Bellwood is a village in Proviso Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. Located west of Chicago's

downtown Loop The Downtown Loop may refer to: * Downtown Loop (Kansas City) * Atlanta Streetcar See also * Chicago Loop * Delmar Loop The Delmar Loop, often referred to by St. Louis residents simply as The Loop, is an entertainment, cultural and restaurant ...

, the Village of Bellwood is bounded by the Eisenhower Expressway (south), the Proviso yards of the former

Chicago & Northwestern The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states bef ...

, now Union Pacific Railroad (north), and the suburbs of Maywood (east) and Hillside and Berkeley (west). The population was 18,789 at the 2020 census.

History

Bellwood was incorporated on May 21, 1900. The municipality took its name from one of the village's early subdivisions, "Bellewood". However, in later years, the final "e" was dropped. The region, which was mostly flat grassland, was initially mostly farmland. A few businesses, including a few taverns, were drawn to the initial subdivision. In reaction to dry Maywood's effort to annex the area, businesses that served alcohol petitioned for incorporation. Between 1900 and 1930, Bellwood's population numbers increased steadily. By 1920, the village's population of 943 had more than quadrupled, with many German and Russian immigrants. The increase to 4,991 persons in 1930 is due to the annexation of territory west of Mannheim Road in 1926, as well as ongoing migration. The Chicago, Aurora and Elgin Railway and the Chicago & North Western Railway provided rail passenger service, which promoted residential growth in neighboring portions of Bellwood. The 1970s saw racial upheaval and inclusion in a Supreme Court case in the United States. Bellwood sued a local real estate company in 1975, alleging racial discrimination. Four years later, the Supreme Court issued a historic decision allowing governments to utilize testers and sue when discrimination occurs. The black population of Bellwood jumped from 1.1 percent in 1970 to 35 percent in 1980 and 70 percent in 1990. A few major firms exist in Bellwood today, but the collapse of many other large sectors has resulted in a decrease in employment and tax revenue. Despite these contributions, the community saw some new development as a result of various minor industrial and commercial organizations.

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Bellwood has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 18,789 people, 6,059 households, and 4,310 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 6,757 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 68.35% African American, 6.67% White, 0.96% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 15.83% from other races, and 7.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 26.79% of the population. There were 6,059 households, out of which 48.31% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.54% were married couples living together, 26.18% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.87% were non-families. 27.03% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.44% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.79 and the average family size was 3.09. The village's age distribution consisted of 23.7% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.3 males. The median income for a household in the village was $63,006, and the median income for a family was $69,730. Males had a median income of $38,361 versus $32,466 for females. The per capita income for the village was $27,244. About 8.3% of families and 11.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.1% of those under age 18 and 12.3% of those age 65 or over. ''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

Government

Andre F. Harvey is the current and Bellwood's first African-American mayor.

Education

The Bellwood School District 88 comprises seven schools: Grant Primary School, Grant Elementary School, Lincoln Primary–Early Childhood Center, Lincoln Elementary School, McKinley Elementary School, Thurgood Marshall Elementary School and Roosevelt Middle School. Some portions are zoned to Berkeley School District 87.Schools
" Village of Bellwood. Retrieved March 16, 2017. MECA Christian Academy is a private school.

Infrastructure

Transportation

The village is serviced by a Metra railroad station with commuter service to Chicago. In November 2011, Union Pacific Railroad announced plans to renovate and upgrade Bellwood's Metra station and add a third rail line. The project, estimated at $4 million, was expected to be completed by the fall of 2012 at no cost to residents. Bellwood formerly had a station on the Chicago Great Western Railway main line before it was abandoned in 1968 by the Chicago & Northwestern Railway. The Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad runs through Bellwood, but does not host any commuter rail traffic.

Notable people

Lee J. Archambault Lee Joseph "Bru" Archambault (born August 25, 1960) is an American test pilot and former NASA astronaut. He has logged over 4,250 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft. Archambault is married with three children. His hobbies include bicy ...

, NASA astronaut, served aboard two space shuttle missions (STS-117 & STS-119) * Eugene Cernan, NASA astronaut, commander of the

Apollo 17 Apollo 17 (December 7–19, 1972) was the final mission of NASA's Apollo program, the most recent time humans have set foot on the Moon or traveled beyond low Earth orbit. Commander Gene Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt walked on ...

mission and " last man on the Moon," grew up in Bellwood. * Robert Covington, small forward for the Los Angeles Clippers, was born in Bellwood. * Ben Tennyson, the fictional American superhero was portrayed as being born in Bellwood.

References

External links

Village of Bellwood official website

Bellwood Chamber of Commerce

Memorial Park District

Bellwood Public Library

Bellwood School District
{{authority control Villages in Illinois Chicago metropolitan area Villages in Cook County, Illinois Populated places established in 1900 1900 establishments in Illinois Majority-minority cities and towns in Cook County, Illinois