Worth Township is one of 29

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

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 ...

. As of the 2010 census, its population was 152,633, with its most populous municipalities including Oak Lawn (pop. 56,690), Evergreen Park (19,852), Alsip (pop. 19,277), and Chicago Ridge (pop. 14,305). It was founded in 1849, when the county voted to subdivide itself into townships. The township hall is located at 11601 S. Pulaski Road in Alsip. Other township municipalities include

Hometown Hometown, HomeTown, or Home Town may refer to: *A hometown, the town where someone lives or the town that they come from, typically their place of birth. *In developing nations particularly: native place, village of origin in newly urbanized soci ...

and Merrionette Park, as well as portions of

Blue Island Blue Island is a city in Cook County, Illinois, located approximately south of Chicago's Loop. Blue Island is adjacent to the city of Chicago and shares its northern boundary with that city's Morgan Park neighborhood. The population was 22,558 ...

, Crestwood, Worth, Palos Heights, Robbins and Bridgeview. Worth Township's approximate borders are

Harlem Avenue Harlem Avenue is a major north–south street located in Chicago and its west, southwest, and northwest suburbs. It stretches from Glenview Road in Glenview to the intersection of East South Street and South Drecksler Road in Peotone, where ...

(

Illinois Route 43 Illinois Route 43 (IL 43) is a major north–south state highway in the U.S. state of Illinois. It runs from U.S. Route 30 (US 30) in Frankfort north to the large intersection of IL 120 (Belvidere Road) and US 41 (Skokie Highway) in ...

) on the west, 87th Street on the north, Western Avenue on the east and 135th Street on the south. The township, however, does not include the parts of the city of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

(namely, zip code 60655, which is mostly the Mount Greenwood neighborhood) that lie within these boundaries. Near its southern boundary, the township is crossed by the

Cal-Sag Channel The Calumet River is a system of heavily industrialized rivers and canals in the region between the south side of Chicago, Illinois, and the city of Gary, Indiana. Historically, the Little Calumet River and the Grand Calumet River were one, the ...

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, Worth Township covers an area of ; of this, (98.83 percent) is land and (1.17 percent) is water. The township covers and holds 62,042 dwellings as of the 2010 census. The population is 79.6% White (71.3% White Non-Hispanic), 9.9% Black, 0.3% American Indian or Alaska Native, 1.7% Asian, 0.05% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 6.2% some other race, and 2.2% two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race made up 15.7% of the population.

Borders

Worth Township is bordered on the north by Stickney Township and the Chicago community of

Ashburn __NOTOC__ Ashburn may refer to: Places Canada *Ashburn, Ontario United States *Ashburn, Georgia *Ashburn, Chicago, Illinois, a community area **Ashburn (Metra), a Metra station serving the area * Ashburn, Missouri * Ashburn, Virginia, an unincorpo ...

, on the west by Palos Township, on the south by Bremen Township, and on the east by Calumet Township and the Chicago communities of Beverly, Mount Greenwood and Morgan Park.

Cities, towns, villages

* Alsip *

(approximately 40% of the city, northwest of 135th Street and Western Avenue) * Bridgeview (approximately one-half square mile, east of Harlem Avenue) *

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

(Beverly Country Club, Mount Greenwood and Mount Hope Cemeteries) * Chicago Ridge * Crestwood (nearly half the village, north of 135th Street) * Evergreen Park *

* Merrionette Park * Oak Lawn * Palos Heights (half the city, east of Harlem) * Robbins (one quarter of the village, north of 135th Street) * Worth (two thirds of the village, east of Harlem) The south edge of the city of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

is within this township geographically but is a separate entity, with exception of two cemeteries and a golf course.

Unicorporated Town

* Wireton at

Adjacent townships

* Stickney Township (north) * Calumet Township (east) * Thornton Township (southeast) * Bremen Township (south) * Orland Township (southwest) * Palos Township (west) * Lyons Township (northwest)

Cemeteries

The township contains these fifteen cemeteries: Beverly Memorial Park,

Burr Oak Cemetery Burr Oak Cemetery is a cemetery located in Alsip, Illinois, United States, a suburb southwest of Chicago, Illinois. Established in 1927, Burr Oak was one of the few early Chicago cemeteries focused on the needs of the African-American community, ...

, Chapel Hills Gardens South, Ever Rest (historical), Evergreen, First Evangelical Lutheran, Hazel Green, Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Lincoln Cemetery, Mount Greenwood, Mount Hope, Oak Hill,

Restvale Cemetery Restvale Cemetery open 1927 is located at 11700 S. Laramie Ave. in Alsip, Illinois, United States, a suburb southwest of the city of Chicago. A number of Chicago blues musicians, educators, and notable people are buried here. Restvale and Burr ...

, Saint Benedict Catholic and Saint Mary's.

Major highways

* Interstate 294 *

U.S. Route 12 U.S. Route 12 (US 12) is an east–west United States Numbered Highways, United States highway, running from Aberdeen, Washington, to Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, for almost . The highway has mostly been superseded by Interstate 90 (I-90) an ...

U.S. Route 20 U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. S ...

Illinois Route 50 Illinois Route 50 (IL 50) is a north–south state road in northeastern Illinois. It runs from the junction with U.S. Route 45 (US 45) and U.S. Route 52 (US 52) in West Kankakee north to US 41 in Skokie. In Chicago and the sub ...

Illinois Route 83 Illinois Route 83 (IL 83) is a major north–south state highway in northeast Illinois. It stretches from U.S. Route 30 (US 30, Lincoln Highway) by Lynwood and Dyer, Indiana, north to the Wisconsin border by Antioch at Wisconsin High ...

Airports and landing strips

* Alsip Fire Department Heliport * Christ Hospital Heliport

Landmarks

* Burr Oak Woods (

Cook County Forest Preserves The Forest Preserve District of Cook County is a governmental commission in Cook County, Illinois, that owns and manages a network of open spaces, containing forest, prairie, wetland, streams, and lakes, that are mostly set aside as natural areas ...

) (east half) * Elizabeth A Conkey Forest (Cook County Forest Preserves) * Joshua P. Young House

Demographics

Governance

Worth Township is governed by 8 elected officials, chosen every four years. The current administration is: *Supervisor Patricia Joan Murphy *Clerk Eamon McMahon *Assessor Shaun Murphy *Trustee Richard Lewandowski *Trustee Kelly Sexton-Kelly *Trustee Jerry Hurckes *Trustee Mychal Toscas *Highway Commissioner Vicky Moody

Education

Worth Township is served by three public high school districts:

Community High School District 218 The Community High School District 218 is a public high school district with offices in Oak Lawn, Illinois. As of 2017–18, there are 5,405 students enrolled in three high schools and an alternative high school. The district also owns two lear ...

( Dwight D. Eisenhower High School, Harold L. Richards High School and

Alan B. Shepard High School Alan B. Shepard High School is a public secondary school located in Palos Heights, Illinois, It is a southwest suburb of Chicago. The school, along with Dwight D. Eisenhower High School and Harold L. Richards High School are part of Community ...

Oak Lawn Community High School District 229 An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

and

Evergreen Park Community High School District 231 Evergreen Park Community High School, is a public high school located in Evergreen Park, Illinois southwest of Chicago. The high school has about 950 students in grades 9–12. Students originate from the Evergreen Park Elementary School District ...

. *

Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the third-largest school district in the United States, after New York and Los Angeles. ...

(some students)

Trinity Christian College Trinity Christian College is a private Christian college in Palos Heights, Illinois. It was founded in 1959 by a group of Chicago businessmen who wanted to establish a college providing students with a Christian higher education in a Reformed ...

is located in Worth Township, in Palos Heights.

Political districts

Illinois's 1st congressional district Illinois's first congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Illinois. Based in Cook County, the district includes much of the South Side of Chicago, and continues southwest to Joliet. From 2003 to early 2013 it ext ...

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 ...

* State House District 27 * State House District 28 * State House District 31 * State House District 35 * State House District 36 * State Senate District 14 * State Senate District 16 * State Senate District 18

Record pension

In 2002, Lawrence Hupe, the Worth Township school treasurer, retired with one of the largest government pensions in Illinois after receiving annual bonuses exceeding 25% of his salary in the last five years of his 25-year service. At $153,835, Hupe's pension exceeded the state governor's salary. His employer, the Worth Township Board of School Trustees, reported to the

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund The Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (or IMRF) is the second largest and best-funded public pension system in Illinois. Since 1941, has partnered with local units of government to provide retirement, disability and death benefits for public empl ...

that Hupe took home an extra $302,000 above his salary between 1998 and 2002. Hupe claimed that the additional payments were in lieu of unused annual leave. Hupe's successor was paid a salary of $87,500, just 57% of Hupe's pension.Tim Novak
"Mystery cash eases retirement"
''Chicago Sun-Times'', April 9, 2003.

References

*

United States National Atlas

External links

Worth Township official website

Township Officials of Illinois

Cook County official site
{{authority control Townships in Cook County, Illinois Townships in Illinois 1849 establishments in Illinois