Olympia Gardens: Why It's Unincorporated and Will Likely Stay That Way

In 1988, when Chicago Heights annexed the Ford Motor plant, then-Mayor Charles Panici called the move "a bonanza" and the equivalent of "winning the Super Bowl." To this day, the city's share of tax revenue from the factory is about $1 million a year.

At about the time the United States was first entering World War II, a wealthy landowner carved out his property about 40 miles south of Chicago and called it the Bartlett Subdivision. At the time, that land bordered on Chicago Heights. Much has changed since then. Bartlett changed its name to Olympia Gardens. Meanwhile, Chicago Heights has grown and now it doesn't merely border but surrounds Olympia Gardens.

One thing that hasn't changed is that the residents of Olympia Gardens have no desire to incorporate into Chicago Heights, and the city has no plans to convince the residents otherwise.

As Chicago Heights struggles with a structural deficit, the annexation of the unincorporated Olympia Gardens community would certainly bring in a few more tax dollars. But annexing this community of about 140 homes, surrounded by the city's First Ward, isn't even a campaign issue. That's because increased tax revenue is only one side of the proverbial coin.

In fact, while the city made annexation of Ford a priority, it also looked at annexation of Olympia Gardens. The cost-benefit analysis came back that the extra expenses — fire, water and police — would cost more than the added tax revenue. These days most long-term residents believe any theoretical annexation would raise their own property taxes exponentially. No one wants to pay more taxes, let alone exponentially more, so residents remain steadfastly against annexation.

"I'm perfectly happy with the situation," says Joyce Tully, who's lived in the subdivision  since 1954.

John Carlson, her neighbor, asked rhetorically, "What can [Chicago Heights] do for us except raise our taxes?"

If Chicago Heights were a body of water, Olympia Gardens would be an island. The neighborhood has a quiet, Norman Rockwell feel to it with rows of homes and a park. It's a community that harkens back to the days where everyone in a neighborhood knew each other by first name. 

Olympia Gardens residents are served by Cook County police headquartered in Markham, though Chicago Heights police can be seen driving through the area because it's often the fastest way to get from one part of the First Ward to another.

Of the lack of local police protection, Carlson sharply responded, "that's why I have a gun."

Ironically enough, Olympia Gardens is the onetime home of Chicago Heights' most notorious criminal, Albert Tocco, the long-term boss of the Chicago Heights Outfit. Tocco was convicted in 1988 of multiple RICO charges and spent the rest of his life in prison until his death in 2007. These days his old home is the victim of the current real estate and financial crisis. It's boarded up and the bank has recently taken possession.

 The governance that surrounds Olympia Gardens gets even more complicated when you consider Swanson Park, which is in the middle of Olympia Gardens. Despite this geography, the park is managed by the Chicago Heights Park District.

Olympia Gardens also used to provide its own fire protection through the volunteer Olympia Gardens Fire Department, but recently Chicago Heights began providing fire protection with all Olympia Gardens residents seeing a fire protection assessment on their property taxes.

The dynamic between Olympia Gardens and Chicago Heights intersects with Panici in another way. His other signature accomplishment was bringing Lake Michigan water to Chicago Heights in the late 1970s. Chicago Heights used to get its water from underground wells, which were dirty and unhealthy. Unincorporated Olympia Gardens still gets its water from these same wells.

First Ward Aldermanic candidate Art Wiggins, who lived in Olympia Gardens for about three decades, said he and his family would go to Chicago to get water. Others buy bottled water while some make due with the well water.

Chicago Heights has an ordinance which requires sidewalks and curbs on all streets, but all the streets in Olympia Gardens have neither.

"What do I need a sidewalk for?" asked Tully.

Sidewalks, water and local police protection would just mean higher taxes, and the folks in Olympia Gardens don't want that.

Editor's Note: In the photo gallery for this article, a photo of Anthony Spilotro was incorrectly captioned as being a photo of Albert Tocco. Thanks to a reader with a keen eye, the mistake was identified and the photo has since been removed.