Flier to elect Jose Cha-Cha Jimenez Alderman, 46th Ward, 1975Source: Chicago Public Library, Special Collections, Political Campaign Ephemera Collection, Box 7, Folder 10
Mayor Jane Byrne at the Puerto Rican Festival, Daley Center, 1979 June 7Photographer: Arnie Zoot. Source: Chicago Public Library, Special Collections, City of Chicago Graphics and Reproduction Center Photographs, Box 9, Folder 68
Mayor Harold Washington marches in the Puerto Rican Parade, 1987 June 13Gloria Chevere at right. Source: Source: Chicago Public Library, Special Collections, Harold Washington Archives & Collections. Press Office Photographs. Box 68, Folder 4
Mayor Harold Washington welcomed to Loiza City, Puerto Rico during 1986 U.S. Conference of MayorsLuis Gutierrez at left. Source: Source: Chicago Public Library, Special Collections, Harold Washington Archives & Collections. Press Office Photographs. Box 36, Folder 1
Puerto Ricans in Chicago Government Brochure, cover, [1986]Source: Source: Chicago Public Library, Special Collections, Harold Washington Archives & Collections. Press Office Photographs. Box 36, Folder 1
Puerto Ricans in Chicago Government Brochure, inside, [1986]Source: Source: Chicago Public Library, Special Collections, Harold Washington Archives & Collections. Press Office Photographs. Box 36, Folder 1
Puerto Ricans in Chicago Government Brochure, page 3, [1986]Source: Source: Chicago Public Library, Special Collections, Harold Washington Archives & Collections. Press Office Photographs. Box 36, Folder 1
Puerto Ricans in Chicago Government Brochure, back, [1986]Source: Source: Chicago Public Library, Special Collections, Harold Washington Archives & Collections. Press Office Photographs. Box 36, Folder 1
Flier to elect Gloria Chevere City Clerk, 1987Source: Chicago Public Library, Special Collections, Political Campaign Ephemera Collection, Box 13, Folder 24
Re-elect Luis V. Gutierrez for 26th Ward Alderman, 1987Source: Chicago Public Library, Special Collections, Justice Graphics, Inc. Records, Box 5, Folder 7
Mayor Richard M. Daley marches in Puerto Rican Day Parade, 1997 June 14Photographer: Antonio Dickey. Source: Chicago Public Library, Special Collections, City of Chicago Graphics and Reproduction Center Photographs, Box 109, Folder 31
National Puerto Rican Museum, Humboldt Park, 2001 June 22Photographer: Peter J. Schulz. Source: Chicago Public Library, Special Collections, City of Chicago Graphics and Reproduction Center Photographs, Box 201, Folder 5
This year’s One Book One Chicago entry, Olga Dies Dreaming, follows a pair of adult siblings in Brooklyn, New York. Of Puerto Rican descent, they navigate a gentrifying Brooklyn and struggle to reconcile with their mother who abandoned them to join a guerrilla group fighting for Puerto Rican independence. While the novel focuses on New York City, many similar themes and events can be seen in the history of the Puerto Rican diaspora in Chicago.
Puerto Ricans began living in Chicago as early as the 1920s, with the first major influx coming in the 1940s from New York. By the 1960s, there were significant numbers of Puerto Ricans in Chicago, particularly in an area of Lincoln Park near Clark Street called “La Clark.” Throughout the 1960s, the City of Chicago, under Mayor Richard J. Daley, enacted an urban renewal policy that, in Lincoln Park, displaced most of the Puerto Ricans living there. La Clark was razed and replaced with the Carl Sandburg residential complex.
The displaced Puerto Ricans moved further west to Humboldt Park. In 1966, following a Puerto Rican parade, conflict between citizens and the police resulted in the police shooting and killing a young man named Arcelis Cruz. The community rose up in protest, and the unrest continued for two nights.
Afterward, the City held hearings to explore the causes of the uprising. The report it produced found that tensions between community and police stemmed from several factors including language barriers, the difficulty in transitioning between living in rural and urban environments and disinvestment in communities of color. The government pledged programs to address these issues.
Back in Lincoln Park, the Young Lords was evolving from a street gang into a political advocacy group fighting for equitable treatment of Puerto Ricans. Founded by José “Cha Cha” Jiménez (who passed away in early 2025), the Young Lords waged protests against urban renewal and, modeling after programs run by the Black Panthers, organized to provide community services like free breakfast, childcare and health services. Jiménez met Puerto Ricans in New York who brought the Young Lords Organization to that city.
While some progress was made toward more equitable treatment from the government, tensions continued over the years, until 1977, when another uprising broke out following the Puerto Rican parade and festival. Early in the disruption, the police shot and killed two people, Rafael Cruz and Julio Osorio, further enflaming the situation. 1977 Division Street Riots offers a critical look at the events.
Harold Washington was elected mayor in 1983. A focal point of Washington’s administration was to open the government to previously marginalized groups, including Puerto Ricans and other Latinx people. Washington appointed, helped elect, and allied with Puerto Rican Chicagoans, while also adopting inclusive policies that helped the Puerto Rican community.
Gloria Chevere and Luis Gutierrez are two Puerto Rican Chicagoans who gained increasing leadership roles during and after Washington’s tenure. Chevere served as Deputy Commissioner of the City’s Planning and Development Department and Deputy Director of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). She ran for a few elected offices and lost before becoming a Judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County. More recently, Governor Pritzker appointed her to serve on the Chicago Transit Board in 2019.
Luis Gutierrez was first elected alderman in 1986, following a ward re-map that Washington led to try to make City Council more representative of the various communities in Chicago. Gutierrez’s election was one of the key wins that gave Washington a majority on City Council, allowing his agenda to move forward. Gutierrez went on to serve as a U.S. Congressman 1993-2019.
Since the 1960s, the heart of Puerto Rican Chicago has been the Humboldt Park area, specifically the Division Street corridor between N. Western Avenue and N. California Avenue. Called “La Division” or “Paseo Boricua,” the area was recognized in 1995 by the installation of massive, steel Puerto Rican flags that arch over Division Street. The annual Puerto Rican parade and festival take place there, and the National Puerto Rican Museum is housed in the former Humboldt Park Stables.
We invite you to explore more about the history of Puerto Ricans in Chicago through the Archives and Special Collections Division’s collections. Make an appointment today.
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