of the poorest neighborhoods in Chicago by 1990. Gentrification During the 1990s, under the leadership of Robert Lucas, the Kenwood-Oakland Community Organization (KOCO) rehabilitated several buildings in the community and successfully pressured the city to invest in Oakland. Beginning in 1994, the North Kenwood–Oakland Conservation Community Council, led by Shirley Newsome, cosponsored the Kenwood-Oakland Parade of Homes, which helped the further development of single-family houses, townhouses, and rehabbed buildings. The housing projects in the area were demolished over an eleven-year span, beginning with the Darrow Homes in 1996. The four of the original six Lake Michigan High-Rises were vacated in late–1985 and sat vacant for 13 years until being imploded by the housing authority in December 1998. The other two buildings were renovated and renamed Lake Parc Place in 1991. Sullivan Station, named after a railway station that existed in the area is a complex that is made up of mid-rise and high-rise buildings in the area; constructed on the former high-rise site. On March 25, 1992, the Chicago City Council declared a portion of Oakland to be a Chicago Landmark. Politics The Oakland community area has supported the Democratic Party in the past two presidential elections by overwhelming margins. In the 2016 presidential election, Oakland cast 2,270 votes for Hillary Clinton and cast 40 votes for Donald Trump (96.68% to 1.70%). In the 2012 presidential election, Oakland cast 2,111 votes for Barack Obama and cast 25 votes for Mitt Romney (98.64% to 1.17%). In the United States House of Representatives the Oakland community area is located in Illinois's 1st congressional district and Illinois's 7th congressional district represented by Congressman Bobby Rush and Congressman Danny K. Davis respectively. In the Illinois General Assembly, the Oakland community area is represented by Senator Robert Peters (D-13th) in the Illinois Senate and Representative Kam Buckner (D-26th) in the Illinois House of Representatives. Notable residents Hannah Greenebaum, Nineteenth-century women's rights and Jewish activist lived in Oakland. References External links City of Chicago Neighborhood Guide to Oakland and Kenwood Official City of Chicago Community Map Community areas of Chicago South Side, Chicago Beaches of Cook County, Illinois