Arlington Heights, Illinois

Chicagoland municipality
muni-name = Arlington Heights
state = Illinois
muni = Village
date = 1836


caption = The Nathaniel Moore House is on the National Register of Historic Places.
county = Cook
gov = Council-manager
head_label = Village President
township = Wheeling
gov_head = Mayor Arlene Mulder
pop = 76,031
density-km = 1,810.5
density-mi = 4,633.3
status = up
percent = 0.76
prevyear = 1990
white = 90%
black = 2%
hispanic = 1.01%
asian = 7.11
islander = 0
native = 1.2
other = 1.6
zips = 60004, 60005, 60006
acode = 847 & 224
area-km = 42.5
area-mi = 16.4
coords = coor dms|42|5|42|N|87|58|51|W|city
pci = 79,931
geocode = 02154
mhi = 81,759
mnhv = 353,600
website = www.vah.com

Arlington Heights is a village in Cook County, Illinois and a northwestern suburb of Chicago. It is located about 25 miles northwest of downtown Chicago [ [http://www.usmayors.org/bestpractices/usmayor04/mulder_BP.asp Arlington Heights Mayor Promotes Downtown Revival] ] . A 2003 Census recount gave the village a population of 76,031, the largest for a village in the United States, with neighboring Schaumburg, Illinois not far behind in second place. It is also the twelfth largest municipality in the state of Illinois.

Arlington Heights is known for Arlington Park Race Track, home of the Arlington Million, a Breeders' Cup qualifying event; also hosted the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2002. It is also home to the [http://www.ahml.info/ Arlington Heights Memorial Library] (Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlington_Heights_Memorial_Library_(AHML) entry] ), which has one of the largest collections in the state (that includes books, ebooks, eaudiobooks, DVDs, games, puppets, premium web databases, etc.), as well as the [http://www.metropolisarts.com Metropolis Performing Arts Centre] , Saint Viator High School , and John Hersey High School.

Geography

Arlington Heights is located at coor dms|42|5|42|N|87|58|51|W|city (42.094976, -87.980873)GR|1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 16.40 square miles (42.60 km²), of which, 16.36 square miles (42.50 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km²) of it (0.18%) is water.

Business

Arlington Heights has experienced a recent boom in development of condominiums, restaurants and other businesses in the [http://www.ahcbd.com/ Central Business District] or downtown area of Arlington Heights, with restaurants experiencing the greatest overall success. Although land and space is now limited in Arlington Heights; business and community development along with community design are key concerns of the [http://www.arlingtonhtschamber.com/ Arlington Heights Chamber of Commerce] with over 800 individual members and about 500 business members. The [http://www.vah.com/ Village of Arlington Heights] is also instrumental in business, residential and community development. The community is served by many fine hotels, including the Sheraton Hotel and Hotel Indigo (Palatine), located near Arlington Park racetrack.

Notable people from Arlington Heights

ports

*Brian McBride, professional soccer (football) player for the US Men's National Team and former player of Fulham F.C. in the English Premier League (attended Buffalo Grove High School). Currently plays for Chicago Fire. Noted as the Greatest American Soccer player in history.
*Tom Zbikowski (football and boxing), Notre Dame strong safety, punt and kick returner, professional boxer,2008 3rd round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens from Buffalo Grove High School
*Walter Payton, running back for the Chicago Bears lived in Arlington Heights during his early years with the team
*Walter's son, Jarrett Payton, U of Miami running back 2001-2004, Tennessee Titans RB, 2005, attended Saint Viator High School
*Ray Meyer, long-time head coach of DePaul University's men's basketball program, lived in Arlington Heights
*Mike Myers (baseball), New York Yankees pitcher
*Brett Basanez (football), Northwestern University star dual threat quarterback, 2002-2005, Carolina Panthers QB, 2006 Saint Viator High school
*Tom Preissing (hockey), Los Angeles Kings defensemen in the NHL.
*Jonathan Spector, professional soccer (football) player for the US Men's National Team and West Ham United F.C. in the English Premier League (attended Saint Viator High School)
*Chris Nowinski, WWE wrestler
*Dave Corzine, NBA basketball player
*Bruce Sutter, Hall of Fame relief pitcher for the Chicago Cubs(1976-1980) lived there during his time with the team

Media and the arts

* Jack Klues, Co-Managing Director of VivaKi, part of Publicis Groupe one of the world's largest advertising and communication companies.
*Davis Daniel, country music artist;
*Ted Nugent, musician; attended St. Viator High School; ^{[http://politicalwire.com/archives/2004/07/15/will_illinois_gop_turn_to_ted_nugent.html]}
*Tim McIlrath, lead singer of the band Rise Against;
*Jennifer Morrison, actress on "House"; attended Prospect High School".
*Lorenzo Frediani, French writer specialized in Performing Arts, lived in Arlington Heights in the late 90's.
*Steve Chen, Co-Founder of YouTube. He attended John Hersey High School.
*Marlee Matlin, actress graduated from John Hersey High School.
*Jim Michaels, Producer/Director/Actor graduated from John Hersey High School.

Entertainment Venues

From 1964-1970, Arlington Heights served as the home to The Cellar (in two different locations: -- first, in the basement of the former St. Peter's Church administration building, and -- second, it in an unused warehouse on Davis Street, along the Chicago and Northwestern railroad tracks). Founded by local record store owner Paul Sampson, The Cellar offered live Rock and Blues bands for its mostly teenage audience to listen and to dance. It hosted a wealth of regional "house" bands / repeat performers, such as the Shadows of Knight, The Mauds, H.P. Lovecraft, and Ted Nugent. As if that was not enough to make music-hungry teenagers happy, it hosted a significant array of national and international rock bands as well, including The Who, The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and The Spencer Davis Group. [Lind, Jeff. "History of Chicago Rock." Illinois Entertainer (July 1978) http://www.jimyrogers.com/ (accessed May 18, 2008)] .

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 76,031 people, 50,763 households, and 20,518 families residing in the village. The population density was 7,633.3 people per square mile (1,788.9/km²). There were 131,725 housing units at an average density of 11,933.3/sq mi (746.4/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 90.56% White, 0.96% African American, 0.08% Native American, 5.98% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.19% from other races, and 1.19% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.46% of the population.

There were 30,763 households out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.4% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the village the population was spread out with 23.1% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 92.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.2 males.

According to a 2006 estimate, the median income for a household in the village was $71,366, and the median income for a family was $88,371. [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=&geo_id=16000US1702154&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US17%7C16000US1702154&_street=&_county=arlington+heights&_cityTown=arlington+heights&_state=04000US17&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=160&_submenuId=factsheet_1&ds_name=DEC_2000_SAFF&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=] Males had a median income of $59,162 versus $39,555 for females. The per capita income for the village was $33,544. About 1.6% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.0% of those under age 18 and 3.0% of those age 65 or over.

Local media

Arlington Heights media with websites

[http://www.dailyherald.com "The Daily Herald"] , the major locally owned and operated newspaper for Arlington Heights and many other Chicago suburbs.

[http://www.pioneerlocal.com "Arlington Heights Post"] , the local website of the weekly Sun-Times Newspaper Group publication.

[http://www.journal-topics.com "Journal & Topics"] , covering [http://www.journal-topics.com/ah/ Arlington Heights] , Buffalo Grove, Palatine, Rolling Meadows, and Wheeling.

[http://www.cheapdateshow.com "Cheap Date Show"] , Arlington Heights-based podcast featuring local restaurant and entertainment reviews.

[http://www.arlingtonheights.org arlingtonheights.org] , privately-run business directory and forum site for Arlington Heights.

[http://www.arlington-news.com Arlington-News.com] , news and advertising for Arlington Heights businesses.

Education

Public elementary schools and middle schools in Arlington Heights are operated by [http://www.ahsd25.k12.il.us/ Arlington Heights School District 25] . Public high schools are operated by [http://www.dist214.k12.il.us/ Township High School District 214] . During peak enrollment from the 1960's to the 1980's, there were three public high schools in Arlington Heights: Arlington High School, Forest View High School and John Hersey High School. Arlington High School was the original high school founded in 1922, but was closed in 1984. Forest View High School was closed in 1986, but serves administrative purposes for the district. Today high school students attend Buffalo Grove High School, John Hersey High School, the school receiving highest honors for best educational improvements and testing scores, Prospect High School, Wheeling High School, and Rolling Meadows High School, with a small portion attending Elk Grove High School. Middle Schools in Arlington Heights include Thomas Middle School and South Middle School (Illinois). There are also several private schools in Arlington Heights, such as St. Viator High School, [http://www.stjames.ws/ St. James School] , [http://www.olwparish.org/ Our Lady of Wayside] , [http://www.stpeter-ah.org St. Peter Lutheran School] and [http://www.homeschools.org/ Christian Liberty Academy] .

Park Districts

* [http://www.ahpd.org/ Arlington Heights Park District]
* [http://www.saltcreekpd.com/ Salt Creek Rural Park District]

News & current issues

New construction of residential and commercial developments are hot topics in the local news. In the residential category, issues of noise, neighborhood style and character, drainage, and crowding of lots are issues that face residents, developers and village planners. Many houses are torn down or almost completely torn down to make way for new construction. In the commercial category, issues of noise, traffic, parking, retail and residential mix and financing are major issues. In February 2006, [http://www.ahsd25.k12.il.us/ Arlington Heights Public School District 25] voted against extension of a tax increment financing (TIF) district, believing that the school district would not recoup funds lost from frozen property taxes. The failure of the TIF district to extend its deadline at the end of 2006, means a possible slowdown in commercial development in of the area within boundaries of the railroad tracks along Northwest Highway, Arlington Heights Road, Sigwalt Street and Chestnut Avenue in downtown Arlington Heights. A TIF district formed around the International Plaza mall on the northeast corner of Arlington Heights Road and Golf Road is the subject of protests and a lawsuit.

A decision of the Arlington Heights Village Board to reject a rezoning request in 1971 was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, in "Arlington Heights v. Metropolitan Housing Corp.", 429 U.S. 252 (1977). A religious order, the Clerics of St. Viator, had sought to rezone their land that was classified for single-family housing so that low and moderate income multi-family developments could be built. After the request was denied, the developer and three black individuals filed suit in federal court, claiming that the decision was racially motivated in violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Supreme Court rejected the challenge, because although racial minorities were disproportionately harmed by the decision, the record did not show any discriminatory intent on the part of the village.

During his 2000 presidential campaign, George W. Bush visited Thomas Middle School located in Arlington Heights.

References

External links

* [http://www.vah.com/ Village of Arlington Heights]
* [http://community.ahml.info/ Community Information Directory (maintained by the Arlington Heights Memorial Library)] --community organizations, social services, government and municipal agencies, restaurants, shopping, events, demographics, etc.
* [http://www.questionpoint.org/crs/servlet/org.oclc.home.TFSRedirect?virtcategory=12292 Ask A Question About Arlington Heights (via the Arlington Heights Memorial Library)]
* [http://www.ahml.info Arlington Heights Memorial Library]
* [http://cdm.digitalpast.org/ahk.php?CISOROOT=/arlingto001 Arlington Heights Historical Documents--From DigitalPast]
* [http://www.ahmuseum.org Arlington Heights Historical Museum]
* [http://www.ahpd.org/ Arlington Heights Park District]
* [http://www.saltcreekpd.com/ Salt Creek Rural Park District]
* [http://www.commerce.state.il.us/communityprofiles/profiles/ARLINGTONHEIGHTS.HTM Arlington Heights Economic Description]
*dmoz|Regional/North_America/United_States/Illinois/Localities/A/Arlington_Heights|Arlington Heights, Illinois