West Chicago, affectionately known as "Little Mexico", is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 23,469 at the 2000 census. It was formerly named Turner Junction after its founder, John B. Turner, president of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad (G&CU) in 1855. The town was initially established around the first junction of railroad lines in Illinois, and today is still served by the Metra service via West Chicago station.

Geography

West Chicago is located at (41.888378, -88.209659).

According the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.8 square miles (35.8 km²), all of it land.

History

In the 1990s, the city received a scare due to the Kerr-McGee chemical-waste-dumping scandal. It was feared potentially harmful waste was dumped near West Chicago's Reed-Keppler Park. Kerr-McGee was found guilty and settled with the city, cleaning up the waste.

Jel Sert locally produces Wyler's and FlavorAid in West Chicago.

The movie Reach the Rock, written by John Hughes, was filmed in downtown West Chicago in 1998.

The city has undergone a massive face-lift since 2001, especially in the downtown area, the corner of Route 59 and Main Street, and Route 59 and North Ave.

West Chicago Police have the second largest Gang Task Force in DuPage County, next to Aurora.

Schools

The city of West Chicago has two high schools -- one public school, West Chicago Community High School, and one private, Wheaton Academy. There are nine elementary schools (one private, eight public) and two middle schools [one being West Chicago Middle School (WCMS)] within the city. The West Chicago Wildcats is the name of the WCCHS teams, and their top sports are Girls Basketball, Boys Volleyball, Boys and Girls Soccer, Boys Cross Country, and Boys Hockey.

Points of Interest

• Kline Creek Farm
• 
• Tastee Freeze is in downtown West Chicago
• In 2007-2008, the boys varsity basketball team coached by Kevin Gimre, went a school record 1-26
• Pizza Now is in West Chicago with a large 14" pizza for $5 everyday

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 23,469 people, 6,379 households, and 5,230 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,695.9 people per square mile (654.7/km²). There were 6,567 housing units at an average density of 474.5/sq mi (183.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 77.85% White, 1.68% African American, 0.36% Native American, 1.95% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 15.11% from other races, and 3.01% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 48.60% of the population.

There were 6,379 households out of which 48.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.3% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.0% were non-families. 12.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.64 and the average family size was 3.91.

In the city the population was spread out with 31.6% under the age of 18, 13.4% from 18 to 24, 34.6% from 25 to 44, 15.8% from 45 to 64, and 4.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 114.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 117.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $63,424, and the median income for a family was $65,744. Males had a median income of $39,723 versus $27,285 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,287, the lowest in DuPage County. About 6.8% of families and 9.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.5% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

• Official West Chicago Web Site
• West Chicago Community High School Web Site
• Encyclopedia of Chicago History
• WegoWeb, Micro-Gateway for the City of West Chicago
• West Chicago Message Board
• High Lake Homeowners Assoc., Including History of High Lake and West Chicago Area