Can Anyone Tell Me About Burnham,IL.? (Chicago, Calumet City: insurance, crime)

[firre12]

I am considering moving to this area. I have not heard much about Burnham IL. So if someone can please give me insight on the area I would appreciate it. Thanks

[prairiestate]

It's a bizarre little town with two tiny residential areas separated by a huge swath of industrial land, bordering the ghettos of Calumet City to the south, and the more stable (for now) Chicago neighborhood of Hegewisch to the north.

Burnham, IL

http://www.vandewalle.com/work/sscbc/Burnham.pdf

[Chuckity]

Originally Posted by prairiestate

It's a bizarre little town with two tiny residential areas separated by a huge swath of industrial land, bordering the ghettos of Calumet City to the south, and the more stable (for now) Chicago neighborhood of Hegewisch to the north.

Burnham, IL

http://www.vandewalle.com/work/sscbc/Burnham.pdf

I also think that the area off of Torrence south of the Ford plant is Burnham as well as as small section north of State Street and east of Torrence is technically Burnham too.

I grew up in Hegewisch just to the north and I've never known a single person who lived or grew up in Burnham ... which is pretty strange come to think of it.

But I think Burnham's biggest, well, and possibly only, claim to fame is that Al Capone supposedly had a home in Burnham - on Burham Ave, right across from the golf course. (It looks very different from most of the homes and has sort of an underground garage on the south side.) Supposedly, there was an underground tunnel that ran from the golf course to this home.

[musbf8]

What do you want to know. I have lived there for about 25 years I was born there. I moved from there about 2 years ago and it was going downhill and FAST. I lived on the side of burnham where the little calumet river was so I can only comment on that side.


The town itself is small and has its own police station and fire department. If you have kids you will want to be on the other side of burnham for better schools in my opinion. There are no grocery stores in the town and your mail will come from Hegewisch. You will have a Chicago zip code which may make your insurance higher.

The only really good thing about it is its close to the xpressway and train station for commuting downtown.

[Kathy8598]

Where did you finally move to? I would have suggested Hammond, Indiana--just east of Burnham (same train for commuting). And the houses are cheaper...

[firre12]

Hello, All

I appreciate all of those responses. I did visit Burnham, and some of the people were not so friendly and I have already reconsidered moving into the area.

[CM723]

I grew up in Burnham. I lived right by the Burnham Park and the railroad tracks. We had a lot of family members that lived there too. However, over the years almost all my family moved out because it went down hill. There is a lot of crime now and problems with drugs like crack. If you wanted to move there 20 years ago I would suggest it but not now. The whole story with Capone is that he lived there and had an underground tunnel that ran from the golf course and all over town. In my house, there was a fake fireplace in the basement and when you pulled a rope the fireplace came up and you could access that tunnel.

[Chummy Waters]

Burnham is the visionary town dreamed up by Daniel Burnham. It's a utopian village that incorporates all of his ideas, his visions, his dreams....or it's a real slum if I'm reading your posts right.

[nanamommy]

Did you or your family ever access the tunnel?? Any pictures??
i am a fan of the History of Capone era and History!