| Lagrange, Illinois |
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| cook county, illinois | |
| villages in illinois | |
| la grange, illinoiscook county, illinois | |
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| la grange, illinois | |
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| cook county, illinois | |
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HISTORY Incorporated in 1879, the Village of La Grange was the dream of Franklin Dwight Cossitt, born in Granby, Connecticut and raised in Tennessee , who moved to Chicago in 1862 and built a successful Wholesale Grocery business. In 1870, Cossitt purchased several hundred acres of farmland in Lyons Township , along the Chicago-Dixon Road, known today as Ogden Avenue ( U.S. Highway 34 ). The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad also traversed the property and, a few miles to the south, the Illinois & Michigan Canal had emerged as a major shipping corridor, connecting Chicago and the Great Lakes with the Illinois and Mississippi River s. Cossitt set out to build the ideal suburban village — laying out Street s, planting Tree s, donating property for Church es and School s, and building quality homes for sale. He also placed Liquor restrictions in the land deeds he sold to prevent the village from becoming a Saloon town. When Cossitt began his development, the area was served by a Post Office known as Kensington. But upon learning of another community already with that name in Illinois, Cossitt decided to name his town in honor of La Grange, Tennessee , where he had been raised as a youth on an uncle's Cotton farm. After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed much of that city, thousands of its citizens sought new homes and opportunities far from the city's ills but within a convenient commute. La Grange was ideally situated to accommodate them. GEOGRAPHY La Grange is located at 41°48'29" North, 87°52'24" West (41.807938, -87.873455), about 13 miles west of Chicago . According to the United States Census Bureau , the village has a total area of 6.5 Km&2 (2.5 Mi&2 ). 6.5 km&2 (2.5 mi&2) of it is land and none of it is covered by water. Two major Railroad Tracks run through the village, including the Burlington Northern Santa Fe, and the CSX/Indiana Harbor Belt lines. Some 14,000 years ago, the land under La Grange sat on the western Shore of Lake Chicago , predecessor to Lake Michigan . The Prehistoric shoreline today is delineated by Bluff Avenue, a north-south street on the village's east side. DEMOGRAPHICS As of the Census of 2000, there were 15,608 people, 5,624 households, and 4,049 families residing in the village. The Population Density was 2,400.9/km&2 (6,220.7/mi&2). There were 5,781 housing units at an average density of 889.3/km&2 (2,304.1/mi&2). The racial makeup of the village was 91.02% White , 6.02% African American , 0.09% Native American , 1.00% Asian , 0.02% Pacific Islander , 0.99% from Other Races , and 0.86% from two or more races. 3.66% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 5,624 households out of which 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.3% were Married Couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.0% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.23. In the village the population was spread out with 28.5% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.4 males. The median income for a household in the village was $80,342, and the median income for a family was $95,554. Males had a median income of $62,030 versus $41,260 for females. The Per Capita Income for the village was $34,887. 4.0% of the population and 3.2% of families were below the Poverty Line . 4.3% of those under the age of 18 and 4.4% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. GOVERNMENT The Village of La Grange is a non- Home Rule Municipal corporation and operates under a Board-manager form of government. A seven-member Board Of Trustees , elected as provided by state law, serves four-year overlapping terms. A village manager is appointed by the board. The village has six operating departments: administration, finance, police, fire, community development and public works. The village is represented in the United States Congress by Daniel Lipinski . BUSINESS AND COMMERCE La Grange is the mailing address for the headquarters of General Motors ' Electro-Motive Division , a major manufacturer of Railroad Locomotive s. The headquarters, engineering facilities and parts-manufacturing operations actually are located in the adjacent village of McCook ; originally, the locomotives were also built there, but in more recent years final assembly has moved to GM-EMD's other facility in London, Ontario . The Downtown area, centered along and around La Grange Road (US Hwy 45) and the Burlington Northern Railroad line, grew somewhat run-down during the 1980s ; however, the mid-to-late 1990s saw a revival, with many new businesses opening, including a Borders Books . Many of these new businesses are Restaurant s; LaGrange draws much of this business from the neighboring town of Western Springs , since Western Springs did not allow the sale of Alcoholic Beverage s in restaurants until recently. This expansion of the downtown led to increased congestion; often, parking became difficult to find, especially on Weekend s. One proposal to remedy this was the building of a Parking Garage in a current parking-lot area; many residents, however, oppose this as a waste of Tax dollars. Eventually, a Referendum on the parking garage was passed; ground was broken on March 3 , 2005 . The parking structure is now complete and operational. TRANSPORTATION Two major , La Grange Road (US Hwys 45/20/12) runs north-south; Ogden Avenue (US Hwy 34) runs east-west. Each intersects with the Tri-State Tollway (I-294), south and west of the village, respectively. The Burlington Northern Railroad also runs through La Grange. Daily commuter service on that line, connecting Aurora and Chicago , is provided by Metra , and stops at two stations within the village. Amtrak also serves the station nearest La Grange Road. Passenger Airline service is available at O'Hare and Midway airports, both located in Chicago. A proposed passenger rail line connecting the two airports would have a station in La Grange. Commuter Bus service is provided by Pace , the suburban bus division of the Regional Transportation Authority. HEALTH La Grange Memorial Hospital , operated by Adventist Health System , a is a level-two Trauma Center . The Hospital has 270 Inpatient beds. A $79 million renovation and expansion of the facility is in progress. NOTABLE PEOPLE
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