McCook is a village in
Cook County
Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, and is an
industrial suburb
An industrial suburb is a community, near a large city, with an industrial economy. These communities may be established as tax havens or as places where zoning promotes industry, or they may be industrial towns that become suburbs by urban spra ...
of
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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. As of the 2020 census, the village population was 249, which is the lowest population of all municipalities in the county.
History
McCook was named for
John J. McCook, a late 19th-century director of the
Santa Fe Railroad
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and S ...
and a former
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
officer.
McCook station was served by the railroad in the town. The
Outlaws Motorcycle Club
The Outlaws Motorcycle Club, incorporated as the American Outlaws Association or its acronym, A.O.A., is an outlaw motorcycle club that was formed in McCook, Illinois in 1935. It is one of the largest outlaw motorcycle clubs in the world and histo ...
was established in McCook in 1935 when
Old Route 66 passed through the town. In 1958,
six people were killed in an explosion at a
Reynolds Metals
Reynolds Group Holdings is a New Zealand based packaging company with roots in the former Reynolds Metals Company, which was the second-largest aluminum company in the United States, and the third-largest in the world. Reynolds Metals was acquire ...
plant. In 1995, the former
Universal Oil Products Riverside Laboratory in McCook was awarded with
National Historic Chemical Landmark
The National Historic Chemical Landmarks program was launched by the American Chemical Society in 1992 to recognize significant achievements in the history of chemistry and related professions. The program celebrates the The central science, cent ...
status.
Geography
McCook is located at (41.798542, -87.832432).
According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, McCook has a total area of , of which (or 99.20%) is land and (or 0.80%) is water.
McCook is home to a small population but a large amount of heavy
industry
Industry may refer to:
Economics
* Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity
* Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery
* The wider industrial sector ...
, resulting in a large
tax
A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...
base.
Demographics
As of the
2020 census there were 249 people, 107 households, and 87 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 113 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 64.26%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 1.20%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 10.44% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 24.10% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 36.55% of the population.
There were 107 households, out of which 64.49% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.47% were married couples living together, 22.43% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.69% were non-families. 16.82% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.21% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.18 and the average family size was 2.96.
The village's age distribution consisted of 24.9% under the age of 18, 13.6% from 18 to 24, 21.7% from 25 to 44, 17% from 45 to 64, and 22.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 108.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.7 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $75,417, and the median income for a family was $65,417. Males had a median income of $50,714 versus $33,750 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the village was $28,757. About 3.4% of families and 5.0% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 3.8% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.
Government
McCook is in
Illinois's 3rd congressional district
Illinois's 3rd congressional district includes part of Cook County, and has been represented by Democrat Marie Newman since January 3, 2021. The district was previously represented by Dan Lipinski from 2005 to 2021, and by Lipinski's father Bi ...
.
Business
McCook is home to a large amount of
heavy industry
Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...
, including portions o
Vulcan Materials Company McCook Quarry UOP, and the
Electro-Motive Diesel
Progress Rail Locomotives, doing business as Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD), is an American manufacturer of diesel-electric locomotives, locomotive products and diesel engines for the rail industry. The company is owned by Caterpillar through its sub ...
(EMD) railroad
locomotive
A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...
plant. Known as the LaGrange plant for its mailing address (McCook does not have its own post office), EMD produced most of their locomotives there from 1935 to 1991, when parent company
General Motors
The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
moved all final-assembly operations to
London, Ontario
London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...
. The LaGrange plant continues to manufacture locomotive parts and engines, and also serves as the EMD U.S. headquarters.
Education
A part of McCook is served by the
Lyons School District 103
Lyons School District 103 (SD103) is a school district headquartered in Lyons, Illinois.[Contact]
" Lyons School District 103. Retrieved ...
and
J. Sterling Morton High School District 201
J. Sterling Morton High School District 201 is a school district headquartered in Cicero, Illinois, United States. The district serves the town of Cicero, the city of Berwyn and the villages of Lyons, Stickney, and Forest View. A small sectio ...
's
Morton West High School
J. Sterling Morton High School West is an Illinois based high school.
History
District 201 had plans to open a second high school in Berwyn, going as far as to purchase the property needed. However, after years of trying to convince voters of ...
located in
Berwyn.
Another part of McCook is served by
Lyons Township High School
Lyons Township High School (often referred to as LTHS or simply LT) is a public high school located in Western Springs, Illinois (South Campus), and also in La Grange, Illinois (North Campus).
Lyons Township is a co-educational high school and ...
in Western Springs/LaGrange.
References
{{authority control
Villages in Illinois
Villages in Cook County, Illinois
Chicago metropolitan area