Clearing

      Prayer Points

• Praise God for the economic stability provided by the Midway Airport. Pray for more employment opportunities for residents.

• While most residents have jobs, many are underpaid. Pray for the many underemployed residents and their families.

• This community has a large population of Latino and Polish immigrants. Pray for the immigration reform deliberations that will directly impact these residents.

• Pray for the unity of the Clearing residents who are impacted by the separation of many family members due to immigration proceedings.

      Ethnic Breakdown

• Asian (0.7%)
• Black or African American (0.7%)
• Hispanic or Latino (40.5%)
• White (57.7%)

Neighborhood Background

Clearing’s name came from a proposed railway switching yard that would clear railway traffic in downtown Chicago. The plan failed, but the name remained. In 1926 land was leased to the city for the purpose of building the Chicago Municipal Airport, and eighteen industries in the area grew to more than ninety by 1928.

In 1949 the airport was renamed Midway Airport to honor victories at Midway Island during World War II. Clearing entered a postwar residential and economic boom in the 1940s, which reached its peak by 1970. During the economic recession from 1974 to 1984 over half of the companies in Clearing left for other locations.

With the resurgence of Midway Airport in recent years, much of the stability that was lost has been regained. The most recent transition Clearing has experienced has been related to racial shifts with a growing Latino population.