Norridge, Illinois

Template:Geobox Norridge is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 14,572 at the 2010 census. The current mayor of Norridge is James Chmura.

The village and its neighbor to the east, Harwood Heights, together form an enclave within the city of Chicago (i.e. they are completely surrounded by the city). Norridge is sometimes referred to as the "Island Within a City". A history book of the same name was written by Norridge author Tom McGowen.

Name origin

The name "Norridge" was suggested by resident Mrs. Link. "Nor" comes from Norwood Park Township, and "Ridge" comes from the nearby suburb of Park Ridge.

History

Located in Norwood Park Township, the first names of what would become Norridge were "Goat Village", due to a local resident's goat farm, and "Swamp" due to a lack of streets and the area's swamp-like conditions. Norridge started out as an 80-acre (320,000 m²) subdivision that ran from Ozanam Avenue in the west to Olcott Avenue in the east and from Irving Park Road in the south to Montrose Avenue in the north. In 1948, Norridge was about to be annexed by Chicago when a local improvement association moved to incorporate as a village, ending the city's effort to incorporate it. That year, Karl Kuchar was elected the first President of the village. The 1950s was a decade of growth and development, encouraged by the construction of a waterworks system, the paving of sidewalks, streets, and curbs, and the installation of storm and sanitary sewers. In 1954 Norridge annexed land north from Montrose to Lawrence. Also that year, the Norridge Youth Committee was established.

Norridge borders the Cook County Forest Preserves and was home to several horse stables, including Happy Days Stables at Montrose and Cumberland. Most of the stables were gone by the late 1970s.

In 1986, Norridge sent a team to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. They lost the opening round to Tucson, Arizona, by a score of 6-2. In the consolation games, they defeated Europe 15-2 and Canada 7-0 to finish 5th in the world. Key players on the roster included Vince Santucci, Mike Ryan, and Brian Kriz, who all pitched, caught and played infield. Shortstop Bobby Raschillo was the leader on defense and batted 4th in the lineup.

Geography

Norridge is located at 41°57′54″N 87°49′26″W (41.965030, -87.823859).Template:GR

According to the 2010 census, the village has a total area of 1.81 square miles (4.7 km²), all land.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 14,582 people, 5,727 households, and 3,991 families residing in the village. The population density was 8,013.6 people per square mile (3,093.5/km²). There were 5,842 housing units at an average density of 3,210.5 per square mile (1,239.3/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 97.84% White, 0.06% African American, 0.08% Native American, 2.74% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.23% from other races, and 1.01% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.79% of the population. Like many neighborhoods around O'Hare airport, Norridge has a large Polish population.

There were 5,727 households out of which 21.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.0% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.3% were non-families. 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the village the population was spread out with 16.8% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 28.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.8 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $47,787, and the median income for a family was $57,007. Males had a median income of $41,310 versus $29,215 for females. The per capita income for the village was $23,431. About 2.9% of families and 3.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.2% of those under age 18 and 4.9% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

As of the 2013 election, the current elected officials of the village of Norridge are:

• James Chmura - President (since 2013)
• Debbie Budnik - Village Clerk (since 2013)
• Ursula A. Kucharski - Trustee (since 1981)
• Dominic S. Falagario - Trustee (since 1999)
• Jacqueline P. Gregorio - Trustee (since 2001)
• Dominic Sulimowski - Trustee (since 2009)
• Donald Gelsomino - Trustee (since 2011)
• Daniel Tannhauser - Trustee (since 2013)

Mayors of Norridge

Mayor		Years	Karl Kuchar	1949–1951	Joseph Sieb	1951–1998	Earl J. Field	1998–2009	Ronald A. Oppedisano	2009-2013	James Chmura	2013-present

Local culture and media

The Harlem Irving Plaza brought in sales tax that led to decreased property taxes. Begun in 1955 with 45 stores, the center had 140 stores by the 1990s.

Local media include 89.7 WRHS-FM Norridge, 88.1 WRWX-FM/WXMS Harwood Heights, WRHS Cable Channel 19 all from Ridgewood High School in Norridge.

Education

Public schools

Public elementary school districts serving Norridge include:

• Pennoyer Elementary School District 79 [1]
• Norridge School District 80 [2] (Giles School and John V. Leigh School)
• Union Ridge School District 86 [3]

Public high school districts include:

• Maine Township High School District 207 (Maine South High School)
• Ridgewood High School

Libraries

Eisenhower Public Library District serves Harwood Heights and Norridge.

Notable people

• Jeff Schroeder, season 11 and season 13 contestant on Big Brother (finished 5th and 7th, respectively)
• Dino Stamatopoulos, comedy writer, actor and producer (Mr. Show, TV Funhouse, Mad TV, The Dana Carvey Show, Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Conan O'Brien)
• Nicholas Calabrese, the first made man ever to testify against the Chicago Outfit.

External links

• Village of Norridge official website
  • Quick Facts, village of Norridge
• Norridge, IL, Encyclopedia of Chicago
• Norridge Park District
• Norridge School District 80
• Ridgewood High School
• Eisenhower Public Library District