Brookfield

Brookfield (formerly Grossdale) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, located 13 miles (21 km) west of downtown Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 19,476. The city is home to the Brookfield Zoo. According to the 2010 census, Brookfield has a total area of 3.067 square miles (7.94 km²) (or 99.77%) is land and 0.007 sq miles (0.02 km²), (or 0.23%) is water. Most of Brookfield is flat land with various small hills and rises. Along Salt Creek is a steep ravine home to many oak savannas. The first two buildings erected were a train station and a pavilion across the tracks. The original train station was moved across the train tracks and a few hundred feet east in 1981, and is now the home of the village's historical society and museum, as well as listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The village is located in Illinois's 3rd congressional district; the northernmost portion, a largely wooded area north of the zoo, is in the 4th district. The area now called Brookfield was mostly covered by prairie grasses, forests, and farms. Large portions of the area were inhabited by the Native Americans who long ago developed agriculture and corn cultivation, built villages and burial mounds, invented the bow and arrow, and made beautiful pottery. The current mayor is a former Chicago lawyer turned real estate investor.

Geography

Brookfield is located at 41°4922N 87°5051W (41.822681, -87.847532) It has a total area of 3.067 square miles (7.94 km²), of which 3.06 square miles is land and 0.007 sq miles (0.02 km²) is water. Most of Brookfield is flat land with various small hills and rises. Along Salt Creek is a steep ravine that is home to many oak savannas. These oak savanna sprawl out from large, forested areas into small pockets in the village. Brookfield has a population of 2,816. It is located in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and is the home of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. The town's population was 2,715 in the 2010 census. It has an estimated population of 3,822. The village is located on the Wisconsin-New Jersey border and is located near the town of Doylestown, New Jersey. The city's population is 2,922. It was the site of the Battle of the Bulge, a World War II-era battle between the United States and the Soviet Union in which the town fought for control of a portion of the Wisconsin River. It also is the location of the Brookfield High School, which was built in the 1950s and 1960s. The school was the first in the state to be built in Brookfield.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 19,476 people, 6,988 households, and 4,692 families residing in the village. The racial makeup of the village was 70.82% White, 3.30% African American, 0.95% Native American, 1.92% Asian, 9.08% from other races, and 13.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 25.78% of the population. The village's age distribution consisted of 26.3% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 29.1% from 45 to 64, and13.2%. The median age was 40.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.1 males. There were 7,785 housing units at an average density of 2,535.00 per square mile (978.77/km²) The average household size was 3.23 and the average family size was 2.63. The median income was $84,891, and the median income for a family was $103,072. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of anyrace. The US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. The per capita income for the village is $38,222. About 9.8% of those under age 18 and 9.5%. of those age 65 or over.

Government

Nearly all of Brookfield is in Illinois's 3rd congressional district. The northernmost portion, a largely wooded area north of the zoo, is in the 4th district. Brookfield has a population of about 2,000. The city is located on the Illinois River, which runs through the center of the city. It also has a lake, a reservoir, and a lakefront park. The town is located in Illinois' 3rd and 4th congressional districts. It is also in the state's 5th district, which is home to the Illinois State Zoo and the Chicago Cubs. It's in the Chicago metropolitan area and is near the Illinois Turnpike and Illinois State Highway 50, which goes through Brookfield. It has a zoo, a park, a lake and a city center, which are all in the 3rd district.

History

Before 1803, the area now called Brookfield was mostly covered by prairie grasses, forests, and farms. The Chicago Zoological Park, commonly called the Brookfield Zoo, opened in 1934. The zoo is located on land given to the Forest Preserve District by Edith Rockefeller McCormick in 1919. The original train station was moved across the tracks and a few hundred feet east in 1981, and is now the home of the village's historical society and museum, as well as listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The name was changed in 1905 after residents became displeased with real estate investor Samuel Eberly Gross, whose personal life and fortune had floundered. A contest to choose a new name yielded "Brookfield" in respect for Salt Creek, which runs through the area. The village was incorporated as the village of Grossdale in 1893, but the name was later changed to Brookfield in honor of the area's water supply. The school named after Gross, S.E. Gross, is located in the suburb of Brookfield, Illinois, and has a junior high school called Grossdale Junior High. The town is home to the Chicago Cubs baseball team, which was founded in 1908. The team's mascot is the Charger, who was named after a Chicago Cubs player of the same name. The baseball team won its first World Series game in 1908, beating the St. Louis Cardinals in the final game of the season. The Cubs won the World Series again the following year, defeating the Cardinals in a close game.

Newspapers and publications

The largest and most successful newspaper printed in Brookfield was the Brookfield Enterprise. It was started in 1932 by Porter Reubendall, then owned and expanded in the 1950s by Elmer C. Johnson, and ceased publication in 1985. The Suburban Magnet and Brookfield Star were published in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. The Brookfield Express was printed in the 1960s and 1970s, but stopped publication in 1982. The Brookfield Star was published from 1981 to 1985. It ceased publication after the death of Elmer Johnson in 1985, and was sold to a private company in 1986. The paper was owned and operated by the Johnson family until the end of its existence in 1986, when it was sold by the company to a new owner. The company was later sold to the City of Brookfield, which continued to publish the paper until the mid-1990s. It has since been sold to another company, which no longer publishes the paper. It is now owned by a separate company, the City of Brookfield and is located in the City of Madison, Wisconsin. The city has a population of 2,000, with the majority of its residents living in or near the city's downtown area. The town has a history dating back to the early 1900s, when the area was part of the town of Madison and the city was known as "Brookfield" The city's first post office opened in 1903, and it was located in what is now called the West Brookfield.

Public education

Brookfield-LaGrange Elementary School District 95 is the primary elementary school district for Brookfield residents. District 95 and 96 teens then attend Riverside Brookfield High School in District 208. Students from SD 102 and SD 103 (the southeast portion of Brookfield) attend Lyons Township High School, District 204. Other Brookfield students may attend schools in Riverside School District 96, LaGrange elementary School District 102, or Lyons School District 103. Brookfield is home to one high school, S.E. Gross Middle School, which has campuses in La Grange and Western Springs. It is also the home of one elementary school (Brook-Park Elementary School) and one junior high school (S.E.-Gross Middle School), which have campuses in Brookfield and Lagrange. It also has one middle school, which is located in the town's downtown area. The town is also home to a bowling alley, which serves as a social center for the community. It was founded in the early 1900s, and has been the site of the Brookfield Bowling Alley since the early 20th century. It has been a part of the town since the mid-20th century, when it was incorporated into the City of La Granges. The city has been home to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers since the 1930s. The U.N. Peace Corps has a base in the city, and is based there since the 1950s. It opened in the 1960s and has since become a regional center.

Transportation

Metra's BNSF Railway Line serves three stations in the Brookfield area: Congress Park, Brookfield, and Hollywood. Various Pace bus stops exist throughout the village, as well as common trolleys. Metra trains operate daily between Chicago and Aurora. The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway Line runs through the village. It runs from Chicago to Quincy, Illinois, and the village is on its way to Chicago. The village is also on the route for Amtrak's Chicago/O'Hare and Chicago/LaGuardia lines. It is on the way to and from Chicago's O'Hara International Airport, which runs from LaGuardia to Chicago, Chicago, and Chicago-Dulles. It also runs to Chicago's La Guardia Airport, where it terminates at Chicago's Midway Station. The line also runs through Chicago to the village of Aurora, Illinois. It terminates in Aurora at the village's main station, the Chicago/Aurora/La Guardia station. It continues on to Chicago to Chicago and back again to Aurora. It ends in Chicago at the Chicago-bound Chicago/Oakland/Illinois line, which ends at Chicago. It then runs to Aurora again, and on to Aurora and back to Chicago once again. The final stop is in Chicago, where the line ends at the Village of Brookfield. It connects to Chicago via the Chicago, Aurora, and Aurora rail lines, which connect to Chicago by the Chicago and Burlington lines.

Attractions

The Brookfield Zoo, managed by the Chicago Zoological Society, is open every day of the year. The Galloping Ghost Arcade is the largest video arcade in the United States with over 550 video and pinball games. North Kiwanis Park is a major area for many annual events such as German Fest, Fall Fest, Battle of the Bands, and the Brookfield Fourth of July Parade. The Festival of Sausages, a celebration of German heritage, is hosted every year by Brookfield resident, Chad Vandemark. A North American F-86L Sabre is on display as a Korean War memorial at the 8 Corners Veterans Memorial Circle, located in the middle of a roundabout. It was home to Brookfield's renowned carnival, "Brookfest", before it was cancelled in the mid-2000s due to various gang fights and firework malfunctions. The Brookfield oak savannas are the town's most natural and beautiful place, with many animal and plant species. The Grossdale Train Station, built in the 1880s, is the oldest structure in Brookfield, having existed since before the city was founded. Jaycee Ehlert Park is the biggest park in the town, and is home to the city's annual German Fest festival, which is held every year. It is located on the banks of Salt Creek, a tributary to the Des Plaines River. The creek is wide and long, with gentle, murky water, good fishing, and vast amounts of wildlife.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Brookfield, Cook County, Illinois = 6.8. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 31. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 11. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Brookfield = 3.6 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 19,476 individuals with a median age of 40.6 age the population dropped by -3.85% in Brookfield, Cook County, Illinois population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 6,356.40 residents per square mile of area (2,454.48/km²). There are average 2.51 people per household in the 7,200 households with an average household income of $64,947 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 10.80% of the available work force and has dropped -4.37% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 20.46%. The number of physicians in Brookfield per 100,000 population = 255.4.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Brookfield = 36 inches and the annual snowfall = 39.1 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 121. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 191. 85 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 16.9 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 46, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Brookfield, Cook County, Illinois which are owned by the occupant = 70.61%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 57 years with median home cost = $227,500 and home appreciation of -7.09%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $16.10 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,790 per student. There are 16.9 students for each teacher in the school. 4787.75% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 17.92% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 7.95% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).