With the onset of the "Great Migration",
large numbers of African Americans arrived in the city from states
such as Arkansas and Alabama, and toward the end of the 20th Century,
became the best known demographic group.
Latterly, Latinos have arrived in significant numbers, particularly
from Mexico, and now form a notable group in the city, just as they
do in Waukegan to the north. It is possible that North Chicago has
over time been the most diverse and multicultural municipality in
Lake County. At one time, Navy personnel were a major part of the
scene in North Chicago, both the "swabbies" (enlisted
men) and the officers. Now, with the degeneration of "the Strip",
or entertainment district along several blocks of Sheridan Road,
sailors are rarely seen north of the railroad trestle. In the fall
of 2007, the city finished demolishing the buildings on Sheridan
Road between Martin Luther King Drive and the railroad trestle to
the north, within the framework of a new development project involving
TIF financing.
Recent years have seen relentless de-industrialization and consequent
loss of jobs. Though they live in what is one of the poorer towns
on the North Shore, North Chicago citizens bear an unusually heavy
residential tax burden, due to the gross reductions in industrial
and other business activity, along with the nontaxable status of
the Naval base and the VA hospital. Even the Jelly Belly factory,
North Chicago's only tourist draw, has departed for Kenosha, Wisconsin.
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