Revitalization of Madison Street: Improvements on the way to West Side community in Chicago, still impacted by MLK assassination aftermath

CHICAGO (WLS) — Some positive changes are coming to Chicago’s West Side, especially along Madison Street.

It’s a street still feeling the effects from the aftermath of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

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The Leaders Network of Clergy and Community recently highlighted what they describe as a rebirth on Madison Street, an area that has seen slow reinvestment.

After King’s assassination in 1968 and the riots and fires that followed, much of the business corridor was destroyed.

“I recall the traumatic sight of soldiers in green uniforms with rifles and bayonets in trucks on Madison Street,” shared the Rev. Marshall Hatch, a member of the Leaders Network.

At the age of 10, Hatch vividly remembers those troubling times and when Dr. King resided on the West Side, shedding light on the inadequate housing conditions.

More than 50 years later, there are signs of new things coming along Madison Street.

A credit union is open through a partnership between the Leaders Network and Great Lakes Credit Union.

Also in the works along Madison is a new workforce development center, retail space, an expansion of Malcolm X College and a new wellness center that begins seeing patients in January.

“This vision of Madison renaissance is full circle for us to bring this back to the West Side; it’s incredibly gratifying,” Hatch said.

Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot shared with the Network free consulting that her new nonprofit is offering to community groups. It’s called Chicago Vibrant Neighborhoods Collective.

“The important work to make sure neighborhood organization build capacity, remain strong and are sustainable for the long-term,” Lightfoot said.

Lightfoot is also witnessing the changes underway.

“It is just unbelievably emotional, inspiring but also tells about the power of focus and intentionality with the right resources can really do,” Lightfoot said.

Members of Leaders Network expect more investment to follow as new organizations and businesses create anchors along Madison street.

“In places like Chicago, we can fight back by making sure to create a community where everybody’s in, nobody’s out, and really keeping the dream of Dr. King alive,” Hatch said.

Chicago Vibrant Neighborhoods is also having an event from 10:30 a.m. to noon Thursday, at the Garfield Park Fieldhouse, located at 100 North Central Park.