Oak Brook, Illinois

Oak Brook is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, with a very small portion in Cook County. The population was 8,163 at the 2020 census.

A suburb of Chicago, it contains the headquarters of Ace Hardware, Portillo's Restaurants, Blistex, Federal Signal, CenterPoint Properties, Sanford L.P., TreeHouse Foods, Lions Clubs International, the U.S. Census Bureau Chicago regional office, and former headquarters of McDonald's and Ferrara Candy. The Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art moved there in 2019.

History

Oak Brook was originally known as Fullersburg, named after Ben Fuller, an early settler.

Oak Brook was incorporated as a village in 1958, due in large part to the efforts of Paul Butler, a prominent civic leader and landowner whose father had first moved to the vicinity in 1898 and opened a dairy farm shortly thereafter. Prior to incorporation, the name Oak Brook was used by local residents to distinguish their community from neighboring Hinsdale and Elmhurst, going back to the founding of the Oak Brook Civic Association almost two decades earlier.

The original boundaries were smaller than the present extent of the village, but a considerable amount of land was annexed soon after the founding of the village, including the land that is now the site of the Oakbrook Center shopping mall, which opened in 1962.

In 1964 Butler entered a joint venture with the Del E. Webb Corporation of Phoenix, Arizona, to increase development of the area. Webb's construction company constructed dozens of buildings in Oak Brook both commercial and residential. The Webb Corporation's involvement in the development of the village lasted into the late 1970s.

Paul Butler's interest in sport was reflected in the Oak Brook Sports Core, which features polo fields, a golf course (which was at one time the venue for the Western Open), swimming and tennis facilities, and other recreational facilities not commonly found in a village of this size.

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Oak Brook has a total area of , of which (or 96.11%) is land and (or 3.89%) is water.

Oak Brook is located about west of the Chicago Loop (downtown Chicago).

Most of Oak Brook consists of residential subdivisions, with the exception of the Oakbrook Center shopping mall and other retail and office properties along 22nd Street and the Interstate 88 corridor in the northern part of the village.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 8,163 people, 3,029 households, and 2,320 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 3,308 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 57.79% White, 32.84% Asian, 1.85% African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.58% from other races, and 5.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.85% of the population.

There were 3,029 households, out of which 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.19% were married couples living together, 6.54% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.41% were non-families. 22.85% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.02% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.11 and the average family size was 2.63.

The village's age distribution consisted of 19.4% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 15.8% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 35.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 55.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.9 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $140,743, and the median income for a family was $175,500. Males had a median income of $136,125 versus $77,067 for females. The per capita income for the village was $79,838. About 2.0% of families and 4.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.0% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

While many Oak Brook residents commute to jobs scattered throughout the Chicago metropolitan area, Oak Brook is also the home of many corporate offices. The world headquarters of McDonald's Corporation was in Oak Brook from 1971, when McDonald's moved into the Oak Brook facility from an office within the Chicago Loop, until 2018, when it moved back to Chicago. Other corporations include Ace Hardware, Blistex, Crowe Horwath, TreeHouse Foods, Federal Signal, Sanford, CenterPoint Properties, Dantech Information Technology, Hub Group and Follett Higher Education Group. Global non-profit organizations such as Lions Clubs International, and Zonta International are also based in Oak Brook.

The Institute in Basic Life Principles, a controversial Christian sect founded by Bill Gothard, was formerly based in Oak Brook; however, it would sell its facilities and relocate to Texas.

Top employers

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

Government

Education

Public schools

Brook Forest Elementary, and Butler Junior High, are located in Oak Brook; they are administered by Butler School District 53.

Private schools

* Sunshine Montessori of Oakbrook

Infrastructure

Transportation

Oak Brook is served by a network of major federal, state, and county roads, including the Tri-State Tollway (Interstate 294), the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway ( Interstate 88), and the Eisenhower Expressway ( Interstate 290). The commercial corridor is served by Pace bus routes.

Notable people

* Chris Chelios, Stanley Cup-winning defenseman with the Detroit Red Wings, who also played for the Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks, and Atlanta Thrashers
* William J. Cullerton, World War II flying ace, former host of "Great Outdoors" on WGN Radio
* Bill Gothard, founder of Institute In Basic Life Principles, a controversial Christian sect made popular by the Duggar family
* Stan Mikita, Stanley Cup-winning center with the Chicago Blackhawks
* Dick Portillo, founder of the Portillo Restaurant Group
* Ed Rensi, a former CEO of McDonald's
* Frank Thomas, first baseman with several Major League Baseball teams; lived in Oak Brook (1996–2003)
* Ty Warner, founder of toy company Ty
* Doug Wilson, defenseman with the San Jose Sharks
* Frank Calabrese, Sr., made man and caporegime of the Chicago Outfit

References

External links

*
Greater Oak Brook Chamber of Commerce

{{Authority control

1958 establishments in Illinois
Chicago metropolitan area
Populated places established in 1958
Villages in DuPage County, Illinois
Villages in Illinois