Henry Horner Homes

Henry Horner Homes
2002 photograph of a vacant remaining building in the housing project.
Location	Bordered by Washington Boulevard to Adams Street (south), Hermitage Avenue (east), Oakley Boulevard and Lake Street (north) Chicago, Illinois  United States
Status	Demolished
Constructed	1957–1959 1961–1963 (extension)
Demolished	1995–2008
Governing Body	Chicago Housing Authority (CHA)

Henry Horner Homes was a Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) public housing project located in the Near West Side neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Henry Horner Homes was bordered between Oakley Boulevard, Washington Boulevard to the south, Hermitage Avenue to the east, and Lake Street to the north near the United Center. Constructed between 1957 and 1963, The housing project was named in honor of former Illinois governor Henry Horner.

Henry Horner Homes originally consisted of 16 high-rise buildings along with low–rise buildings (920 units) and was completed in 1957. The Henry Horner Homes extension was added in 1961, which included 737 multi–story units. The original buildings consisted of two 15–story buildings and eight 7–story buildings, while the extension consisted of four 14–story buildings and two 8–story buildings all together totaling 1,656 units.

In 1983, Maurine Woodson, a resident of the housing project founded The Henry Horner Mother's Guild. The Mother's Guild was a community group to help mothers cope to life within in the housing project. At it's peak the group consisted of thirty mothers. The group received funds totaling $88,000 from charitable foundations throughout the city from 1986 to 1988. The funds were used for clean-up efforts though the housing project, programs from youth in the neighborhood and etc.

Gang activity has plagued the housing project for decades; beginning in the mid–1970s. The gangs, such as the Blackstone Rangers (which became known later as El Rukn), assert authority over the area and residents are often in the middle of gang warfare and criminal activity. By the mid–1980s, several gangs dominated the housing project; Gangster Disciples, Four Corner Hustlers, Traveling Vice Lords and Gangster Stones. In October 1969, 20–year old resident Micheal Soto was shot to death by a Chicago police officer after fleeing a robbery scene in a building stairwell. Soto and a accomplice were chased by police after robbing a man near the project, which lead to a shootout between Soto and the officers. In the incident, Ten police officers and a little girl was injured. In September 1974, Chicago police patrolman Joseph Cali was shot to death at the project by sniper fire while writing a ticket for an illegally parked vehicle; three men were charged with his death. Aside from gangs, the housing projects experienced issues with sexual assaults in high numbers; most notably the June 1985 rape and murder of a child resident. On June 18, 1985, 5–year old Shavanna McCann was raped and killed by an 17–year old boy who visited the project. The boy, Johnny Freeman lured McCann to a vacant apartment on the 13th floor of the 2111 W. Lake Street building. Freeman raped her and threw her from a window to her death.