East Chicago, city (2020 pop.
26,370), Lake co., extreme NW Ind., on Lake Michigan, in the industrialized
Calumet region,
adjoining Gary, Hammond, and Whiting; inc. 1889. It is a large port, its
Indiana Harbor on Lake Michigan connected with the Grand Calumet River by a
ship and barge canal. Once busy with steelworks, oil refineries, railroad
equipment shops, and chemical plants, the city has declined steadily, losing
jobs and population since the 1970s. A riverboat casino was opened in 1997
in an attempt at revival.
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