Steger is a village in

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40 percent of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. ...

and

Will County, Illinois Will County is a county in the northeastern part of the state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 696,355, an increase of 2.8% from 677,560 in 2010, making it Illinois's fourth-most populous county. The county sea ...

, United States. It is south 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 ...

and had a population of 9,584 at the 2020 census.

History

The settlement was founded in 1891 by

real estate interests and initially named Columbia Heights in honor of the 1893

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...

which the City of Chicago had been preparing to host since 1889. John Valentine Steger built a piano factory there on a parcel of land south of

Chicago Heights Chicago Heights is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 27,480 at the 2020 census. A south suburb of Chicago, it is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. Its nicknames include "The Crossroads of the Nation" and ...

that was sited immediately west of the

Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad The Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago, Illinois, Chicago to southern Illinois, St. Louis, Missouri, St. Louis, and Evansville, Indiana, Evansville. Founded in 1877, it grew aggressively and staye ...

tracks and bordered by the tracks, Vincennes Avenue (now

Chicago Road Chicago is the 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 census, it is the third-most populous city in the United States after New York City and Los ...

) and 33rd and 34th Streets. By 1904, the factory covered and had a capacity of sixteen thousand pianos per year. Steger was incorporated in 1896 with 324 residents, at which time John Steger agreed to pay $400 toward incorporation costs with the understanding that the town would change its name to Steger, and he subsequently served two terms as the village's board president. He avoided the issues that had plagued

George Pullman George Mortimer Pullman (March 3, 1831 – October 19, 1897) was an American engineer and industrialist. He designed and manufactured the Pullman (car or coach), Pullman sleeping car and founded a Pullman, Chicago, company town in Chicago for t ...

in his "model town" by encouraging private home ownership and commerce. By 1920, Steger was called the "piano capital of the world", producing more than a hundred pianos a day. After demand diminished for pianos, the plant closed in 1928.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Steger has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 9,584 people, 4,014 households, and 2,351 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 4,293 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 51.93%

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 ...

, 26.46%

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 ...

, 0.53% Native American, 0.81% Asian, 0.03%

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 ...

, 9.46% from other races, and 10.77% 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 21.23% of the population. There were 4,014 households, out of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.21% were married couples living together, 13.23% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.43% were non-families. 34.98% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.75% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.07 and the average family size was 2.31. The village's age distribution consisted of 22.1% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 24% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 117.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 112.1 males. The median income for a household in the village was $49,492, and the median income for a family was $67,639. Males had a median income of $48,100 versus $29,272 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 $26,564. About 8.4% of families and 12.9% 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 18.0% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

Parks and recreation

Steger has two main parks: Harold Hecht (Fireman's) Park and Veteran's Park.

Government

Steger is divided between two congressional districts. The area in Cook County is in

Illinois's 2nd congressional district Illinois's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Illinois. It stretches south from Chicago's Kenwood community area through portions of the city's South Side and southern suburbs, extending into several m ...

, while the area in Will County is in the 11th district.

Transportation

Pace provides bus service on Route 358 connecting Steger to downtown Chicago Heights and other destinations. Steger is a planned stop on Metra's SouthEast Service, which has been unserved by commuter rail since 1935.

Notable people

Terry Boers Terry is a unisex diminutive nickname for the given names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence, Terrance (masculine). People Male * Terry A. Canales, American politician * Terry A. Doughty (born 1959), American district judge * Terry A. ...

, sports columnist and talk show host *

Luke Butkus Lucas J. Butkus (born June 26, 1979) is an American football coach and former center who is the offensive line coach for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an assistant coach for the Illinois Fig ...

, assistant coach for NFL's

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

and

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 ...

* Flora Ciarlo, Illinois state legislator *

Mike Downey Mike Downey may refer to: * Mike Downey (columnist) (1951–2024), American newspaper columnist * Mike Downey (producer) (fl. 1980s–2020s), Irish-British film producer See also * Mike Downie (fl. 1990s–2020s), Canadian documentary filmm ...

, Los Angeles and Chicago newspaper columnist *

Debbie Halvorson Deborah L. Halvorson (born March 1, 1958) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2009 until 2011. Previously, she served in the Illinois Senate from 1997 through 2009. She is a member of the Democratic Party. ...

, former United States Congresswoman * John Holecek, linebacker for NFL's

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

and

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

Notes

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in Cook County, Illinois Villages in Will County, Illinois Chicago metropolitan area Populated places established in 1896 1896 establishments in Illinois Majority-minority cities and towns in Cook County, Illinois Majority-minority cities and towns in Will County, Illinois Villages in Illinois