Mokena ( ) is a village in Will County,

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 ...

, United States. It is a southwest suburb 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 ...

. The population was 19,887 at the 2020 census. The Census Bureau's 2019 estimate found that the population had increased to 20,159.

Etymology

Mokena is a name apparently derived from a Native American language meaning "mud turtle". While the particular language from which the name originates is not documented, likely candidates are

Anishinaabemowin Ojibwe ( ), also known as Ojibwa ( ), Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an indigenous language of North America of the Algon ...

, whose word for "snapping turtle" is ''mikinaak'', and its close sister language

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, ...

, in which the same animal is called ''mkenak''. Both languages were once spoken in the area now occupied by the town. Mokena is located at . According to the 2010 census, Mokena has an area of , of which (or 99.97%) is land and (or 0.03%) is water. It is bordered by

Tinley Park Tinley Park is a village in Cook and Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 55,971 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb in the Chicago metropolitan area. History 19th century Modern settlement of the area now known as Ti ...

to the northeast, Orland Park to the north, Homer Glen to the northwest, Frankfort to the south and New Lenox to the west.

Education

Elementary school services are provided by one of four school districts: Mokena School District 159, New Lenox School District 122, Frankfort School District 157C, and Summit Hill School District 161. Schools within District 159 include MES (Mokena Elementary School), MIS (Mokena Intermediate School), and MJHS (Mokena Junior High School). Mokena is served by Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210; students living in districts 159 or 122 attend Lincoln-Way Central High School, and students living in districts 157C or 161 attend

Lincoln-Way East High School Lincoln-Way East High School or LWE, is a four-year public high school located approximately three miles south of Interstate 80 near the intersection of Colorado Avenue, U.S. Route 45 ( La Grange Road) and U.S. Route 30 (Lincoln Highway) in Fran ...

. Higher education is provided at Joliet Junior College, the nation's first public community college, and at Rasmussen College.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2020, there were 19,887 people residing in the village. The racial makeup of the village was 87.1%

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 ...

, 1.7%

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 ...

, 0.01% Native American, 2.0% Asian, 0.01%

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 ...

, 0.9% from other races, and 2.4% 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 6.6% of the population. As of the

of 2010, there were 18,740 people, 6,358 households, and 5,120 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 4,848 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 94.5%

, 1.3%

, 0.01% Native American, 2.0% Asian, 0.01%

, 0.9% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 4.8% of the population. As of the

of 2000, there were 4,703 households, out of which 48.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.8% were non-families. 14.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.10 and the average family size was 3.46. In the village, the population was spread out, with 32.4% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 6.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males. The median family income is $82,596 and the median income for a household is $91,817. Males had a median income of $58,226 versus $31,522 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 $31,944. As of 2008, the median house value was $350,130, up from $211,300 in 2000. About 0.7% of families and 1.0% 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 0.6% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

The Village of Mokena is serviced by the

Metra Metra is the primary commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 243 train station, stati ...

rail service

Rock Island District The Rock Island District (RI) is a Metra commuter rail line from Chicago, Illinois, southwest to Joliet. Metra does not refer to its lines by color, but the timetable accents for the Rock Island District line are "Rocket Red" in honor of the Ch ...

. Mokena has two commuter rail stations, Hickory Creek and Front Street, providing service to downtown

LaSalle Street Station LaSalle Street Station is a commuter rail terminal at 414 South LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago. First used as a rail terminal in 1852, it was a major intercity rail terminal for the New York Central Railroad until 1968, and for the Chicago ...

, connecting with components of the

Chicago Transit Authority The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of public transport, mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago "L" and List of Chicago Transit Authority bus routes, CTA bu ...

. Mokena is also served by

I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...

, which runs along its northern border. Through

commuters have convenient access to I-355 (Veteran's Memorial Tollway) and

I-57 Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway that exists in two segments. It runs through Arkansas, Missouri, and Illinois. I-57 parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route north of I-55. The Interstate ...

. The main north–south thoroughfares are US Route 45 (LaGrange Rd) and Wolf Rd. The main east–west thoroughfares are 191st St, LaPorte Rd., and US Route 30 (

Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is one of the first transcontinental highways in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated Octob ...

). Rail freight traffic travels along both the Metra RI District Railway (Metra RI) and the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

(CN). The CN tracks run east/west along Mokena's southern boundary, while the Metra Rock Island District (Metra) tracks approximately bisect the town in a northeastern/southwestern direction.

Notable people

* Dean Anna, MLB player; born in Mokena * James Augustine, former

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

and NBA player * Terry Boers, sports radio host and

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 ...

columnist *

Exene Cervenka Exene Cervenka (born Christene Lee Cervenka; February 1, 1956) is an American singer, artist, and poet. She is best known for her work as a singer in the California punk rock band X. Music career The 21-year-old Cervenka met 23-year-old m ...

, singer and writer; grew up in Mokena *

Karla DeVito Karla DeVito (born May 29, 1953) is an American singer and actress. Early life and education DeVito was born in Mokena, Illinois. She attended Willow Crest Grade School in Mokena and Lincoln-Way High School in New Lenox. She attended Loyola U ...

, actress, voice actress, and singer; born in Mokena *

Clay Guida Clayton Charles Guida (; born December 8, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial artist, who competed in the UFC in the Lightweight division. A professional since 2003, Guida also formerly competed for Strikeforce, the WEC, King of the ...

, mixed martial artist, Jason's brother * Jason Guida, mixed martial artist, Clay's brother * Don C. Hall, state actor and Wisconsin state legislator; lived in Mokena *

Ron Kittle Ronald Dale Kittle (born January 5, 1958) is an American former left fielder and designated hitter in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was known for his home run hitting power, and was named the 1983 Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award ...

, former MLB player, lives in Mokena * Denise Richards, model and actress, lived in Mokena * Bob Strait, racing driver; born in Mokena

References

External links

Mokena official websiteMokena School District 159Frankfort School District 157CSummit Hill School District 161Wikimapia Contributions
{{authority control Villages in Will County, Illinois Populated places established in 1880 1880 establishments in Illinois Villages in Illinois