Evergreen Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 20,821 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Evergreen Park is located at (41.719933, -87.702499). The suburb is surrounded by the city of Chicago on three of its sides, while Oak Lawn and Hometown border it on the west. Chicago's Ashburn community is to its north, Beverly is to its east, and Mount Greenwood is to its south.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 3.2 square miles (8.2 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2007, there were 25,044 people, 8,010 households, and 8,059 families residing in the village. The population density was 2,536.0/km² (6,560.0/mi²). There were 9,917 housing units at an average density of 927.7/km² (2,399.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 83.41% White, 13.59% African American, 0.14% Native American, 1.23% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.24% from other races, and 1.16% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.37% of the population.

There were 7,471 households out of which 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% were married couples living together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.0% were non-families. 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.35.

In the village the population was spread out with 27.6% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 90.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $53,514, and the median income for a family was $64,766. Males had a median income of $46,691 versus $31,552 for females. The per capita income for the village was $23,038. About 2.4% of families and 4.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.4% of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over.

Government and Politics

Evergreen Park is in Illinois' 1st congressional district, and its congressman is Democrat Bobby Rush. Evergreen Park leans moderately Democratic as John Kerry beat George W. Bush here 55.77% to 43.40% in 2004. This is slightly more Democratic than in 2000 when Bush lost to Al Gore 51.13% to 45.60% in the village. The most Republican area of the village is the Southwest quadrant which went for Bush both years (in 2000 Bush won 51.29% to 45.24%, and in 2004, Bush won 49.91% to 49.31%.) Evergreen Park has had a history of supporting moderate to conservative Democrats and many Evergreen Parkers are also considered Reagan Democrats.

Notable people of Evergreen Park, Illinois

• Bill Dwyer, comedian and game show host
• Wayne Huizenga, former CEO of Blockbuster; founder of AutoNation, the Florida Marlins, and the Florida Panthers; owner of the Miami Dolphins and Dolphin Stadium; born and raised in Evergreen Park
• Patrick Elwood, a news anchor on Fox affiliate WFLD, resides in Evergreen Park
• Tom Gorzelanny, pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates went to Marist
• Ted Kaczynski, better known as the Unabomber, graduated from Evergreen Park High School
• Kevin Sullivan, White House Communications Director, was born and raised in Evergreen Park
• Donn Pall, former Major League pitcher (1988-98, White Sox and more) was raised in Evergreen Park
• Ed Farmer, former Major League pitcher (1971-83) and current White Sox radio announcer, was born and raised in Evergreen Park
• Janet Lynn, figure skater, was born in Evergreen Park before moving to Rockford, IL
• Joe Kovar,Cast Member of MTV's The Real World: Hollywood.
• Frank E. Lee, DJ on 93.1FM WXRT a well-known Chicago radio station
• Chris Chelios, professional hockey player attended Central Junior High School and Southeast Elementary School
• Brad Guzan, soccer player with Aston Villa and U.S. international.
• Fuzz, former bassist of the band Disturbed attended Evergreen Park high School
• Patrick McGann, drafted by the Dallas Stars in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft 223rd overall
• Mary Sims, 2012 Olympics, attends Evergreen Park high School where she dominates a t the sport of Badmitton. Enemies include: Charlotte Murphy.

Schools

• Most Holy Redeemer
• St. Bernadette
• Northeast Elementary
• Northwest Elementary
• Southeast Elementary
• Southwest Elementary
• Central Junior High
• Evergreen Park Community High School
• Queen of Martyrs

References

Inside Edge: A Revealing Journey into the Secret World of Figure Skating. Christine Brennan. Anchor Books, 1997. home of the great Bill Quinlan

External links

Village of Evergreen Park Homepage