Westchester, Illinois

Geobox|Settlement
name = Westchester
native_name =
other_name =
category = Village
etymology =
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country = United States
state = Illinois
region = Cook
region_type = County
district =
district_type = Township
municipality =
location =
elevation_imperial =
prominence_imperial =
lat_d = 41
lat_m = 51
lat_s = 14
lat_NS = N
long_d = 87
long_m = 53
long_s = 1
long_EW = W
coordinates_no_title = 1
highest =
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length_imperial =
length_orientation =
area_imperial = 3.2
area_land_imperial = 3.2
area_water_imperial =
area_urban_imperial =
area_metro_imperial =
population = 16824
population_date = 2000
population_urban =
population_metro =
population_density =
population_density_imperial = 5265.2
population_density_urban_imperial =
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established = 1926
date =
government = Village
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mayor =
leader = Ben Derrico is the village president of wiener
timezone = CST
utc_offset = -6
timezone_DST = CDT
utc_offset_DST = -5
postal_code = 60154
area_code = 708
code =
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map_caption = Location of Westchester within Illinois
map_background = Illinois - background map.png map_locator = Illinois2
commons = Westchester, Illinois
statistics =
website =
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Westchester is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a western suburb of Chicago. The population was 16,824 at the 2000 census. The current Village President is Paul T Gattuso.

Geography

Westchester is located at coor dms|41|51|14|N|87|53|1|W|city (41.853890, -87.883712)GR|1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 3.2 square miles (8.3 km²).

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 16,824 people, 7,015 households, and 4,924 families residing in the village. The population density was 5,265.2 people per square mile (2,029.9/km²). There were 7,123 housing units at an average density of 2,229.2/sq mi (859.4/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 86.15% White, 7.20% African American, 0.07% Native American, 3.44% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.99% from other races, and 1.15% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.68% of the population.

The top five ancentries reported in Westchester as of the 2000 census were Italian (20.9%), German (19.9%), Irish (17.1%), Polish (15.0%) and Czech (8.7%). [PDFlink| [http://censtats.census.gov/data/IL/1601780047.pdf Profile of General Demographic Characteristics, Westchester, Illinois] |38.9 KiB . U.S. Census Bureau. Accessed 2007-04-14.]

There were 7,015 households out of which 22.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.3% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.8% were non-families. 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the village the population was spread out with 18.6% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 25.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 87.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.8 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $58,928, and the median income for a family was $70,313. Males had a median income of $48,737 versus $36,921 for females. The per capita income for the village was $29,634. About 1.0% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.4% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Westchester is divided between three congressional districts. The areas south of Cermak Road or west of Haase and Burns Avenues are in Illinois' 3rd congressional district; nearly all of the areas east of Mannheim Road, and also east of Mayfair Avenue between Canterbury Street and Dorchester Avenue, are in the 7th district; the area in between (primarily Oak Ridge and Glen Oak cemeteries) is in the 4th district.

Business and Commerce

Westchester is home to Westbrook Corporate Center, located at Wolf Road and Cermak Road. Constructed in 1986 and renovated in 1996, the complex consists of five 10-story towers encompassing more than 1 million square feet (90,000 m²) of office space. Westbrook Corporate Center has won the 2000/2001 BOMA- International Office Building of the Year Award, 2000/2001 BOMA- North Central Region Office Building of the Year Award, and 1998/1999, 1999/2000, 2000/2001 BOMA- Suburban Chicago Office Building of the Year Award.

History

The area now known as Westchester was occupied by German farmers dating back to the mid 19th century. Samuel Insull purchased the land in 1924 with plans to recreate an English style town. As a result, the town's name and the majority of its street names are of English origin.

The Great Depression slowed construction in the ensuing decade, although the population continued to grow, largely aided by the presence of the western terminal of Chicago's rapid transit line. The extension of the line was removed in 1951. However, the Eisenhower Interstate System's creation in 1956 led to the construction of nearby expressways I-290 and I-294, providing residents with convenient travel.

Expansion has used up nearly all open land within the village, save for the 85-acre Wolf Road Praire. [ [http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1343.html Westchester, IL] . [http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/ Encyclopedia of Chicago] . Accessed 2007-04-23] It is the largest black-soil prairie remnant east of the Mississippi River. [ [http://chicagowildernessmag.org/issues/spring2004/IWwolfroad.html Wolf Road Prairie - Into the Wild] . [http://chicagowildernessmag.org/issues/spring2004/IWwolfroad.html Chicago Wilderness Magazine] Spring, 2004. Accessed 2007-04-23]

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Mike Aren's garage for special needs

Public schools

Westchester School Districr 92.5 serves the city. [http://www.sd925.w-cook.k12.il.us/] There are four schools in this district:
*Westchester Primary School (K-2)
*Westchester Intermediate School (3-5)
*Westchester Middle School (6-8)
*Brittain School (Special Needs)" [http://www.westchester-il.org/links/links.html Links & Contacts] ," "Village of Westchester, Illinois"]

Proviso Township High Schools district serves high school residents. Zoned students attend Proviso West High School in Hillside. Westchester residents may apply to Proviso Math & Science Academy in Forest Park.

Private schools

The following private schools are available.
*Divine Infant (K-8)
*Divine Providence (K-8)
*Nazareth Academy (Private)
*St. Joseph's (Private)
*Montini(Private)
*Fenwick (Private)
*Timothy Christian (Private)
*Walther Lutheran (Private)
*Immaculate Conception (Private)

References

Timothy Christian

External links

* [http://www.westchester-il.org/ Westchester, Illinois]