Surviving White Flight with Middle Class Diversity

By: Paul F. CuadrosLike many of its south suburban neighbors, Country Club Hills became home to hundreds of new minority residents during the 1980s.

But unlike Riverdale, Country Club Hills saw little increase in its poor, dispelling the notion that where there are blacks and Latinos, there is poverty.

"Some of the neighboring communities like Harvey went from predominantly white to predominantly black," said Sharon Caddigan, director of planning and zoning for the village.

"We're more balanced. Our new residents are more educated, have more purchasing power and participate more in the community," she said.

In 1980, Country Club Hills was 11.9 percent African American. By 1990, it was 57 percent black.

Meanwhile, whites have left in droves. The white population dropped from 11,980, or 85.7 percent of the population in 1980, to 5,881, or 38.1 percent in 1990.

But the suburb's poor population only rose from 2.7 percent to 4.6 percent. Blacks make up 6.2 percent of Country Club Hills' low-income population; whites are at 2.5 percent.

But property values there did not increase as much as in neighboring white communities, said James Shannon, director of the Fair Housing Center of the Leadership Council for Metropolitan Open Communities.

"By not having whites in that market, it depreciates that market. We don't see the appreciation of the homes as we see in Orland Park or Tinley Park because of the limited demand," she said.

Blacks make up 0.39 percent of the population in neighboring Orland Park and 1.62 percent in Tinley Park.

In 1980, the median value of a home in Country Club Hills was $61,700, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In 1990, it rose to $73,000. In Orland Park, it was $90,900 in 1980. By 1990, it rose to $152,700.

"It hurts the white-collar blacks moving in because they have to then attract other white collar blacks in order to sell their homes," Shannon said.

But Caddigan said: "Our property values are increasing at the same time our minority population is."

Caddigan, who has worked as a housing tester in the area, said that whites are still moving to Country Club Hills.

But racial steering is still a problem, she said. "Realtors still do not show whites racially diverse communities."

Country Club Hills has tried to protect property values by passing a fair housing ordinance in 1983, officials say.

The village also has an aggressive home upkeep program and markets itself as an open community to attract new residents and prevent property values from dropping.

These efforts "send a clear message that it's an open community and we're going to produce the best buying condition for your area," Caddigan said.