Lake Zurich, Illinois

Geobox|Settlement
name = Lake Zurich
native_name =
other_name =
category = Village
etymology =
official_name = Lake Zurich
motto =
nickname =


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symbol =
country = United States
state = Illinois
region = Lake
region_type = County
district = Ela
district_type = Township
municipality =
location =
elevation_imperial = 850
prominence_imperial =
lat_d = 42
lat_m = 11
lat_s = 32
lat_NS = N
long_d = 88
long_m = 5
long_s = 17
long_EW = W
coordinates_no_title = 1
highest =
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lowest_state =
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length_imperial =
length_orientation =
area_imperial = 6.8
area_land_imperial = 6.8
area_water_imperial =
area_urban_imperial =
area_metro_imperial =
population = 18104
population_date = 2000
population_urban =
population_metro =
population_density =
population_density_imperial = 2792.3
population_density_urban_imperial =
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established = September 19th, 1896
date =
government =
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mayor =
leader = John Tolomei
leader_type = Village president
timezone = CST
utc_offset = -6
timezone_DST = CDT
utc_offset_DST = -5
postal_code = 60047
area_code = 847 and 224
code =
whs_name =
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map_caption = Location of Lake Zurich within Illinois
map_background = Illinois - background map.png map_locator = Illinois2
commons = Lake Zurich, Illinois
statistics =
website = http://www.volz.org
footnotes =

"For the lake in Switzerland, see the article "Lake Zurich"."

Lake Zurich is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 18,104 at the 2000 census. A 2003 special census put the village's population at 19,005.

The village is located by a lake also called Lake Zurich.

In 2006, Lake Zurich was named by Frommer's as one of the top hundred "Best Places to Raise Your Family" and by U.S. News as one of the "Top Twenty-five Affordable Places to Live in the Country".

Geography

Lake Zurich is located at coor dms|42|11|32|N|88|5|17|W|city (42.192324, -88.088098)GR|1 with an elevation of 850 feet above sea level.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 6.8 square miles (17.7 km²), of which, 6.5 square miles (16.8 km²) of it is land and 0.4 square miles (0.9 km²) of it (5.26%) is water.

Landscape is mainly Marshland, Forestrey, and Beach(by the lake)

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 18,104 people, 5,746 households, and 4,866 families residing in the village. The population density was 2,792.3 people per square mile (1,078.7/km²). There were 5,828 housing units at an average density of 898.9/sq mi (347.3/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 92.31% White, 0.81% African American, 0.17% Native American, 3.82% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.97% from other races, and 0.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.55% of the population.

There were 5,746 households out of which 54.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.3% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.3% were non-families. 12.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.12 and the average family size was 3.42.

In the village the population was spread out with 34.1% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 34.1% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 5.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 100.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.4 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $84,125, and the median income for a family was $89,874. Males had a median income of $63,909 versus $43,047 for females. The per capita income for the village was $30,287. About 2.0% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.9% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.

History

The area of Lake Zurich was first settled by Europeans in the 1830s. Two early pioneers were George Ela, after whom the Ela township is named, and Seth Paine, who established a number of commercial ventures in the town. New England farmers moved to the area in the 1830s and 1840s, and German immigrants began to move to the area from the middle of the century. The village of Lake Zurich was incorporated on September 19th, 1896. It remained primarily a farming community; although the village was connected to the railroad in 1910, the line was closed ten years later. However, the arrival of the highway system with Rand Road, U.S. Route 12 in 1922 and Half Day Road, Illinois Route 22 in 1927 established Lake Zurich as a convenient summer resort. The now-defunct Palatine, Lake Zurich and Wauconda Railroad also served the community. Housing development began in the 1950s, with the population expanding throughout the latter part of the 20th century.

The village government has used eminent domain to obtain and pay more than market value for private rental properties in an attempt to increase downtown revenue via new businesses. As of 2004 Lake Zurich had acquired all the property intended to fulfill its downtown redevelopment project. While many protests occurred regularly throughout 2005 near the promenade, the protests failed to garner much attention and ended up failing. A 2007 court defeat brought the issue back into the public eye, as a village owned rental parcel was denied eminent domain. The renters were granted the ability to stay through the end of their lease due to clerical errors made by the village's legal and administrative employees regarding this parcel in particular.

In an ongoing effort to revitalize and bring residents to the downtown area, the Village has partnered with a new successful developer and is working on a new redevelopment plan. In the meantime, the previous developer has completed Phase 1 on the new townhouse complex. The award-winning Somerset townhomes are located one block away from the town center and are sitting half sold with mechanics liens on them, due mostly to the sharp downturn in the housing market. Visit here for more information [http://www.AtoLakeZ.com] . The village board continues to look for new ways to compensate for the money pit caused by the TIF bonds, legal battles, market shift and an under-capitolizied developer.

A bypass rerouting Illinois Route 22 around the downtown business district has been completed. Unfortunately, the Village and IDOT also have yet to resolve water pollution problems, from the construction, that resulted in silt being discharged into the Lake of Lake Zurich which brought the threat of State and Federal enforcement against both parties during 2006 and 2007.

Sales taxes are already falling short due to the economic down-turn, and through better and revised planning the village is working on ways to make sure it continues paying its debt service.

Village Government

The Village of Lake Zurich is headed by Village President John Tolomei, who was elected in 2007 to a two-year term to complete the unfinished term of Mayor Jim Krischke, who had resigned to become the Village Administrator of nearby Hawthorn Woods. The Village has a six member Board of Trustees, including Steve Callahan, Steve McAvoy, and Craig Taylor (elected in 2005 to four-year terms) and Suzanne Branding, Jim Johnson, and Tom Poynton (elected in 2007 to four-year terms).

Redevelopment Plans

The Village of Lake Zurich broke ground for the downtown redevelopment on May 4th, 2006. The groundbreaking is for the new Somerset townhomes located north of Main Street. The Somerset will have 39 luxury, three story townhomes with views of the lake. Since then, the Village has hired a new consultant to revamp and improve the previous master plan in light of the current economy and challenges. As of October, 2006, the Rt. 22 bypass will divert heavy traffic away from the downtown area in order to allow easier pedestrian travel.

Community Unit School District 95

Elementary schools

* Charles Quentin (06/07 enrollment 414)
* Isaac Fox (06/07 enrollment 499)
* Sarah Adams (06/07 enrollment 446)
* Seth Paine (06/07 enrollment 397)
* Spencer Loomis (06/07 enrollment 447)
* May Whitney (06/07 enrollment 435) (note: May Whitney students have been relocated to 100 Church Street -- the original High School and former Middle School North building -- for the 2007-08 school year and into the foreseeable future.)

Middle schools

* Lake Zurich Middle School North (grades 6-8, 06/07 enrollment 790, nickname 'Wolves' Colors:Blue & Gray)
* Lake Zurich Middle School South (grades 6-8, 06/07 enrollment 803, nickname 'Eagles' Colors:Maroon and Gray):

High school

* Lake Zurich High School (founded 1929 as Ela-Vernon High School, 06/07 enrollment 2193, nickname 'Bears')

Private Schools

*St. Francis de Sales (Catholic) (Grades K-8)
*St. Matthew (Lutheran) (Grades K-8)
*Quentin Road Christian School (Baptist) (Grades K-12)

References

External links

* [http://www.volz.org/ Lake Zurich official website]
* [http://www.eapl.org/lakezurich/ Lake Zurich Area Community Information Gateway]
* [http://www.eapl.org/lake-zurich/local-history.asp Lake Zurich Area Local History]
* [http://www.eapl.org/ Ela Area Public Library]
* [http://www.barringtonarealibrary.org/ Barrington Area Library]