McCook 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, 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 ...

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 ...

. 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 and a former

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

officer. McCook station was served by the railroad in the town. The

Outlaws Motorcycle Club The Outlaws Motorcycle Club, Incorporation (business), incorporated as the American Outlaws Association or its acronym, A.O.A., is an international outlaw motorcycle club. Founded in McCook, Illinois in 1935, the Outlaws MC is the oldest outlaw ...

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 plant. In 1995, the former Universal Oil Products Riverside Laboratory in McCook was awarded with National Historic Chemical Landmark 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, resulting in a large

tax A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...

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 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 ...

, 1.20% Asian, 10.44% from other races, and 24.10% 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 36.55% of the population. There were 107 households, out of which 41.1% 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 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 $28,757. 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 ...

, 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.

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 of Vulcan Materials Company McCook Quarry, UOP, and the

Electro-Motive Diesel Electro-Motive Diesel (abbreviated EMD) is a brand of diesel-electric locomotives, locomotive products and diesel engines for the rail industry. Formerly a division of General Motors, EMD has been owned by Progress Rail since 2010. Electro-Motive ...

(EMD) railroad

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

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 General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

moved all final-assembly operations to

London, Ontario London 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 (Ontario), Thames River and N ...

. 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 and J. Sterling Morton High School District 201's Morton West High School located in Berwyn. Another part of McCook is served by Lyons Township High School in Western Springs/LaGrange.

Transportation

Pace provides bus service on Route 330 connecting McCook to destinations across the region.

References

{{authority control Villages in Cook County, Illinois Chicago metropolitan area Villages in Illinois