Niles, Illinois

Niles, Illinois
Village
Motto: "#1 place in the U.S. to raise kids"
Country United States
State Illinois
County Cook
Townships Maine, Niles
Elevation 646 ft (197 m)
Coordinates 42°1′40″N 87°48′36″W / 42.02778°N 87.81000°W / 42.02778; -87.81000Coordinates: 42°1′40″N 87°48′36″W / 42.02778°N 87.81000°W / 42.02778; -87.81000
Area 5.85 sq mi (15 km2)
 - land 5.85 sq mi (15 km2)
 - water 0.00 sq mi (0 km2)
Population 29,803 (2010)
Density 5,094.5/sq mi (1,967/km2)
Settled 1832
Incorporated 1899
Mayor Andrew Przybylo
Timezone CST (UTC-6)
 - summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
Postal code 60714
Area codes 847, 224
Location in Cook County and the state of Illinois.
Location of Illinois in the United States
Wikimedia Commons: Niles, Illinois
Website: www.vniles.com
[1][2]

Niles is a village in Maine and Niles townships, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The 2010 population from the U.S. Census Bureau was 29,803.[3]

The current mayor of Niles is Andrew Przybylo.[4]

History

Niles Free Bus at Golf Mill

Niles was first settled in 1827.[5] The village of Niles was incorporated on August 24, 1899. The village had a population of 500 people at that time.

Article 4 of the Second Treaty of Prairie du Chien, signed between the United States government and several chiefs of the Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatamie left particular tracts of land to individuals of mixed-Native American ancestry. Among these individuals were Billy Caldwell, Victoria Pothier, and Jane Miranda. The land given to these individuals helped for what would eventually established part of the border of Niles.[6] During the 1832 Black Hawk War, there is evidence that one band of Native Americans may have reached Billy Caldwell's property as part of an attempt to reclaim land lost to the United States.[6]

Along with neighboring Skokie and several other suburbs, Niles is partly in Niles Township, from whence it draws its name. It should not be confused with "Niles Center", the original name of Skokie.

There is no clear indication of the origin of the name "Niles." In 1929, the Chicago Tribune ran an article opining that the name was taken from the Niles Register, a newspaper published in the 1820s out of Washington, D.C., and distributed nationally; however, no proof of that has yet been discovered; accounts state only that the name was chosen at public meeting prior to township organization in 1850. Another belief is that the name "Niles" was named after Niles Construction which did much of the building early during the city's founding.

Niles was the first community in Illinois and one of the first in the United States to establish free ambulance service, in 1946.[7]

Geography

Niles is located at 42°1′40″N 87°48′36″W / 42.02778°N 87.81000°W / 42.02778; -87.81000 (42.0277127, -87.8100990).[2]

According to the 2010 census, Niles has a total area of 5.85 square miles (15.15 km2), all land.[8]

Niles is adjacent to Chicago to the south, Skokie to the east, Morton Grove to the northeast, Glenview to the north, and Park Ridge and unincorporated Cook County (and portions of Chicago) to the west.

The town is centered along Milwaukee Avenue which forms a main artery diagonally through the town on a northwest-southeast bearing.

The North Branch of the Chicago River flows through the eastern part of the town roughly in a north-to-south direction.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1880289—
1900514—
191056910.7%
19201,258121.1%
19302,13569.7%
19402,1681.5%
19503,58765.5%
196020,393468.5%
197031,43254.1%
198030,363−3.4%
199028,284−6.8%
200030,0686.3%
201029,803−0.9%
Est. 201529,876[9]0.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[10]
Niles Police Department building

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 30,068 people, 12,002 households, and 7,945 families residing in the village. The population density was 5,117.9 people per square mile (1,974.4/km²). There were 12,256 housing units at an average density of 2,086.1 per square mile (804.8/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 83.22% White, 0.46% African American, 0.09% Native American, 12.68% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.67% from other races, and 1.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.03% of the population.

There were 12,002 households out of which 21.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.0% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.8% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the village the population was spread out with 16.7% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 27.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.3 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $48,627, and the median income for a family was $58,215. Males had a median income of $40,131 versus $30,266 for females. The per capita income for the village was $23,543. About 3.2% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.2% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

According to the Village's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[11] the top employers in the city are:

# Employer # of Employees
1 W. W. Grainger 860
2 Shure (HQ) 512
3 Bradford Exchange (HQ) 462
4 MPC Products 450
5 Village of Niles 438
6 Coca-Cola Bottling Company 320
7 MFRI (HQ) 220
8 Fort Dearborn Company 178
9 AFN, LLC. 150
10 YMCA 130

Education

The Niles Public Library on Waukegan and Oakton. The space in the parking lot is a memorial to military veterans.
Notre Dame High School is located on Dempster Street.

Elementary school districts:

High school districts:

• Maine East High School[18]
• Maine South High School
• Niles North High School
• Niles West High School

Community College district:

Catholic schools:

Baptist schools:

Until 1998 the Chicago Futabakai Japanese School was located in Niles. In 1998 it moved to Arlington Heights.[19]

Notable places

Located on Touhy Avenue, the Leaning Tower is a one–half scale of the real one.

A notable landmark and point of pride among Niles' residents is the Leaning Tower of Niles, a smaller-scale replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. This landmark is seen in the opening Chicago-area montage of the film Wayne's World. The Niles Leaning Tower has also been featured in many national magazines including Oprah's "O" Magazine in 2014. It is located next to the local YMCA (which is appropriately called the "Leaning Tower YMCA"). Several concerts covering a variety of musical forms are held here throughout the summer.

Another notable landmark is the Tam O'Shanter Golf Course (today called "The Tam"), which is currently under the ownership of the Niles Park District. From 1941-1957, the course was host to the All American Open on the PGA Tour. In 1964 and 1965, the course hosted the Western Open.

St. Adalbert Cemetery, the largest in the Archdiocese of Chicago in terms of burials,[20] is the resting place of German immigrant Fredrak Fraske (1872–1973), who was the last surviving veteran of the "Indian Wars".[21] St. Adalbert's is also the location of the Halas Family mausoleum, and is the final resting place of George Halas, former head coach of the Chicago Bears.[22]

Maryhill Cemetery is the final resting place of John S. Gacy & Marion Elaine Gacy, but it is not - according to Maryhill staff - the final resting place of their son, convicted serial killer John Wayne Gacy, though there is considerable debate as to what happened to his cremated remains after his execution.[23]

The world headquarters of the Bradford Group, a major collectibles company, is located on Milwaukee Avenue.

St. John Brebeuf Catholic Church was the first Catholic parish in Niles.

Golf Mill Shopping Center opened in 1960 and is still the largest shopping center in Niles.

Niles Community Rain Garden created in 2008.

Recent events

Niles Illinois Village Hall

2011-Named Best Place in U.S. to Raise Kids by Bloomberg's BusinessWeek

2011- Gold U.S. Maxi Award (Teen Center)

2011 -Named "America's Best, Affordable Place to Raise Kids" by Businessweek.com. Businessweek studied the lifestyle parameters of 5,418 communities across the country, focusing on good schools, low taxes, safe neighborhoods and affordability of housing.[24]

2010- Bright Ideas Initiative Award (Teen Center)

2010 - Nicholas B. Blase served as mayor of Niles for 47 years, from 1961 to 2008. He resigned amid federal charges that he participated in an insurance kickback scheme.[25] Several months later he pleaded guilty to mail fraud and tax evasion, and admitted that he had pressured local businesses to buy insurance from a friend's agency in return for a share of the commissions, receiving more than $420,000 over a period of more than 30 years.[26][27] In 2010 Blase, then 81 years old, was sentenced to a year and a day in prison.[28]

2003- Clean Air Counts Award Winner

Public Works Project of the Year by APWA Suburban Branch- Chicago Chapter

1964- Named All America City

Sister cities

Niles has four sister cities as of 2008:[29]

See also

Tennis in Niles, Illinois

References

  1. 1 2 "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  2. 1 2 "Geographic Names Information System". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  3. ↑ "Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): Niles village, Illinois". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  4. ↑ DeFiglio, Pam (April 10, 2013). "Przybylo Wins Niles Mayor Race", Patch Media. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
  5. ↑ Columbia-Lippincott Gazeteer, p. 1325
  6. 1 2 Friedlund, Thomas (publishing consultant) (1999), Niles Centennial History, p.15: Walsworth Publishing
  7. ↑ "History | Niles, IL - Official Website". www.vniles.com. Retrieved 2015-04-28.
  8. ↑ "G001 - Geographic Identifiers - 2010 Census Summary File 1". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
  9. ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015". Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  11. ↑ Village of Niles 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report
  12. ↑ East Maine School District 63
  13. ↑ Park-Ridge Niles School District 64
  14. ↑ Golf School District 67
  15. ↑ Culver School
  16. ↑ Fairview South School District 72
  17. ↑ Niles Township District for Special Education #807
  18. ↑ "Maine East High School".
  19. ↑ Deardorff, Julie; Krause, Karen Cullota (May 20, 1998). "School Mourns in Its Own Way", Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  20. ↑ "St. Adalbert Catholic Cemetery & Mausoleums". Catholic Cemeteries. Archdiocese of Chicago. 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  21. ↑ The Last Surviving Veterans of America's Wars - Obituaries, Biographies, Pictures and other Data
  22. ↑ George "Papa Bear" Halas at Find a Grave
  23. ↑ John Wayne Gacy at Find a Grave
  24. ↑ Businessweek.com
  25. ↑ Long, Jeff (August 26, 2008). "Indicted 47-Year Niles Mayor Nicholas Blase Retires at 80", Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  26. ↑ Ahmed, Azam and Kridel, Kristen (November 2, 2008). "Ex-Niles Mayor Pleads Guilty in Kickback Scheme", Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  27. ↑ DeFiglio, Pam (March 4, 2011). "Former Niles Mayor Blase 'Happy to Be Released' from Prison", Niles Patch. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  28. ↑ Coen, Joel (January 29, 2010). "Ex-Niles Mayor Nicholas Blase Gets Year and a Day", Chicago Breaking News. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  29. ↑ Niles sister City Committee, accessed 31 October 2008
 Unincorporated Cook County Glenview Morton Grove
Park Ridge Skokie
   Niles, Illinois  
Edison Park, Chicago Norwood Park, Chicago Forest Glen, Chicago
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