Lake Forest, Illinois

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Lake Forest, Illinois
Location within the Chicago metropolitan area. The Chicago metropolitan area.
Incorporated City in 1861.
County; State Lake; Illinois
Township Moraine, Shields, Vernon, West Deerfield
Government President-trustee
Mayor S. Michael Rummel
Population (2000) 20,059 (up 6.05% from 1990)
Pop. density 160.2/km² (415.1/mi²)
ZIP code(s) 60045
Area code 847 & 224
Land area 11.9 km² (4.6 mi²)
Income Per capita:   $77,092
Household: $136,462
Home value Mean:    $710,837 (2000)
Median: $638,800
Website www.cityoflakeforestillinois.com
Demographics (Full data)
White Black Hispanic Asian Islander Native Other
93.8% 1.4% 1.9% 3.4% 0.1% 0.1% 0.4%

Lake Forest is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 20,059 at the 2000 census. The city is south of Waukegan, Illinois, on the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the North Shore.

Lake Forest was founded around its college and laid out as a town in 1857 as a stop for travelers making their way south to Chicago. The headquarters of Tenneco, Brunswick, W.W. Grainger, Inc., and Hospira (all Fortune 500 companies) are in Lake Forest, and BFG Technologies is located in unincorporated Lake County, near Lake Forest. The Chicago Bears training facility and headquarters, Halas Hall, opened in 1997 in west Lake Forest, and the Chicago Fire now train at the Bears' previous facility located on the campus of Lake Forest College. Robert Redford filmed Ordinary People, the story of a Lake Forest family, on location in 1980, and the movie went on to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Actor Vince Vaughn graduated from Lake Forest High School, as did author Dave Eggers and musician Andrew Bird.

Contents

[edit] Educational institutions

Lake Forest is home to both top-rated public schools and nationally renowned private schools. Lake Forest High School serves Lake Forest as well as neighboring Lake Bluff, and the majority of graduates attend selective colleges. The Montessori School of Lake Forest and Forest Bluff School (in Lake Bluff) both serve ages two through 14, and are both accredited by AMI (Association Montessori Internationale); the latter is nationally known from the writings of founder and former head Paula Polk Lillard, and is often cited as one of the leading Montessori schools in America. Lake Forest Academy, a boarding and day school on the west side of Lake Forest, is considered to be one of the best college preparatory and boarding schools in the Midwest, and attracts students from across the country and around the world. Lake Forest Country Day School was recently lauded by Chicago Magazine for its use of technology in the classroom. East Lake Academy and the School of St. Mary are the two private, Catholic schools located in Lake Forest: East Lake Academy is a newer elementary school started in 2001, and the School of St. Mary was established in 1917 and is a Catholic institution in Lake Forest.

[edit] Elementary Schools

[edit] High schools

[edit] Colleges

[edit] Geography and development

Lake Forest is located in the North Shore area, at 42°14′5″N, 87°51′3″W (42.234788, -87.851042).[1]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.9 square miles (43.8 km²), of which, 16.9 square miles (43.7 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.30%) is water.

As Lake Forest was first developed, the planners laid roads that would provide very limited access to the city in an effort to prevent outside traffic and further isolate the tranquil settlement from neighboring areas. Though considerably more accessible today, due in part to the extensive new construction taking place further West, the much smaller neighborhood of East Lake Forest, near the coast of Lake Michigan, remains relatively secluded and is among the most scenic, historical, and architecturally significant neighborhoods in Chicagoland. These neighborhoods include estates made by distinguished architects like Howard van Doren Shaw.

In 1967 a group of 12 long-time residents of Lake Forest formed a land conservation organization, Lake Forest Open Lands Association.[2] Its express purpose was to purchase or otherwise set aside the rapidly disappearing open spaces in the city, in the interests of preserving animal habitat, restoring ecosystems, and providing environmental education for the city's children. In the next 38 years, the group managed to acquire over 700 acres (2.8 km²) within the city limits, which now form six nature preserves with 12 miles (19 km) of walking trails open to the public. Preserved in perpetuity are wetlands, original pre-1830 prairie, woodland and savanna, all within the city.

Lake Forest has been named a Tree City USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation in recognition of its commitment to community forest. As of 2006, Lake Forest has received this national honor for twenty-six years.

[edit] Lake Forest High School

Main article: Lake Forest High School

Lake Forest High School provides secondary education to residents of Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, and Knollwood, Illinois. Operating with a budget of about $32 million for the 2006-2007 year, the school reported in January 2007 that it had a total enrollment of 1,741 students and a certified staff-to-student ratio of 1:11, with per-pupil expenditures of $16,225 and 279 courses in its curriculum, which includes College, Honors and Advanced Placement courses in 28 subjects, as well as vocational and special education services. In 2006, 93% of graduating students took the ACT exam (mean composite score of 25.4, compared to national average of 21.1) and 90% of graduating students planned to enroll in 4-year colleges.[3] In November 2006, the community passed a $54 million building bond referendum to improve and expand the school's building, athletic facilities, and curriculum.[4] Lake Forest High School is home of the Robert H. Metcalf Athletic Center. The athletic center holds a field house, climbing wall, weight room, olympic sized swimming pool, a basketball stadium, volleyball courts, wrestling room, a cafeteria, and an athletic hall of fame. Robert Metcalf was the superintendent in Lake Forest for 29 years, and retired in 1992. He passed away on October 9, 2007 at the age of 81.

[edit] Commercial development

Market Square
Market Square
Former Marshall Fields' (now Macy's) at Market Square; officially closed as of January 2008
Former Marshall Fields' (now Macy's) at Market Square; officially closed as of January 2008
Entrance to department store on Market Square, documenting name change; officially closed as of January 2008
Entrance to department store on Market Square, documenting name change; officially closed as of January 2008

Commercial development in Lake Forest is focused in three areas, two of which have public railway stations. The central business district includes a Metra commuter railroad station on the Union Pacific/North Line and extends beyond Market Square, providing a mixture of retail, banking, and professional services, as well as restaurants. The business district to the west includes a Metra commuter railroad station on the Milwaukee District/North Line and extends beyond Settlers' Square to provide a mixture of retail, banking and professional services, as well as restaurants. A third area of business development, consisting mostly of corporate and office space, extends along the city's northwestern border with the Tri-State Tollway.

[edit] Transportation

Lake Forest has Interstate Highway access through the Tri-State Tollway (I-94). In addition, the Skokie Highway (U.S. Highway 41) runs through Lake Forest, roughly bisecting the city. Lake Forest is connected with suburbs west of it through Illinois Route 60. Additionally, the Union Pacific/North Line of the Metra commuter railway has a station in East Lake Forest, while the Milwaukee District/North Line has a station in West Lake Forest.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 20,059 people, 6,687 households, and 5,329 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,189.4 people per square mile (459.1/km²). There were 7,001 housing units at an average density of 415.1/sq mi (160.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.80% White, 1.35% African American, 0.06% Native American, 3.45% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 0.44% from other races, and 0.77% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.87% of the population.

There were 6,687 households out of which 39.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.6% were married couples living together, 4.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.3% were non-families. 18.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.17.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.5% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 19.7% from 25 to 44, 28.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $136,462, and the median income for a family was $165,512. Males had a median income of $100,000+ versus $44,083 for females. The per capita income for the city was $77,092. About .15% of families and .2% of the population were below the poverty line.

[edit] Polo

Lake Forest is famous in Chicago for its history of polo, being once the farthest-west establishment of the sport in the US. It was home to the "East-West clash of 1933" in which a team of "Westerners", today Midwesterners, challenged the best of the Eastern US polo teams, winning two of three matches. Box seats sold for $5.50 and the general public was admitted for $1.10. The Chicago press covered the match extensively, right down to the arrival of every horse and player, the color of the horseflesh and the color of the goalposts. The match was described as a "gleaming moment in American polo, if not the very zenith of the game in this country." Today, Lake Forest continues the tradition, and polo is played yearly throughout August. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, Tom Buchanan's polo ponies are said to have been bred in Lake Forest.

[edit] People associated with Lake Forest

 This section does not cite any references or sources. (October 2007)
Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

[edit] Arts, Literature, Humanities and Entertainment

[edit] Politics

[edit] Sport

[edit] Business

[edit] Other

[edit] Works associated with Lake Forest

[edit] References

  1. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  2. ^ Lake Forest Open Lands Association ::: Community Website
  3. ^ http://www.lfhs.org/aboutus/PROFILE%202%2006-07.pdf
  4. ^ http://www.lfhs.org/communications/Referendum/referendum.html
  5. ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.

[edit] External links

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