Elk Grove Village is a village in

Cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (profession), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * C ...

and DuPage counties in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. Per the 2020 census, the population was 32,812. Located northwest of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

along the Golden Corridor, the Village of Elk Grove Village was incorporated on July 17, 1956. It is directly adjacent to

O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the primary international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, Loop business district. The airport is ope ...

and is economically important to the

Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities. ...

due to its large industrial park, located on the eastern border of the village. The community is served by several

Interstate highways The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National H ...

including

I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

, I-290/ I-355/ Route 53, and IL-390. Elk Grove is also expected to be served by the I-490 Western O'Hare Bypass upon completion of the project.

History

Pre-colonial and colonial eras

The land that is now the Village of Elk Grove was controlled by the Miami Confederacy (which contained the Illini and Kickapoo tribes) starting in the early 1680s. The Confederacy was driven from the area by the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

and

Meskwaki The Meskwaki (sometimes spelled Mesquaki), also known by the European exonyms Fox Indians or the Fox, are a Native American people. They have been closely linked to the Sauk people of the same language family. In the Meskwaki language, th ...

in the early 1700s. The French-allied

Potawatomi The Potawatomi (), also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River, and western Great Lakes region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, ...

began to raid and take possession of Northern Illinois in the 1700s. In the late 1700s and early 1800s, the Potawatomi expanded southwards from their territory in Green Bay and westward from their holdings near Detroit, until they controlled in an L-shaped swath of territory from Green Bay to the Illinois River, and from the Mississippi River to the Maumee River. In 1833, the Potawatomi signed the

1833 Treaty of Chicago The 1833 Treaty of Chicago was an agreement between the United States government and the Chippewa, Odawa, and Potawatomi tribes. It required them to cede to the United States government their of land (including reservations) in Illinois, ...

with the United States Government. As a result of the Treaty, the United States was granted control of all land west of Lake Michigan and east of Lake Winnebago in exchange for a tract of land west of the Mississippi. The land that is now Elk Grove was ceded to the U.S. in this treaty, which sparked mass white immigration to the Northern Illinois area. The U.S. Government purchased the land for about 15 cents per acre, and then resold it to white settlers for 1.25 dollars per acre. Aaron Miner, a revolutionary war veteran, moved to what is now in Elk Grove in 1833. He maintained friendly relations with the remaining Potawatomi, who gave him a firebrand. His wife and daughter often baked cookies which they would trade with the Potawatomi for venison and game.

Incorporation and planned community

The village was formally incorporated in 1956 in Elk Grove Township, and was founded as a planned suburban community. The majority of houses were constructed by Centex Corporation. As part of the original planning concept, the village was to be home to separated residential and industrial areas (the latter of which would later become the largest industrial park in the United States). Today, it ranks as the second-highest scoring American industrial park, according to Benchmarkia. Prior to its development as a residential community, it was home to many farmers and their families (mostly German immigrants). Many of the major streets in and around the village are named for these farmers. Busse Farm was the final undeveloped agricultural property in the village, located between Higgins Road and Oakton Street, and was at one time considered as a location for a new

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

stadium, to replace the aging

Soldier Field Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side, Chicago, Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears from the National ...

. In 2018 the land was sold to be developed into the Elk Grove Technology Park. The original boundaries of Elk Grove Village's residential area were Higgins Road ( Illinois Route 72) on the north, State Road (now Arlington Heights Road) on the west, Landmeier Road on the south, and Wildwood Road on the east. The village easily doubled in size during the 1960s. By the end of the decade, most of the land between O'Hare Airport and I-290/IL-53 was developed. As the village expanded to the south and west, new roads, schools, and parks were added to the community. Rupley Elementary was the first school to be constructed in Elk Grove Village. It was named after Ira Rupley, an executive vice president at Centex who helped lead the early development of the village. In the 1970s, the village developed land west of the expressway in Schaumburg Township along with industrial development into Addison Township. New apartment communities were constructed in Elk Grove Village along Tonne Road and Ridge Avenue. These developments have since been sectioned, and some converted to

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...

homes. The village saw continuous residential, commercial, and industrial growth during the 1980s. However, Lively Junior High School was no longer necessary and saw fast-declining enrollment numbers. It was shut down by the school district, leased to Elk Grove Park District, and remodeled to become the Jack E. Claes Pavilion Recreation Facility. School District 59 built administrative offices at the site. In 1982, Elk Grove Village was briefly in the national spotlight with one of the first reported deaths in the Chicago Tylenol murders case with the death of 12-year-old Mary Kellerman, who died after taking a Tylenol capsule that was laced with

potassium cyanide Potassium cyanide is a compound with the formula KCN. It is a colorless salt, similar in appearance to sugar, that is highly soluble in water. Most KCN is used in gold mining, organic synthesis, and electroplating. Smaller applications include ...

. The case led to the development of more stringent FDA regulations around

tamper-evident technology Tamper-evident describes a device or process that makes unauthorized access to the protected object easily detected. Seals, markings, or other techniques may be tamper indicating. Tampering Tampering involves the deliberate altering or adulterat ...

. In the 1990s and 2000s, the village embarked on a series of beautification and redevelopment programs which included the installation of a clock tower at Village Hall, installation of brick-paved crosswalks in residential areas, new landscaping in boulevards and other public lands, and installation of retro-themed street lights. In 2006, Elk Grove Village became one of the first municipalities in Illinois to enact a public

smoking ban Smoking bans, or smoke-free laws, are public policies, including criminal laws and occupational safety and health regulations, that prohibit tobacco smoking in certain spaces. The spaces most commonly affected by smoking bans are indoor employ ...

, and in 2008 became one of the first Chicago suburbs to use

red light camera A red light camera (short for red light running camera ) is a type of traffic enforcement camera that photographs a vehicle that has entered an intersection after the traffic signal controlling the intersection has turned red. By automatically pho ...

s. In June 2010, Elk Grove Village's Municipal Administration and Public Safety Complex was LEED Gold Certified by the US Green Building Council.

Geography

Central Elk Grove Village is located at (42.003178, −87.996418). The geographic confluence point of 42°N and 88°W is also located within the village, on Brantwood Avenue. According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Elk Grove Village has a total area of , of which (or 99.51%) is land and (or 0.49%) is water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 32,812 people, 12,835 households, and 8,870 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 13,945 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 73.30%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 12.04% Asian, 1.89%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.48% Native American, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 4.93% from other races, and 7.34% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino residents of any race were 12.16% of the population. There were 12,835 households, out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.75% were married couples living together, 9.47% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.89% were non-families. 27.71% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.77% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.09 and the average family size was 2.51. The village's age distribution consisted of 20.2% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 28.8% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males. The median income for a household in the village was $85,240, and the median income for a family was $105,398. Males had a median income of $62,607 versus $44,059 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $41,703. About 3.0% of families and 4.0% 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 ...

, including 6.0% of those under age 18 and 3.3% of those age 65 or over.

Religion

The Lutheran Church of the Holy Spirit in Elk Grove Village remains the only church plant still in existence which was planted and pastored by the Rev. Dr. Martin E. Marty. Though Dr. Marty became a founding influence in the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. As of December 31, 2023, it ...

, because the church was planted within the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, it remains a member church of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. Another prominent Pastor there was the Bishop Roger Pittelko of the English District of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. The

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago The Archdiocese of Chicago () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church located in Northeast Illinois, Northeastern Illinois, in the United States. The Vatican erected it as a diocese in 1843 and e ...

operates the area's Catholic churches. On July 1, 2020, St. Julian Eymard Parish and Queen of the Rosary Parish will merge, with the latter having both the combined church and the school.

Economy

Elk Grove Village is home to the largest consolidated business park in North America. There are nearly 3,600 businesses operating in the Village's business park along the western edge of

, employing nearly 100,000 persons. In 2018, the business park became the title sponsor of the Bahamas Bowl

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

bowl game In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games primarily played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. For most of its history, the FBS did not use a playoff tourname ...

, making it officially the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl after the business park's advertising slogan, "Makers Wanted". The Elk Grove business park is home to the largest concentration of manufacturers in the Midwest; the largest concentration of logistic freight companies in the United States, and the second-largest source of manufacturing in Illinois behind only the City of Chicago. The village is home to many large

data center A data center is a building, a dedicated space within a building, or a group of buildings used to house computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunications and storage systems. Since IT operations are crucial for busines ...

s which rely upon the convergence of national fiber optic networks and natural gas lines in Elk Grove, which has other strategic advantages for business including the convergence of national fiber optic cables, national gasoline and oil pipelines, and a virtually unlimited supply of fresh water from

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...

. Elk Grove Village is home to Alexian Brothers Medical Center (ABMC) hospital, which is the largest employer in the community with over 2,200 workers. There are a number of other well-known corporations including Apple Vacations, the American Academy of Pediatrics, Illinois Tool Works (ITW), ADP, CitiGroup, Symons, and Pepsi Cola Distribution. On December 30, 2014, ''Global Trade Magazine'' named Elk Grove Village one of America's best cities for global trade.

Top employers

According to the village's 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the top employers in the village are:

Arts and culture

As the name suggests, Elk Grove Village is home to a small herd of elk kept in a grove at the eastern edge of the Busse Woods forest preserve for which the grove is named. Elk were originally native to the area (and most of the Eastern United States) but had been extirpated by the early 1800s. The tradition of the Elk Grove herd began when elk were brought by train from

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

by an early resident, William Busse, in the 1920s. The elk are currently maintained by the Chicago Zoological Society veterinary staff and the Busse Woods Forest Preserve wildlife biologists. In July 2018, the village, as part of its "Makers Wanted" campaign announced that they would be taking over its naming rights sponsorship of the Bahamas Bowl beginning with its 2018 edition of the bowl.

Education

Areas east of I-290 are served by Elk Grove High School (which is a part of Illinois High School District 214) and Community Consolidated School District 59. Areas west of I-290 are served by James B. Conant High School which is part of Township High School District 211 and Mead Junior High which is part of Community Consolidated School District 54. Queen of the Rosary

Catholic School Catholic schools are Parochial school, parochial pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest parochial schools, religious, no ...

is located in Elk Grove Village and was named by ''

'' magazine in 2014 as one of the top 25 private elementary schools in the Chicago area. Elk Grove Village has many other national and state award-winning schools and instructors.

Media

The area metropolitan newspapers are the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' and the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

''. Elk Grove Village is also served by the '' Daily Herald'' an
Journal & Topics Media Group
publishers of the weekly ''Elk Grove Journal'' and the monthly ''Elk Grove Business Journal''.

Transportation

Pace provides bus service on Route 223 connecting Elk Grove Village to the Rosemont 'L' station and other destinations.

Notable people

* Robert L. Baird, jockey * Jessica Calalang, figure skater, 2020 U.S. Figure Skating Championships silver medalist and 2020 ISU Skate America silver medalist in pair skating *

Billy Corgan William Patrick Corgan Jr. (born March 17, 1967) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and professional wrestling promoter. He is best known as the co-founder, lead guitarist, primary songwriter, singer, and only constant member of alter ...

, lead singer and guitarist for rock band

Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also simply known as Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. ...

* Dave Cullen, author * Dylan Dodd, MLB pitcher * Stephanie Faracy, actress * Sarah Gorden, current National Women's Soccer League player with

Angel City FC Angel City Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Los Angeles, California, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The formation of the team was announced on July 21, 2020; it beg ...

* Kelli Hubly, current National Women's Soccer League player with Bay FC *

James Iha (born March 26, 1968) is an American rock musician. He is best known as a guitarist and co-founder of the alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. He was a member until the band's initial breakup in 2000 and rejoined in 2018. Iha has als ...

, Guitarist for

, and

A Perfect Circle A Perfect Circle is an American Rock music, rock Supergroup (music), supergroup formed in Los Angeles, California in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool (band), Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan. A Perfect Circle released three of their ...

* Steven Kazmierczak, perpetrator of the Northern Illinois University shooting * Jerry B. Jenkins, co-author of the '' Left Behind'' series * Bill Kelly, screenwriter; born and raised in Elk Grove Village *

Irene Kotowicz Irene K. Kotowicz Ike"(December 10, 1919 – January 24, 2002) was an American pitcher and outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 128 lb., she batted and threw right-handed ...

, former

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was a professional women's baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley, which existed from 1943 to 1954. The AAGPBL is the forerunner of women's professional league sports in the Uni ...

player * John Kotz, basketball player on

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

's 1941 NCAA championship team * John Loprieno, actor (''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as ...

'') * John McDonough, former president of the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...

and the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

* Katie Naughton, current National Women's Soccer League player with the

Chicago Red Stars Chicago Stars Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in the Chicago metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). A founding member of the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league as the Chic ...

* Dave Otto, former Major League Baseball player and

and

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

broadcast analyst * Ailyn Pérez, American operatic soprano and the winner of the 2012 Richard Tucker Award * Erin Walter, former USL W-League player

Sister cities

Termini Imerese Termini Imerese (; ) is a town of the Metropolitan City of Palermo on the northern coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is one of the most important towns of the Metropolitan City of Palermo, from which it is 33 km away. The town is easily reachabl ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, Italy

References

* Colby, Nancy, Behnke Kelly. ''Elk Grove Village'' (Images of America: Illinois), Arcadia Publishing (September 29, 2008)

External links

Elk Grove Village official website

(1884) {{authority control Populated places established in 1956 Villages in Cook County, Illinois Chicago metropolitan area Villages in DuPage County, Illinois 1956 establishments in Illinois Villages in Illinois