Lemont, Illinois

Chicagoland municipality
muni-name = Lemont
muni = Village
date = 1873
state = Illinois
county = Cook
county2 = Will
township = Lemont
gov = Mayor-council
head_label = Mayor
gov_head = John Piazza
pop = 13,098
density-km = 784.1
density-mi = 2,029.9
status = up
percent = 78.25
prevyear = 1990
white = 97.40
black = 0.31
hispanic = .66
asian = 0.82
islander = 0.03
native = 0.15
other = 0.66
zips = 60439, 60440
acode = 630
area-km = 17.6
area-mi = 6.8
pci = 28,354
geocode = 42795
mhi = 70,563
mnhv = 346,100
mhv = 244,742 (2000)
website = www.lemont.il.us

Lemont is a relatively affluent village in Cook, DuPage, and Will Counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 13,098 at the 2000 census. A great percentage of the village's residents are predominately Caucasian, making it one of the least diverse suburbs of the Chicago metropolitan area.

History

The village of Lemont began during the planning and construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal (I&M Canal), in the mid 1800s. The location of the town of Lemont is just west of the originally planned location of a town on the I&M Canal to be called "Athens". The town of Athens was never built, due to the proximity of the village of Lemont. The town provided support services for construction of the canal, providing housing as well as a red light district known as "Smokey Row". Many of the original buildings of this era still exist in the downtown area. The historic central business district, adjacent to the I&M Canal, contains numerous examples of architectural styles of the mid 1800s. Many of these buildings are constructed of locally quarried limestone, which at the time of mining was termed "Athens Marble". One famous historic structure which is constructed of this material is the Chicago Water Tower (the only structure to survive the Great Chicago Fire).

The I&M Canal was used until the early 1900s. It was succeeded as a major conduit for shipment of cargo by the parallel Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. The Sanitary and Ship Canal, which is presently in use, is the sole water connection between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River.

Lemont is home to the Argonne National Laboratory, Cog Hill Golf & Country Club (home of the PGA Tour's Western Open and now the PGA Tour's BMW Championship). Sacred architecture is another strong suit of Lemont whose skyline is dominated by two landmark religious edifices: the Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago and SS. Cyril and Methodius church in the 'Polish Cathedral style'. Interestingly enough both are situated in the sides of hills, giving an even more dramatic backdrop to their monumental architecture.

Lemont was featured in the movie Save the Last Dance starring Julia Stiles. The first five minutes of the movie take place in various areas of Lemont. Lemont High School was depicted as Johnson's white Midwestern high school. Portions of the front of the high school were shown along with the main staircase inside the school. A Lemont home and flower shop and Theo J. Gorski & Sons Bus Company [http://www.lemont.il.us/PDF%20Files/LicBusGuide.pdf] were also featured in the beginning of the film. Lemont has also been featured in The Hunter (1980), Straight Talk (1992), Children on Their Birthdays (2002), The Poker House (2008), Witless Protection staring Larry the Cable Guy (2008), Straight Talk (1992), and Under the Bus (2000).Furthermore, several commercials and a made for tv movie "Enememies,(2006)" were filmed in the downtown location.

In 2006, the Lemont Little League All-Star team traveled to the 60th Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The team, which represented the Great Lakes region, received 4th place after losing to the Beaverton, Oregon team and was the only team to beat the champions from Georgia. Upon returning home, the Lemont team received a parade down State Street in honor of their achievements.

In 2007 R. Kelly filmed a music video for the song Rock Star at The Carousel, a local bar in Lemont. Later in 2007, the Interstate 355 tollway extension opened, providing Lemont with more direct access to the Chicago expressway system. This is expected to generate major growth over the coming years.

Academy Award winner Diablo Cody, writer of the film Juno, was reared in Lemont.

In 2008 the Lemont Girls 10-11 year old Softball All Star team went down to Beardstown, Illinois after defeating Brookfield in a two game win. Once at Beardstown, the team defeated the Rock Falls team in a two game streak, and won the Championship. This feat has not been accomplished in over 30 years.

Geography

Lemont is located at coor dms|41|40|8|N|87|59|20|W|city (41.668784, -87.988845).GR|1

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 6.8 square miles (17.6 km²), of which, 6.4 square miles (16.7 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.9 km²) of it (5.15%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 13,098 people, 4,420 households, and 3,407 families residing in the village. The population density was 2,029.9 people per square mile (784.1/km²). There were 4,553 housing units at an average density of 705.6/sq mi (272.5/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 97.40% White, 0.31% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.82% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.66% from other races, and 0.64% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.00% of the population.

Ancestries: Polish (33.7%), German (25.7%), Irish (20.8%), Italian (12.1%), English (4.5%), Lithuanian (4.1%).

There were 4,420 households out of which 39.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.4% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.9% were non-families. 19.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.32.

In the village the population was spread out with 27.7% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 90.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.4 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $70,563, and the median income for a family was $80,558. Males had a median income of $52,464 versus $37,314 for females. The per capita income for the village was $28,354. About 1.7% of families and 3.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.4% of those under age 18 and 11.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Schools located in Lemont include the following:

*Lemont High School
*Mount Assisi Academy, all-girls Catholic high school

Transportation

Lemont has a station on Metra's Heritage Corridor, which provides weekday rail service between Joliet, Illinois and Chicago, Illinois (at Union Station).

ee also

*Polish Cathedral style churches of the Chicago area
*Polish Americans
*SS. Cyril and Methodius in Lemont
*Roman Catholicism in Poland

References

External links

* [http://www.stcyril.org SS Cyril and Methodius's in Lemont Website]
* [http://www.htgc.org/test The Hindu temple of Greater Chicago in Lemont Website]