as a step towards finding answers to these important questions.