West Chicago, Illinois

West Chicago, Illinois
County:	DuPage
Townships:	Winfield, Wayne
Incorporated:	City, May 31, 1873 (1873-05-31)
Government:	Mayor-council
Mayor:	Michael B. Kwasman
ZIP code(s):	60185, 60186
Area code(s):	630 and 331
Population (2000):	23,469
Change from 1990:	up 58.72%
Density:	1,700.7/mi² (656.7/km²)
Area:	13.8 mi² (35.74 km²)
Per capita income:	$19,287 (median: $63,424)
Home value:	$192,993 (median: $160,200)
Website:	www.westchicago.org
Demographics (2000) White Black Hispanic Asian 58.3% 1.7% 38.1% 1.9% Islander Native Other 0.0% 0.4% 18.1%

West Chicago is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 23,469 at the 2000 census. It was formerly named Turner Junction after its founder, John B. Turner, president of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad (G&CU) in 1855. The city was initially established around the first junction of railroad lines in Illinois, and today is still served by the Union Pacific/West Metra service via West Chicago station.

Geography

West Chicago is located at 41°53′18″N 88°12′35″W.

According the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.8 square miles (36 km²), all of it land.

History

A railroad crossing at West Chicago.

The most notable early settler in the area was Erastus Gary, of Pomfort Conn., who homesteaded 760 acres on the banks of the DuPage River just south of West Chicago's present day city limits in the 1830's. Gary was the father of "Judge" Elbert Gary, for whom Gary, Indiana is named, and who was the first CEO of America's first billion-dollar corporation, US Steel. Gary was also instrumental in bringing brothers Jesse and Warren Wheaton, founders of nearby Wheaton, Illinois, the Dupage County seat, from Connecticut to the Midwest. A pioneer cemetery on the old Gary Homestead, where a sawmill had been built by the Garys, just north of Gary's Mill Road, and north of its terminus at Il. State route 59, was bulldozed and built over for apartment buildings during the administration of mayor John Downs in the 1960's.

In 1849, with the Galena and Chicago Union railroad reached the site of present day West Chicago, where America's first railroad junction point west of Chicago was created by a second railroad, the Chicago, Fulton and Iowa, heading west through Geneva, with the G&CU heading northwest to St. Charles, Illinois and points west. The Building of the railroad was enabled by $350,000 raised by William Butler Ogden, Chicago's first mayor and a major player in the Transcontinental railroad, which was finished in 1869, near Promontory Summit Utah. Ogden, as president of the Union Pacific, drove one of four golden spikes uniting the west-bound Union Pacific railroad with the Central Pacific, which had been built eastward from San Francisco.

Because of the number of trains passing through town, water and fuel facilities for locomotives and a roundhouse were built here, as well as an early eating-house and hotel for travelers. As a result, a number of new employees and their families located to this community. The original settlers were primarily English and Irish, with Germans arriving in the 1860s and Mexican immigrants by the 1910s.

John B. Turner, president of the G&CU and a resident of Chicago, owned several acres of land in what is now the center of town. As more people settled in Junction, Turner recognized the chance to make a profit by platting his land and selling off lots. He therefore recorded the community’s first plat in 1855 under the name of Town of Junction.

The community continued its growth, and in 1857 Dr. Joseph McConnell and his wife Mary platted a second portion of town just north of John B. Turner’s plat. They recorded their plat as the Town of Turner in honor of the railroad president. These two “towns” became informally known as Turner Junction.

By 1873, the community had taken on a substantial and permanent character, so the residents incorporated as the Village of Turner. In 1888 a new railroad, the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern, built a freight line through town. It offered free factory sites for any industry willing to locate along its right-of-way. As part of the effort to attract industry, the community changed its name in 1896 to the Village of West Chicago. Area businessmen, particularly Charles Bolles, reasoned that the new name sounded more cosmopolitan, and would help draw prospective factory owners.

In 1888, the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad laid tracks through town and gave away free factory sites along its right-of-way. As industry located in West Chicago and new jobs opened up, the population increased. At the turn on the century West Chicago was number two in population in DuPage County, behind Hinsdale. By 1910 the population was 2,378 and several new industries had located here including the Borden’s milk condensing plant, the Turner Cabinet Company and the Turner Brick Company. The community continues to attract quality business and residential development that contributes to the culturally diverse community that exists today.

Jel Sert locally produces Wyler's and FlavorAid in West Chicago.

West Chicago is home to the Truitt-Hoff prairie, one of the largest and best preserved prairies in the Midwest. This prairie was discovered by then-mayor Richard Truitt in 1976 during one of his frequent walks in the open land west of the city. The prairie had been preserved because it was on railroad right-of-way land that had never been cultivated.^{[citation needed]}

The movie Reach the Rock, written by John Hughes, was filmed in downtown West Chicago in 1998.

The city has undergone a massive face-lift since 2001, especially in the downtown area, the corner of Route 59 and Main Street, and Route 59 and North Ave.^{[citation needed]}

Government and infrastructure

The United States Postal Service operates the West Chicago Post Office.

The National Transportation Safety Board operates the Chicago Aviation Field Office in West Chicago, on the grounds of DuPage Airport; it is the regional headquarters of the NTSB Aviation Central Region.

Economy

Jel Sert has its corporate headquarters in West Chicago.

Ball Horticultural Company has its Worldwide Headquarters in West Chicago.

General Mills has a production facility in West Chicago.

Top employers

According to the City's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

#	Employer	# of Employees
1	Jel Sert	1,000
2	West Chicago Elementary School District	632
3	General Mills	510
4	Ball Horticultural Company	434
5	Siemens Energy & Automation	306
6	Aspen Marketing Services	281
7	Buck Services	260
8	Community High School District 94	257
9	OSI Group	230
10	WinCup	212
11	Turtle Splash	200
12	Mapei	190
13	Express Packaging	175
14	Pella	175
15	St. Andrews Golf & Country Club	160

Education

The city of West Chicago has two high schools—one public school, West Chicago Community High School, and one private, Wheaton Academy. There are nine elementary schools (one private, eight public) and two middle schools [one being West Chicago Middle School (WCMS)] within the city. The West Chicago Wildcats is the name of the WCCHS teams.

Transportation

The DuPage Airport is located in the city. Metra has a station on the Union Pacific West Line and another is being planned on the STAR Line on North Av.

Points of interest

• Kline Creek Farm
• West Chicago City Museum

Demographics

As of 2010 West Chicago had a population of 27,086. The population was 67.6% white people, 2.5% black people, 0.6% Native American, 5.9% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 2.7% from two or more races. 51.1% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

As of the census of 2000, there were 23,469 people, 6,379 households, and 5,230 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,695.9 people per square mile (654.7/km²). There were 6,567 housing units at an average density of 474.5 per square mile (183.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 77.85% White, 1.68% African American, 0.36% Native American, 1.95% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 15.11% from other races, and 3.01% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 48.60% of the population.

There were 6,379 households out of which 48.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.3% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.0% were non-families. 12.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.64 and the average family size was 3.91.

In the city the population was spread out with 31.6% under the age of 18, 13.4% from 18 to 24, 34.6% from 25 to 44, 15.8% from 45 to 64, and 4.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 114.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 117.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $63,424, and the median income for a family was $65,744. Males had a median income of $39,723 versus $27,285 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,287, the lowest in DuPage County. About 6.8% of families and 9.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.5% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.

External links

• Official West Chicago Web Site
• West Chicago Community High School Web Site
• Encyclopedia of Chicago History
• WegoNews, Micro-Gateway for the City of West Chicago
• High Lake Homeowners Assoc., Including History of High Lake and West Chicago Area
• West Chicago Fire Protection District Web Site