Evergreen Park, Illinois

Evergreen Park, Illinois
—  Village  —
Motto: "Your future is here"
Evergreen Park
Coordinates: 41°43′12″N 87°42′9″W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Cook
Township	Worth
Incorporated	1893
Government
• Mayor	James Sexton
Area
• Total	3.16 sq mi (8.2 km2)
• Land	3.16 sq mi (8.2 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.0 km2)  0%
Population (2010)
• Total	19,852
• Density	6,282.3/sq mi (2,425.6/km2)
	Down 4.65% from 2000
Standard of living (2007-11)
• Per capita income	$28,499
• Median home value	$219,500
ZIP code(s)	60805
Area code(s)	708
Geocode	24634
Website	evergreenpark-ill.com

Evergreen Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,852 at the 2010 census.

History

The Village of Evergreen Park was incorporated on December 20, 1893. Prior to its incorporation, the village was sustained by approximately 500 regional residents. Strides to become a village occurred as a result of other chicagoland towns requesting annexation in order to survive. The final decision to incorporate the village as its own entity separate from the City of Chicago was made by 41 out of 50 residents that showed up to vote on the matter. On that day, the Village of Evergreen Park officially inhibited an area of four square miles. Today, the Village of Evergreen Park still rests on a four square mile area. While the village remains small in size, it lays a mere seventeen southwest of the loop. The Village is also currently surrounded by Chicago on the north, south, and east ends. Evergreen Park is also known as the “Village of Churches” because of its thirteen established religious congregations within close proximity.

Historical Landmarks

Evergreen Park Plaza "The Plaza"

The Evergreen Park Plaza, located on 95th and Western, is an indoor shopping mall originating from the early 1950’s. In 1952, real estate developer Arthur Rubloff debuted the Evergreen Park Plaza in the heart of the southwest chicagoland. A few years after the shopping mall’s debut, Rubloff decided to inclose the mall thereby making it the first indoor shopping mall in the chicagoland area. As a result, Rubloff changed the face of shopping by allowing people the opportunity to pull up, park, and shop for various goods all in one place. Since the 1950’s the Evergreen Park Plaza has seen more than $8 million in major internal & external improvements. Today, the Evergreen Park Plaza has been shortened to be acknowledged as, “The Plaza”. The Plaza boasts 1.2 million square feet, and two stories, of shopping excellence. As of 2006, The plaza had an annual visitor count of roughly $7 million people. The Plaza continues to be traditional Chicago real estate icon as the years go by.

Geography

Evergreen Park is located at 41°43′12″N 87°42′9″W (41.719933, -87.702499). The suburb is surrounded by the city of Chicago on three of its sides, while Oak Lawn and Hometown border it on the west. Chicago's Ashburn community is to its north, Beverly is to its east, and Beverly and Mount Greenwood are to its south.

According to the 2010 census, the village has a total area of 3.16 square miles (8.2 km²), all land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 19,852 people, 7,192 households, and 5,130 families residing in the village. The population density was 6,282.3 inhabitants per square mile (2,425.6/km²). There were 7,559 housing units at an average density of 2,392.1 per square mile (921.8/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 74.1% White, 18.7% African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 3.8% some other race, and 2.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.3% of the population.

There were 7,192 households, out of which 36.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.9% were headed by married couples living together, 16.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.7% were non-families. 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.7% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74, and the average family size was 3.31.

In the village the population was spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 28.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.6 years. For every 100 females there were 91.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.6 males.

For the period 2007-11, the estimated median annual income for a household in the village was $64,602, and the median income for a family was $80,395. Male full-time workers had a median income of $60,928 versus $43,884 for females. The per capita income for the village was $28,499. About 5.6% of families and 6.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.1% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Evergreen Park is in Illinois' 1st congressional district, and its congressman is Democrat Bobby Rush. The village backed Barack Obama by a margin of 61.25% to 37.40% over John McCain in 2008. Evergreen Park leans moderately Democratic as John Kerry beat George W. Bush here 55.77% to 43.40% in 2004. This is slightly more Democratic than in 2000 when Bush lost to Al Gore 51.13% to 45.60% in the village. The most Republican area of the village is the Southwest quadrant which went for Bush both years. (In 2000 Bush won 51.29% to 45.24%, and in 2004, Bush won 49.91% to 49.31%.) Evergreen Park has had a history of supporting moderate to conservative Democrats, and many Evergreen Parkers are also considered Reagan Democrats.

Notable people

• Tom Baldwin, professional football player, New York Jets
• Chris Chelios, retired hockey player
• Tony Cingrani, starting pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds
• Perry Danos, singer-songwriter in Nashville, attended Southeast, Central, and EPCHS
• Bil Dwyer, comedian and game show host
• Jim Dwyer, outfielder for several Major League Baseball teams
• Ed Farmer, MLB pitcher (1971–83) and White Sox radio announcer, born and raised in Evergreen Park
• Rick Gorecki, MLB pitcher, born in Evergreen Park
• Tom Gorzelanny, pitcher for the Washington Nationals, went to Marist
• Brad Guzan, soccer player with Aston Villa and U.S. international
• Wayne Huizenga, former CEO of Blockbuster; founder of AutoNation, the Florida Marlins, and the Florida Panthers; owner of the Miami Dolphins and LandShark Stadium; born and raised in Evergreen Park
• Ted Kaczynski, better known as the Unabomber, graduated from Evergreen Park High School
• Jenny McCarthy, playmate model and actress, born in Evergreen Park
• Joe Meno, author of Hairstyles of the Damned^{[citation needed]}
• Scott Meyer, catcher for the Oakland Athletics
• Maureen Murphy, chairman of the Cook County Republican Party (2002-2004)
• Donn Pall, pitcher for the Chicago White Sox (1988–1998), raised in Evergreen Park^{[citation needed]}
• Billy Pierce, member of the Chicago White Sox
• Lou Pote, MLB pitcher, born in Evergreen Park
• Kevin Sullivan, former White House Communications Director, born and raised in Evergreen Park
• George Wendt, actor (Norm from Cheers), born in Evergreen Park^{[citation needed]}
• Mike Wengren, drummer for metal band Disturbed

Schools

• Northeast Elementary
• Northwest Elementary
• Southeast Elementary
• Southwest Elementary
• Central Junior High
• Evergreen Park Community High School
• St. Bernadette
• Most Holy Redeemer School
• Queen of Martyrs

Notable events

Evergreen Park Little League hosted the 2009 Little League State Championship. The event was broadcast on Comcast.

External links

• Village of Evergreen Park official website