North Chicago, Illinois
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
North Chicago is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 35,918 at the 2000 census.
North Chicago has the manufacturing headquarters of Abbott Laboratories, EMCO Chemicals, the location of the Naval Station Great Lakes, and Jelly Belly has a production factory in North Chicago at 1501 Morrow Avenue.
The city is also home to Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, which houses the Chicago Medical School and the Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine.
Contents |
[edit] Geography
North Chicago is located at (42.322272, -87.854470).GR1
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 20.3 km² (7.8 mi²). 20.3 km² (7.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.13% is water.
The city is picturesquely situated on Lake Michigan. Most of its territory drains directly to the Lake, but the western region drains to the North Branch of the Chicago River, and ultimately, since the engineering projects of the 19th century, to the Illinois and thence to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico.
North Chicago includes a Lake County Forest Preserve unit, the Greenbelt.
North Chicago is served by the RTA Metra commuter rail system, with a stop on the Chicago - Kenosha Union Pacific line around the lattitude of 17th Street, just east of Sheridan Road.
[edit] History
Land speculators moved into the area south of what is now the City of Waukegan in the 1890s. Industrial development began almost immediately with a railroad depot being set up in 1892; most notable was the arrival of the Washburn and Moen Manufacturing Company, a major barbed wire maker.
The settlement was incorporated as a village in 1895 and as a city in 1901. In 1911, a naval training area one thousand miles from salt water was created, the present Great Lakes Naval Training Center, currently the only "boot camp" for Navy enlisted personnel after the closure of facilities in Florida and California.
A Veteran's Administration hospital went into service in 1926. This facility was also threatened with closure in recent years, but has been retained on condition of merger with the Naval Hospital.
Historically, North Chicago was known for large populations of Eastern European immigrants. With the onset of the "Great Migration", large numbers of African Americans arrived in the city from states such as Arkansas and Alabama, and, toward the end of the 20th Century, became the best known demographic group. Latterly, Latinos have arrived in significant numbers, particularly from Mexico, and now form a notable group in the city, just as they do in Waukegan to the north. It is possible that North Chicago has over time been the most diverse and multicultural municipality in Lake County.
At one time, Navy personnel were a major part of the scene in North Chicago, both the "swabbies" (enlisted men) and the officers. Now, with the degeneration and outright demolition of much of "the Strip", or entertainment district along several blocks of Sheridan Road, sailors are rarely seen north of the railroad trestle. There is still a barroom and a few other businesses catering to Navy personnel just north of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, but these too are slated for demolition, in the framework of a new development project involving TIF financing.
Recent years have seen relentless de-industrialization and consequent loss of jobs. Though they live in what is one of the poorest cities in Chicagoland, North Chicago citizens bear an unusually heavy residential tax burden, due to the gross reductions in industrial and other business activity, along with the nontaxable status of the Navy base and the VA hospital. Alas, even the Jelly Belly factory, North Chicago's only tourist draw, has departed for Kenosha, Wisconsin.
[edit] Famous personages
There were for years persistent rumors that jazz pianist and popular singer Nat King Cole lived in or at least performed in North Chicago. There is no evidence for either supposition. It is true that his father, Rev. Cole, was a respected minister and community leader in the city for years. Latterly, Bette Thomas has become the City's best known citizen, famed for her activities as social critic, activist, alderman, talk show host (on the cable program, "Tell it like it is") and notably, from 2001 to 2005, The first African American Female Mayor of North Chicago. Jerry Johnson was also a noted mayor of the city during the 1990s. Bobby Thompson, the predecessor of Bette Thomas, was the first African American mayor.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 35,918 people, 7,661 households, and 5,577 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,771.1/km² (4,586.3/mi²). There were 8,377 housing units at an average density of 413.1/km² (1,069.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 47.72% White, 36.26% African American, 0.84% Native American, 3.59% Asian, 0.15% Pacific Islander, 7.66% from other races, and 3.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.24% of the population.
There were 7,661 households out of which 46.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.5% were married couples living together, 18.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.2% were non-families. 21.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.09 and the average family size was 3.64.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 34.7% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 9.2% from 45 to 64, and 4.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females there were 156.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 176.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $38,180, and the median income for a family was $40,485. Males had a median income of $24,480 versus $23,736 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,564. About 12.0% of families and 15.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.3% of those under age 18 and 15.4% of those age 65 or over.
It should be borne in mind, when drawing conclusions from these numbers, that North Chicago census figures include the Great Lakes Naval Training Center, which is to some degree a separate sociological unit from the rest of the city.
[edit] Sources
"North Chicago", by Charles M Leeks and Mary L. Robinson, in: Local Community Fact Book : Chicago Metropolitan Area (1990). Chicago : The Chicago Fact Book Consortium, Dept of Sociology, University of Illinois at Chicago, c1995.
"North Chicago, IL", by Wallace Best, in: The Encyclopedia of Chicago. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, c2004.
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- City of North Chicago
- North Chicago entry from the Encyclopedia of Chicago
|
|
||
|---|---|---|
| Central City | Chicago |  |
| Largest cities (over 30,000 in 2000) | Aurora • Berwyn • Bolingbrook •Calumet City • Chicago Heights • Crystal Lake • DeKalb • Des Plaines • East Chicago • Elgin • Elmhurst • Evanston • Gary • Hammond • Harvey • Highland Park • Joliet • Kenosha • Naperville • North Chicago • Park Ridge • Portage • Waukegan • Wheaton |
|
| Largest towns and villages (over 30,000 in 2000) | Addison • Arlington Heights • Bartlett • Bolingbrook • Buffalo Grove • Carol Stream • Carpentersville • Cicero • Downers Grove • Elk Grove Village • Glendale Heights • Glenview • Hanover Park • Hoffman Estates • Lombard • Merrillville • Mount Prospect • Mundelein • Niles • Northbrook • Oak Lawn • Oak Park • Orland Park • Palatine • Schaumburg • Skokie • Streamwood • Tinley Park • Wheeling • Woodridge | |
| Counties | Cook • DeKalb • DuPage • Grundy • Jasper • Kane • Kankakee • Kendall • Kenosha • Lake (Illinois) • Lake (Indiana) • LaPorte • McHenry • Newton • Porter • Will | |
