Palatine, Illinois

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Coordinates: 42°07′01″N 88°02′26″W / 42.11694°N 88.04056°W / 42.11694; -88.04056
Palatine
A Real Home Town
Village
Looking east along Slade Street.
Official name: Village of Palatine
Motto: Where quality is a way of life.
Country United States
State Illinois
County Cook
Township Palatine
Elevation 741 ft (226 m)
Coordinates 42°07′01″N 88°02′26″W / 42.11694°N 88.04056°W / 42.11694; -88.04056
Area 13.1 sq mi (34 km2)
 - land 13.0 sq mi (34 km2)
 - water 0.1 sq mi (0 km2)
Population 68,557 (2010)
Density 5,047.2 / sq mi (1,949 / km2)
Mayor Jim Schwantz
Timezone CST (UTC-6)
 - summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
Postal code 60067, 60074, 60078, 60094, 60095, 60173, 60195
Area code 847, 224
Location of Palatine within Illinois
Wikimedia Commons: Palatine, Illinois
Website: http://www.palatine.il.us/

Palatine is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a northwestern residential suburb of Chicago. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 65,479, making it the sixth-largest community in Cook County and the 16th-largest in the state of Illinois at that time. In the 2010 census its population rose to 68,557.

Contents

[edit] Geography

Palatine is located at 42°7′1″N 88°2′26″W / 42.11694°N 88.04056°W / 42.11694; -88.04056 (42.116885, -88.040613)[1].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 13.1 square miles (34 km2), of which, 13.0 square miles (34 km2) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) of it (0.99%) is water. Palatine's shape resembles that of the head of an axe.

Palatine is in a wooded marshland where several streams rise around the village. Most of these streams meet up with the Salt Creek which rises at Wilke Marsh on the village's east side. The most notable exception is the northeast side, where its streams lie in the Buffalo Creek watershed. A small part of the east and southeast sides lies in the McDonald Creek watershed. As a consequence, floods occur very frequently in Palatine.

Sunset at Deer Grove Forest Preserve

[edit] History

George Ela was also one of the first of a wave of pioneers to migrate to northern Illinois following the Black Hawk War. A road which passes through the western edge of Palatine is called Ela in his honor.

The Village of Palatine was founded in 1866. It was built around a station on the new Chicago and North Western Railway. Joel Wood surveyed and laid out the village, earning him the title of Palatine's founder. One of Palatine's original downtown streets is named after Wood.

A short line railroad, the Palatine, Lake Zurich and Wauconda Railroad, was built in 1911, and began full passenger service to Wauconda, Illinois in 1912. The line was closed in 1924 after a series of financial misfortunes and the improvement of roads in the area. The PLZ&W provided transportation to Dr. Wilson's Deer Grove Park, just north of Dundee Road in Palatine.[2]

Palatine's first suburb-style subdivision was called Palanois Park, built shortly after World War II. The town has experienced rapid growth since the 1970s, part of Chicago's growing suburban sprawl. Palatine was home to the Cook County Fair from 1914 to 1931. The fairgrounds are now a sub-division with a name that pays tribute to Palatine's former fairgrounds.

During the early 1990s, Palatine along with neighboring Rolling Meadows and far northern suburb Zion was under attack from atheist activist Rob Sherman over its village seal and seal-defaced flag, which had a Christian cross, among other things, inside an outline of an eagle. A 1992 advisory referendum to keep the seal passed but another referendum to use public funds to defend the seal failed, leading the village to drop the seal. While Rolling Meadows and Zion developed new seals with the crosses removed, Palatine has since been without an official seal or flag, and is Illinois' largest city or village as such. The French tricolor reflecting the village's sister city relationship with Fontenay-le-Comte, France, has flown at times on the flagpole meant for the village flag outside village hall.

In 1993, a multiple-homicide—the Brown's Chicken massacre received national attention.

Palatine has been in the process of revitalizing its downtown area since December 1999.[3] This process has spawned a new passenger train station, a nearby parking garage, and several new condominiums, rowhomes, and commercial buildings.

In 2008, Palatine made news by threatening to secede from Cook County over the latter's sales tax hike; as a result of the tax hike, Palatine's sales tax is 9.5% - one of the United States' highest sales tax rates. In 2009, residents of Palatine Township (which includes the village of Palatine) overwhemingly voted to pass an advisory referendum stating that they would like to secede from Cook County. According to Midwest historians Mary Healy and Ben Niewenhuis, there was a similar, less well-known incident in 1934 when a group of disillusioned townspeople wanted to stage an uprising.[4]

The Palatine Metra station is visible looking southeast along the Union Pacific Northwest Line

[edit] Government

Palatine operates under the Council-manager form of local government. Six councilmen are elected from their respective districts, while the entire village elects the Village Clerk and the Mayor. The council then hires a Village Manager to oversee the town's day-to-day operation. The current mayor is Jim Schwantz.

[edit] Education

Palatine is part of Community Consolidated School District 15 (CCSD15) for public elementary schools and Township High School District 211 (D211) for public high schools. Both the school districts' main offices are located in Palatine, and have both won numerous awards. In 2003, CCSD15 was awarded the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award by then-President, George W. Bush; few school districts in the nation have been awarded since the awards began in 1988. The village is home to two high schools, Palatine High School on the northeast side and William Fremd High School on the southwest side, and a community college, William Rainey Harper College. Both high schools and the college, as well as the public library, have received high national honors. There are two public junior high schools in Palatine, Walter R. Sundling Junior High, and Winston Campus–Junior High. Some students in Palatine attend Plum Grove Junior High in Rolling Meadows, just outside of Palatine's limits.

Elementary Schools (K-6)

  • Gray M. Sanborn School
  • Hunting Ridge School
  • Jane Addams School
  • Lake Louise School
  • Lincoln School
  • Marion Jordan School
  • Pleasant Hill School
  • Stuart R. Paddock School
  • Virginia Lake School
  • Winston Campus School–Elementary


Junior High Schools (7-8)

  • Walter R. Sundling Junior High

Feeder schools: Lincoln, Marion Jordan, and Sanborn

  • Winston Campus–Junior High

Feeder schools: Winston Campus-Elementary, Jane Addams, Virginia Lake and Lake Louise


Private Schools (Preschool-8)

Parochial schools:

Independent schools:


High Schools

Feeder schools: Walter R. Sundling (students that attended Lincoln and Sanborn) and Winston Campus-Junior High

Feeder schools: Plum Grove Junior High and Walter R. Sundling (students that attended Marion Jordan)


Colleges

[edit] Park Districts

The Palatine Park District serves 85,000 residents within the Palatine, Rolling Meadows, Arlington Heights, Inverness, Hoffman Estates and Barrington communities. It is governed by five elected Park Commissioners who oversee a professional staff.

The Palatine Park District operates four swimming pools (Family Aquatic Center, Birchwood, and Eagle) for its residents as well as two recreational centers (Community Center & Birchwood). Planning is currently underway for a third rec center at Falcon Park.

It is the mission of the Salt Creek Rural Park District to provide for the community a quality park and recreation system that is committed to excellence in service and facilities, as well as being sensitive to individuals and economics.

The Salt Creek Rural Park District was formed in 1956 and operates under the Park District Code of Statutory Laws which directly governs the power, duties, and purposes relating to park districts in the State of Illinois.

Legal voters from the park district elect seven non-paid park commissioners. Commissioners serve 6, 4, and 2 year terms. The Board of Commissioners elect a President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary. The commissioners appoint a Director of Parks and Recreation to manage the day-to-day operations of the district.

The Director of Parks and Recreation hires professional administrative staff to oversee the operation of parks, recreation facilities and recreation programs.

The district provides recreation and leisure services to the residents that live within the corporate boundaries of the district. The corporate boundaries of the district include parts of the Village of Arlington Heights, Palatine and the City of Rolling Meadows.

The district also provides recreation and leisure services to many non-residents of the area on a fee basis.

[edit] Economy

JPMorgan Chase (Chase Cards) has a payment processing center located in Palatine.

Weber-Stephen Products Co., manufacturers of the Weber grill, and Square D, one of the largest makers of circuit breakers, are both headquartered in Palatine.

[edit] Sister cities

[edit] Demographics

As of the 2010 census, there were 68,557 people, 26,876 households, and 17,646 families residing in the village. The racial makeup of the village was 76.9% White, 2.7% African American, 0.3% Native American, 10.3% Asian, 0% Pacific Islander, 7.4% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18% of the population.

There were 26,876 households out of which 23.9% had any child under the age of 18 living with them, 9% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.3% were non-families. 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals living alone and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the village the population was spread out with 25.8% under the age of 20, 5.6% from 20 to 24, 8.3% from 25 to 29, 7.5% from 30 to 34, 7.4% from 35-39, 7.4% from 40-44, 8% from 45-49, 7.8% from 50-54, 6.4% from 55-59, 5.1% from 60-64, 3.4% from 65-69, 2.5% from 70-74, 1.9% from 75-79, 1.4% from 80-84, and 1.3% who were 85 years of age or older.

The median age was 36.8 years. Of the total population, 49.4% were male and 50.6% were female.

According to 2009 estimates, the median income for a household in the village was $72,521, and the median income for a family was $81,354.[5] The per capita income for the village was $30,661. About 3.5% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.2% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.

The village is home to a large Sikh gurdwara on its northwest side that is visited by Sikhs from across the country.

[edit] Notable Palatinians

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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