Downers Grove, Illinois

Coordinates: 41°47′41″N 88°01′01″W / 41.79472°N 88.01694°W / 41.79472; -88.01694
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Downers Grove, Illinois
Village
Main Street
Main Street
FIPS code
17-20591
GNIS ID2398745
Websitewww.downers.us
[3][4]
"Downers Grove" redirects here. For the novel, see Downers Grove (novel)
.
For the township, see Downers Grove Township, DuPage County, Illinois.

Downers Grove is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1832 by Pierce Downer, whose surname serves as the eponym for the village. Per the 2020 census, the population of the village was 50,247. It is a southwest suburb of Chicago located between I-88 and I-55.

History

Underground railroad

Downers Grove was founded in 1832 by Pierce Downer,

abolitionist families and served as former stops on the Underground Railroad.[9]

The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was extended from Aurora to Chicago through Downers Grove in 1864, boosting its population. The town was incorporated in March 1873. Its somewhat unusual spelling ("Apostrophe-free since 1873") remains a minor historical mystery.

Main article:
Downers Grove train wreck (1947)

In April 1947, the wreck of a Burlington Railroad

Twin Cities Zephyr
passenger train killed three people, including the engineer. The streamliner struck a large tractor which had fallen from a freight train and two passenger cars crashed through a wall of the Main Street Station.

The construction of two major toll roads along the village's northern and western boundaries,

Devry University, FTD, Ambitech Engineering Corp, Dover, Heartland Food Corporation
, and HAVI Global Solutions.

Housing

The housing stock in Downers Grove comprises a mixture; some, generally near the center of town, date from the middle of the 19th century, but housing styles of each succeeding generation are represented. Downers Grove has witnessed one of the highest teardown rates in the Chicago area; small older residences are being demolished and replaced with much larger new houses.[10] Teardowns have been the source of much controversy within the village. Since they occupy much more land than the original houses, rainwater that was originally absorbed by their yards is directed into neighboring yards and streets, resulting in flooding.[11] Concerns have been raised that teardowns reduce affordable housing in the town and promote gentrification.[12]

Geography

Map of the village's boundaries within DuPage County

According to the 2010 census, Downers Grove has a total area of 14.457 square miles (37.44 km2), of which 14.31 square miles (37.06 km2) (or 98.98%) is land and 0.147 square miles (0.38 km2) (or 1.02%) is water.

National Arbor Day Foundation.[16]

Climate

Downers Grove is in a

precipitation, and February the least. The record high for Downers Grove was 105 °F (41 °C) in July 2005, and the record low of −26 °F (−32 °C) was set in January 1985.[17]

Climate data for Downers Grove, Illinois
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 65
(18) 		70
(21) 		85
(29) 		90
(32) 		95
(35) 		103
(39) 		105
(41) 		100
(38) 		100
(38) 		90
(32) 		78
(26) 		70
(21) 		105
(41)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 32
(0) 		38
(3) 		50
(10) 		63
(17) 		75
(24) 		84
(29) 		87
(31) 		85
(29) 		78
(26) 		67
(19) 		50
(10) 		37
(3) 		62
(17)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 14
(−10) 		19
(−7) 		28
(−2) 		38
(3) 		48
(9) 		57
(14) 		63
(17) 		61
(16) 		53
(12) 		42
(6) 		32
(0) 		20
(−7) 		40
(4)
Record low °F (°C) −26
(−32) 		−21
(−29) 		−10
(−23) 		4
(−16) 		25
(−4) 		32
(0) 		41
(5) 		38
(3) 		27
(−3) 		14
(−10) 		−4
(−20) 		−21
(−29) 		−26
(−32)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 1.85
(47) 		1.56
(40) 		2.62
(67) 		3.80
(97) 		3.94
(100) 		3.91
(99) 		3.97
(101) 		4.60
(117) 		3.38
(86) 		2.66
(68) 		3.20
(81) 		2.45
(62) 		37.94
(965)
Source: [17]

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1880586—
189096063.8%
19002,103119.1%
19102,60123.7%
19202,076−20.2%
19302,92340.8%
19409,526225.9%
195010,88614.3%
196018,15466.8%
197028,54457.2%
198036,57228.1%
199046,85828.1%
200048,7244.0%
201047,833−1.8%
202050,2475.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[18]
2018 Estimate[19]

As of the 2020 census,

Latino were 5.0% of the population.[22]

There were 20,115 households, with an average household size of 2.42 and an average family size of 3.09. 53.5% of family households included married couples living together, 16.2% had a male householder with no spouse present, and 26.1% had a female householder with no spouse present. Out of adults in the village, 55.2% were married (not separated), 5.9% were widowed, 9.8% were divorced, 0.7% were separated, and 28.5% were never married.

In the village, 5.9% of the population was under 5 years of age, with 21.5% under the age of 18, and 19.1% were 65 years of age or older. The

median age
was 43.1 years.

According to the 2020 American Community Survey, the Median Household Income in the village was $97,197 (~$112,743 in 2023). The median income for a family was $131,733, while the median income for a non-family household was $45,193. About 5.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.6% of minors under age 18, 5.5% of adults aged 18–64, and 6.0% of seniors age 65 or over. The state of Illinois as a whole, has a $68,428 Median Household Income and a 12.0% poverty rate

Economy

Located 20 miles west of the

State Farm.[23][24]

Downers Grove's retail economy is largely supported by the local section of Ogden Avenue. The stretch of Ogden Avenue through Chicago's western suburbs is particularly known for its automobile dealerships, classic car dealerships, and service centers. Ogden Avenue is also framed by a variety of grocery and convenience stores. Industrial and corporate parks can be found on Ogden's tributaries adjacent to major tollways such as I-355 or I-88.[24][25]

Top employers

According to the Village's 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[26] the top employers in the city are:

# Employer # of Employees
1 Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital 2,500
2 GCA Services 1,500
3 University Subscription Services 1,050
4 Midwestern University 1,000
4 State Farm 1,000
5 Acxiom 800
5 Coventry Health Care 800
6 Adtalem Global Education 700
6 Ambitech Engineering Corp. 700
7 Invesco 600
8 FTD Inc. 500
9 Advocate Health Care 450
10
SAP America, Inc
 425
11 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois 420
12 HAVI Global Solutions, LLC 400
13 Pepperidge Farm 375
14 JPMorgan Chase 300

Arts and culture

Architecture

Downers Grove has 68 confirmed Sears Kit Homes, 11 Harris Brothers, 9 Wardway/Gordon-Van Tine, and 1 Aladdin Kit Home. Source Downers Grove Museum. Sears and Other Kit-Home research.

Tivoli Theatre

The Tivoli Theatre is located in Downers Grove. Built in 1928, with an initial seating capacity of 1,390, The Tivoli was the first theatre in DuPage County to show "talkies".[27] The Tivoli was equipped with an original Wurlitzer theatre organ. Replaced in 1992, the current instrument, dubbed "Opus 942", originally came from the Indian Theatre in East Chicago, Indiana. The Wurlitzer is frequently played during the opening credits of films shown on weekend evenings.[28]

Parks and recreation

Downers Grove contains many parks and forest preserves, including Doerhoefer Park.[29] The 360 acres (150 ha) Hidden Lake Forest Preserve contains a glacier-dug pond that provides boating access to the nearby DuPage River (East Branch).[30]

Lyman Woods, a nature preserve, was originally ranching lands. The 150 acres (61 ha) preserve consists of

oak savannas, prairies, and marshes. The land was purchased by Downers Grove in 1987. The preserve contains over 300 native species of plants and animals; six of which are considered rare in northern Illinois. In 1996, residents of Downers Grove passed the referendum to protect Lyman Woods from residential and commercial development.[31]

Government

Local

The Village of Downers Grove operates under a magisterial

council-manager form of government
. The Village Council is the policy-making body that authorizes a professional manager to oversee the daily operations of the village. The Village Council is composed of the Mayor and six Commissioners elected at-large. In addition to the Municipal Code, which establishes many of the rules and regulations by which the Village operates, the Council has also adopted separate council policies on several matters related to municipal activities.

The Mayor of Downers Grove is Robert T. Barnett. The Commissioners of Downers Grove are Greg Hose, Nicole Walus, Leslie Sadowski-Fugitt, Rich Kulovany, Chris Gilmartin and Danny Glover.[32] The Mayor and Commissioners are elected for four-year terms at odd-year Consolidated General Elections. The terms for Mayor Barnett and Commissioners Walus, Sadowski-Fugitt, and Kulovany expire in May 2023. The terms for Commissioners Hose, Gilmartin, and Glover expire in May 2025.

The elections for Mayor and Commissioners are non-partisan; the candidates' party affiliations do not appear on the ballot, and direct party funding is not traditionally practiced.

State and national

The majority of the Village of Downers Grove is within the

Bill Foster
(Democratic).

The majority of the Village of Downers Grove is within the Illinois Senate 41st Legislative District, which is represented by John Curran (Republican) as of 2023. A portion of northern Downers Grove is within the Illinois Senate 24th Legislative District, which is represented by Suzanne Glowiak (Democratic) as of 2019.

The majority of the Village of Downers Grove is within the Illinois House of Representatives 81st Representative District, which was represented by Ron Sandack (Republican) as of 2015. Sandack abruptly resigned in July 2016 citing issues with social media and "ugly" politics. In August, local Republican officials chose David S. Olsen, previously the mayor pro tem of Downers Grove, as the new Representative of the 81st District. In 2018, newcomer Anne Stava-Murray overcame David S. Olsen in the election with only approximately $30,000 (~$35,860 in 2023). Portions of northern Downers Grove are within the Illinois House of Representatives 47th Representative District, which is represented by Deanne Mazzochi (Republican) and the Illinois House of Representatives 48th Representative District, which is represented by Terra Costa Howard (Democratic).

In 2006, the July 4 parade in Downers Grove featured both of the major Illinois gubernatorial candidates at the time, Judy Baar Topinka (R) and Rod Blagojevich (D).[33]

Education

Downers Grove is home to twelve public elementary schools, two public middle schools and two public high schools,

Lakeview Jr. High School, are part of Center Cass School District 66.[35]
Downers Grove has two Catholic Schools, St. Joseph's and St. Mary's of Gostyn, that enroll students from pre-school through 8th grade. The two high schools in Downers Grove,
North and South, are part of Community High School District 99. They serve the entire community of Downers Grove, the majority of the village of Woodridge, and parts of Westmont, Darien, Lisle, Bolingbrook, Oak Brook
and unincorporated Downers Grove and Lisle Townships.

Good Shepherd Lutheran School is a Christian Pre-K-8 school of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod in Downers Grove.[36]

Downers Grove is home to the Avery Coonley School.[37] Founded in 1906 and in its present location in Downers Grove since 1929, it is a private K-8 school, known for its math and science-oriented teaching as well as its focus on the arts and foreign language.

Downers Grove is also the home of Midwestern University, which trains osteopathic physicians and surgeons, physician assistants, pharmacists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and dentists.

According to the American Community Survey 2010, Downers Grove has one of the nation's most educated citizenry, with 50.7% of individuals over the age of 25 holding bachelor's or advanced degrees; the national average is 27.9%.[38]

Downers Grove Christian School celebrated their 50 year anniversary in 2020 and offers classes for Preschool 2 and 3, Pre-K 4, K-8th Grade. Located next to the Lincoln Center and a ministry of First Baptist Church of Downers Grove.

Infrastructure

Transportation

The main line of the

Ogden Avenue. Downers Grove is served by the Pace Bus Service
, a system of suburban public transportation.

The Grove Commuter Shuttle runs four routes throughout the community to two of the three train stations that are in the village.[39] The shuttle also operates for the RotaryGrove Fest from remote parking lots on the north and south sides of the village located at the respective north and south high schools.

Utilities

Downers Grove drinking water comes from Lake Michigan, via the DuPage Water Commission pipeline, which purchases the water from the City of Chicago Department of Water Management.[40] Its electricity infrastructure is largely maintained by Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd);[41] its natural gas infrastructure was built by Northern Illinois Gas.[42]

Household waste pickup is contracted out by the village to Republic Services, as is yard waste pickup; these are paid for by either household-purchased stickers or rented carts. Curbside recycling is free.

Waste water is treated by the Downers Grove Sanitary District.[43]

Notable people

See also

  • List of towns and villages in Illinois

References

  1. ^ "Village Council". Village of Downers Grove. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  2. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  3. ^ "Village of Downers Grove, Illinois". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  4. ^ "U.S. Census website". Census 2010 Fact Sheet. United States Census Bureau. 2010. Retrieved July 3, 2013.
  5. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 108.
  6. ^ Downer, David Robinson (1900). The Downers of America, with genealogical record. Newark, New Jersey: Baker Printing Co. pp. 191.
  7. ^ "Downers Grove is rich in history – Chicago Tribune". www.chicagotribune.com. February 5, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  8. ^ "Lyman Woods Nature Center History". www.dgparks.org. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  9. ^ "1846 Blodgett House". www.1846blodgetthouse.org. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  10. ^ Teardowns in the News. National Trust for Historic Preservation. Retrieved October 29, 2007. Archived October 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "Downers Grove Coalition for Managed Redevelopment". Archived from the original on September 14, 2017. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  12. ^ 7 candidates, 7 visions for future of village. The Downers Grove Sun, February 15, 2007. Retrieved October 29, 2007. Archived May 15, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ "G001 - Geographic Identifiers - 2010 Census Summary File 1". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  14. ^ "Downers Grove Park District". Archived from the original on February 22, 2013. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  15. ^ "Maple Grove".
  16. ^ "2011 Tree Cities USA Communities in Illinois Updated May, 2012". www.arborday.org. Arbor Day Foundation. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
  17. ^
    The Weather Channel
    . Retrieved August 8, 2007.
  18. ^ United States Census Bureau. "Census of Population and Housing". Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  19. ^ "Population Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  20. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
  21. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Downers Grove village, Illinois". www.census.gov. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
  22. ^ "Downers Grove (village), Illinois". QuickFacts. United States Census Bureau. 2012. Archived from the original on November 24, 2015. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  23. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 21, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  24. ^ a b "Downers Grove, a premier location for corporate headquarters". Choose DuPage. Archived from the original on November 21, 2015. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  25. ^ "Car dealer part of development activity on Ogden Avenue". chicagotribune.com. September 2015. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  26. ^ Village of Downers Grove 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report
  27. ^ "Tivoli Theatre". Downtown Downers Grove Management Corp. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  28. ^ "Tivoli Theatre in Downers Grove, IL - Cinema Treasures". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  29. ^ "Downers Grove Parks". Downers Grove Park District.
  30. ^ "Hidden Lake". www.dupageforest.org. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  31. ^ "Lyman Woods Nature Center". www.dgparks.org. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  32. ^ Grove, Village of Downers. "Mayor & Council | Village of Downers Grove". www.downers.us. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  33. ^ "abc7chicago.com - ABC7 WLS Chicago and Chicago News". ABC7 Chicago. Archived from the original on July 1, 2012.
  34. ^ "Downers Grove District #58 / Homepage".
  35. ^ Center Cass School District 66.
  36. ^ "Good Shepherd Lutheran School - Downers Grove, IL".
  37. ^ The Avery Coonley School Archived June 7, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  38. ^ "Downers Grove (village) QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau". Archived from the original on November 24, 2015. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
  39. ^ "Grove Commuter Shuttle FAQ". Archived from the original on August 9, 2012. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  40. ^ "Village of Downers Grove" (PDF). Downers.us. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 25, 2008. Retrieved September 14, 2009.
  41. ^ Village of Downers Grove. "Utilities". Archived from the original on April 20, 2013. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  42. ^ "Nicor Gas".
  43. ^ "Downers Grove Sanitary District". Dgsd.org. August 7, 2009. Retrieved September 14, 2009.
  44. ^ Reinhardt, Haydn (2008). My Chemical Romance: This Band Will Save Your Life. London: Plexus Publishing.
  45. ^ "Burdi excited for MLB draft | Suburban Life Media". Mysuburbanlife.com. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  46. ^ "About". JBTV Music Television. Archived from the original on August 16, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  47. ^ Thigpen, David (July 12, 2008). "Downer's Grove native Miles Harvey is a master of non-fiction storytelling". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  48. ^ Wayne, Leslie (April 17, 2002). "F. Kenneth Iverson, 76, Dies; Reshaped the Steel Industry". New York Times. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  49. ^ Derocher, Robert (August 26, 1999). "Dupage Native Shoots For Olympics". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  50. ^ "Hospital Apprentice First Class Fred Faulkner Lester, USNR (Deceased)". MCB Quantico: Marine Corps University. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  51. ^ "Player Profile: Eric Lichaj". Aston Villa F. C. 2009. Archived from the original on October 17, 2010. Retrieved October 12, 2009.
  52. ^ "Player Bio: Eric Lichaj". Men's Soccer. North Carolina Tar Heels. 2009. Archived from the original on April 22, 2009. Retrieved October 12, 2009.
  53. ^ "National Journal Almanac, Washington District 7, Rep. Jim McDermott". Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Downers Grove, Illinois.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Downers Grove.
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