Calumet City

History

Calumet City (commonly referred to locally as "Cal City") was founded in 1893 when the villages of Schrumville and Sobieski Park merged under the name of West Hammond, since it lies on the west side of the Illinois-Indiana line from Hammond, Indiana. Bootleggers including Al Capone built on this basis once the Prohibition era arrived, and West Hammond gained the nickname of "Sin City". Police avoided Sin Strip and risked violence if they tried to make an arrest. In 1959, the state of Illinois conducted a police raid that resulted in 98 arrests and the seizure of business records. An article published in Chicago Daily News on June 2, 1959, exposed LaPorte as being instrumental in the illegal activities in Calumet City.

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Calumet City has a total area of , of which (or 98.31%) is land and (or 1.69%) is water. In addition to being bordered to the east by Hammond, it is also bordered by Burnham and Chicago to the north, Lansing to the south, and South Holland and Dolton to the west. : Chicago / Burnham : Dolton Hammond : Dolton / South Holland Hammond : South Holland Munster : Lansing

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  20,015
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  17,894
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  17,819
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  15,993
• Ring-billed Gull

  Larus delawarensis Ord, 1815 · Aves
  15,706
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  15,161
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  15,153
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  13,520

Largest nearby schools

• Homewood-Flossmoor High School
  High · Flossmoor · 2,798 students · 13.9:1 ratio
• Thornwood High School
  High · South Holland · 1,996 students · 13.8:1 ratio
• Thornton Fractnl So High School
  High · Lansing · 1,927 students · 18:1 ratio
• DD Eisenhower High Sch (Campus)
  High · Blue Island · 1,841 students · 13.7:1 ratio
• Bloom High School
  High · Chicago Heights · 1,737 students · 18.7:1 ratio
• Thornton Township High School
  High · Harvey · 1,628 students · 13.9:1 ratio
• Washington G High School
  High · Chicago · 1,568 students · 15.4:1 ratio
• Bremen High School
  High · Midlothian · 1,497 students · 17.6:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2026-07-08
  21 km ENE of Kenilworth, Illinois
• M 2.6 — 2025-03-15
  6 km W of Dwight, Illinois
• M 3.1 — 2024-07-15
  2 km WNW of Somonauk, Illinois
• M 2.9 — 2015-03-25
  3 km WNW of Lake in the Hills, Illinois
• M 3.2 — 2013-11-04
  1 km SSW of Lyons, Illinois
• M 2.6 — 2013-06-10
  4 km NNE of Virgil, Illinois