The Racial Life Expectancy Gap in Chicago
By Joceline Shimizu and Patricia Perez
Juanita Bowden, an Englewood resident, experienced first-hand how difficult it is to receive care and attention from staff at St. Bernard Hospital, located on 64th Street in Englewood.
Bowden said her experience at St. Bernard Hospital was substandard in August of 2021, as she waited many hours and yet, did not get attended to for her medical needs. She thought she had sprained her ankle and was in immense pain.
She said she believes that if there is an immediate emergency that requires quick attention, St. Bernard Hospital is not the hospital to go to. Yet, this is the hospital that residents of Englewood are closest to.
Bowden had filed a complaint to the front desk, however did not hear back about her concerns. She felt as if they brushed it off.
In her opinion, there is a shortage in nurses and doctors at the hospital, which delays the time in which the patients will be attended.
“I would say hospitals in the ‘hood’, I think they deserve more attention because I feel like the hospitals are better in nicer settings than the ones around in the ‘hood’,” she said. “The city should do something, probably, like more nurses, pick up the pace, and give more money, just so everyone can be good.”
Contacting St. Bernard Hospital was not successful as their line was always busy. Unable to get a hold of anyone, there is no comment from any staff or department on this matter.
Studies show that people like Bowden who live in many Chicago neighborhoods are at higher risks for living a shorter lifespan. Dr. Jay Olshansky, a professor at the University of Illinois Chicago, has some input pertaining to human longevity, as his studies focus specifically on how to scientifically slow down aging and investigate implications of infectious diseases.
According to the Chicago Department of Public Health in 2020, the Chicago Department of Public Health implemented a 7 step plan called Healthy Chicago 2025.
The plan’s goal is to shorten the racial life expectancy gap by targeting neighborhoods with the shortest life-expectancy, and trying to raise them as close as possible to the neighborhoods with the highest life expectancy.
Olshansky said the plan does not take into account any biological aspects, such as genetic diseases.
“First recognize that such disparities exist and they may be genetic, then you target those subgroups of the population for risk factor modifications,” he said. “You introduce them to therapeutics earlier and more often, as a way to compensate for their higher risk that they may have inherited from their ancestors.”
There are many disparities that contribute to a person living a long life, as Olshansky mentioned in the interview: adhering and obtaining medical advice and most importantly, genetics.
The neighborhoods in Chicago are all funded differently due to the different socioeconomic backgrounds within them. This may prevent certain funding to amenities, such as hospitals, schools, and housing.
Bowden said she does not think people are prone to go to hospitals around Englewood as the hospitals are not preferred due to numerous negative experiences, so they may have to travel further.
According to a 2025 article, The American Osteopathic Society, in some South Side neighborhoods the life expectancy can be from 63–65 years, while in wealthier neighborhoods in the North Side the life expectancy can be anywhere into their 80s.
Get Joceline Shimizu’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
Nancy Gonzalez is someone who had to travel farther from her West Lawn neighborhood to a suburban hospital, Advocate Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn.
Gonzalez’s father was admitted to the Advocate Christ Hospital in May of 2020, as he was severely sick with COVID-19.
She said they chose that hospital because it was the closest hospital to her that had enough resources compared to the ones in Chicago that were in her surrounding areas.
“We weren’t aware until he was in the hospital that he needed, I forgot what it’s exactly called, but that was probably the only hospital around that had the machine they needed to keep him alive,” she said. “I also think for the most part it was very clean and the nurses were always very aware.”
Although Gonzalez had to travel outside of Chicago for a hospital, she could confidently say that they did provide good service to her father at the time, even with resources being limited due to COVID-19.
Bowden said she believes that not everyone is able to get the resources they need on the South Side due to the financial situations of African Americans and Latinx people.
According to a 2022 article in South Side Weekly, schools on the South Side tend to have less funding compared to schools on the North Side.
CPS is allotted a budget by the state and they can divide that money any way they see fit. Apart from that, CPS schools are allowed to fundraise for any extra money they might need. This is where there can be an unfair advantage in the North Side.
A lot of families that live in the South Side tend to have a tighter budget and many times simply may not afford to spare extra money for fundraisers which is why they send their children to free public schools.
On the other hand, in the North Side, the families tend to be more well-off and can afford the luxury of spending money on fundraisers for the public schools.
Public schools with a tighter budget also are not seen as appealing as other schools. In CPS any school with less than a 70% enrollment rate can be shut down because it is seen as an unnecessary expense.
Most schools that are at risk of closing down are located in the South and West sides of Chicago. This can be attributed to not only their low budget but also their inability to fundraise due to the economic state of the neighborhoods.
So not only do genetic factors play a crucial role in the racial life expectancy gap, but so do external factors that contribute to people’s health and future.
Touching on the schools and socioeconomic status, many South Side neighborhoods with African American and Latinx populations, have less opportunities for higher education due to the lack of funding.
Olshansky touched on how a public park on the South Side of Chicago, the Midway Plaisance by the University of Chicago, had two different socioeconomic neighborhoods on each side, with the right side having more amenities than the left.
“There’s access to health care, there’s higher education, greater wealth, and people live significantly longer than on the left side of the Midway Plaisance,” he said. “Where you have higher levels of poverty, less education, less access to health care, classic social determinants of health and the differences in life expectancy are light years apart.”
— — — — — — —
Your Thoughts
What are your thoughts on the racial life expectancy gap in Chicago? Do you believe that you may be affected at all or identify with any of the information provided? Please leave a comment.
