Lyons, Illinois
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Lyons is a village in
Cook County, Illinois Cook County is the List of counties in Illinois, most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the List of the most populous counties in the United States, second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, C ...
, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 10,817. The Chicago Portage National Historic Site is located in Lyons.


History

Lyons was incorporated in 1888, though activity in the area dates back much further. In 1673 French Explorer Louis Joliet and Jesuit missionary Father Pierre Marquette left
Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the head of Green Bay (Lake Michigan), Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the F ...
, by canoe in search of a western passage to the Pacific. As they traveled into the Spanish-controlled area of
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
, they realized that the mighty
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
drained into the already well-known
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...
. With winter approaching, they headed north as quickly as possible. To save time, the Potawatomi who were with them were encouraged to change their route to the
Illinois River The Illinois River () is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River at approximately in length. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, the river has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins with the confluence of the Des Plaines ...
. The shortcut led to the
Des Plaines River The Des Plaines River ( ) is a river that flows southward for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 through southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois''American H ...
and caused the French travelers to discover “Le Portage.” This half-mile wide area of land connecting the
Chicago River The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of Chicago, including its center (the Chicago Loop). The river is one of the reasons for Chicago's geographic importance: the related Chic ...
and the Des Plaines River, over which they could carry their canoes and supplies, was to become the discovery for which they would both become famous. Later known as the Chicago Portage, this small area became the “Gateway to the West” and was used by thousands of early settlers and traders traveling both east and west. The discovery of “Le Portage” was part of the impetus that led to Chicago becoming a center for world trade. Louis Joliet was the first to propose a canal between the two waterways, which would be constructed around 200 years later in 1848 with the construction of the
Illinois and Michigan Canal The Illinois and Michigan Canal connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. In Illinois, it ran from the Chicago River in Bridgeport, Chicago to the Illinois River at LaSalle-Peru. The canal crossed the Chicago ...
. In time, the part of the I&M Canal that connected the south branch of the Chicago River with the Des Plaines River was replaced with the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, which was completed in 1900. Today, a statue stands in Lyons at the Chicago Portage National Historic Sight just north of Interstate 55 along Harlem Avenue, commemorating this historic National Heritage Corridor which stretches southwest through La Salle, Illinois. From the early 1960s through the late 1980s, Lyons was known for its notorious links to
organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...
. Mayor William Smith, for whom a park was named, was being subjected to a federal corruption investigation when he died from cancer in 1989. During the 1970s and 1980s, the small town was littered with strip clubs and bars along its Ogden Avenue corridor. It was often referred to an area of east Ogden Avenue known as "Driftland", due to the amount of drifters in the area. However, the village changed dramatically in the 1990s, and none of the strip clubs and most licensed bars no longer exist. Lyons continues to thrive and attract businesses and new residents. It is now a quiet residential suburb supported by several grammar schools, a middle school, and a well-maintained park district. Lyons is a working-class area, though much of the nearby manufacturing work has dried up (e.g., Electro-Motive & Reynolds Aluminum) small specialty businesses have emerged. The city has historically been home to a large
Polish American Polish Americans () are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 8.81 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.67% of the U.S. population, ...
community since the turn of the 20th century, which is reflected in three of the town's street names: Pulaski after Revolutionary War hero
Casimir Pulaski Kazimierz Michał Władysław Wiktor Pułaski (; March 4 or 6, 1745 October 11, 1779), anglicised as Casimir Pulaski ( ), was a Polish nobleman, soldier, and military commander who has been called "The Father of American cavalry" or "The So ...
as well as
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
and
Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
. Lyons is the subject of a recently published book by Mark Athitakis, a native of Lyons, detailing the town's rich and colorful history.


Geography

Lyons is located at (41.813258, -87.821812). According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Lyons has a total area of , of which (or 97.05%) is land and (or 2.95%) is water.


Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 10,817 people, 3,651 households, and 2,333 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 4,415 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 50.31%
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 ...
, 4.57%
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 ...
, 1.53% Native American, 1.72% Asian, 0.06%
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 ...
, 22.77% from other races, and 19.03% 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 of any race were 49.81% of the population. There were 3,651 households, out of which 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.29% were married couples living together, 12.08% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.10% were non-families. 32.79% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.04% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.66 and the average family size was 2.82. The village's age distribution consisted of 24.7% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 30% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.4 males. The median income for a household in the village was $66,005, and the median income for a family was $76,892. Males had a median income of $40,936 versus $33,315 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 $28,221. About 6.9% of families and 9.3% 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 10.0% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.


Government

Lyons is in Illinois's 3rd congressional district. The
United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...
operates the Lyons Post Office at 7836 Ogden Avenue.


Transportation

Pace provides bus service on multiple routes connecting Lyons to destinations across the region.


Education

Lyons is served by the Lyons Elementary School District 103, which operates 5 elementary schools, two of which are in Lyons (Costello, and Robinson Elementary Schools). The other 3 schools are Home, Edison (Both in Stickney), and Lincoln, which is in Brookfield. Middle school students attend George Washington Middle School. High school students from Lyons attend J. Sterling Morton West High School, located in Berwyn. Lyons operates the Lyons Public Library at 4209 Joliet Avenue.Home page
" ''Lyons Public Library''. Retrieved on April 17, 2009.


References


External links


Village of LyonsLyons Public Library
{{authority control Villages in Cook County, Illinois Chicago metropolitan area Populated places established in 1888 1888 establishments in Illinois Majority-minority cities and towns in Cook County, Illinois Villages in Illinois