Morton Grove, Illinois

Coordinates: 42°2′28″N 87°47′11″W / 42.04111°N 87.78639°W / 42.04111; -87.78639

Morton Grove
Village
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Cook
Coordinates	42°2′28″N 87°47′11″W / 42.04111°N 87.78639°W / 42.04111; -87.78639
Area	5.1 sq mi (13 km2)
- land	5.1 sq mi (13 km2)
Population	22,451 (2000)
Density	4,406.4 / sq mi (1,701 / km2)
Timezone	CST (UTC-6)
- summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Postal code	60053, 60054, 60055
Area code	847
Location of Morton Grove within Illinois
Wikimedia Commons: Morton Grove, Illinois

Morton Grove is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,451 at the 2000 census.

The Village President of Morton Grove since April 27, 2009, is Daniel J. Staackmann.

The village is named after former United States Vice President Levi Parsons Morton, who was the driving force behind allowing the old Miller's Mill (now Lincoln Avenue) road to pass through the upstart neighborhood, and provide goods to trade and sell. Morton Grove was incorporated in December 1895.

Geography

Morton Grove is located at 42°2′28″N 87°47′11″W / 42.04111°N 87.78639°W / 42.04111; -87.78639 (42.041146, -87.786456)^[1].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 5.1 square miles (13 km²), all of it land.

History

Morton Grove was established in 1895. The first mayor, George Harrer was of German descent as were most early settlers of Morton Grove. The largest park in the suburb is named after him.

Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 22,451 people, 8,199 households, and 6,288 families residing in the village. The population density was 4,406.4 people per square mile (1,699.7/km²). There were 8,305 housing units at an average density of 1,630.0 per square mile (628.7/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 73.97% White, 0.63% African American, 0.12% Native American, 22.18% Asian, 1.16% from other races, and 1.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.40% of the population.

There were 8,199 households out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.3% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.3% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.17.

In the village the population was spread out with 20.8% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 23.4% from 25 to 44, 27.7% from 45 to 64, and 21.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 90.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.1 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $63,511, and the median income for a family was $72,778. Males had a median income of $46,489 versus $34,730 for females. The per capita income for the village was $26,973. About 1.9% of families and 2.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.3% of those under age 18 and 4.1% of those age 65 or over.

Handgun ban

In 1981, Morton Grove became the first town in America to prohibit the possession of handguns. Victor Quilici, a local lawyer, sued the city (Quilici v. Morton Grove). The federal district court as well as the Appellate Court ruled the Morton Grove ordinance to be constitutional, thus upholding the gun ban. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case, letting the lower court decision stand.

The ban stood as village code 6-2-3. However in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 2008 opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller.^[3] it appeared likely that the village would drop the ban. On July 28, 2008 the city dropped its prohibition on handguns. The village board voted 5-1 in favor of removing the ban.^[4]

10 Best Towns for Families

The Village of Morton Grove was selected by Family Circle magazine as one of the nation's "10 Best Towns for Families". The article appears in the magazine's August 2007 edition. The publication announced the results of its search to identify the best communities across the country that combine big-city opportunities with suburban charm, a blend of affordable housing, good jobs, top-rated schools, wide-open spaces and a lot less stress.

Family Circle partnered with On Board, a New York City research firm providing real estate and demographic data to assemble a list of 1,850 towns with populations between 15,000 and 150,000 and a large concentration of households with an average income of $65,000. From that number, 800 localities were selected based on family-friendly criteria, including cost of living, jobs, schools, health care, air quality, green space and crime rate. Family Circle assessed which towns best met those standards and ranked them according to state. The winners were selected from the highest-rated towns in the top 10 nationwide. http://www.familycircle.com/family-fun/money/10-best-towns-for-families/;jsessionid=PMWAO2TM5UFKQCQCEARCAOQ?page=2

Public schools

Public school districts serving Morton Grove include [1]:

Elementary school districts:

• Golf School District 67 [2] (Hynes Elementary School and Golf Middle School)
• Morton Grove School District 70 [3] (Park View School)
• East Maine School District 63 [4] (Melzer School, Nelson School)
• Skokie/Morton Grove School District 69 [5] (Thomas A. Edison School, Madison School, Lincoln Junior High School)

High school districts:

• Niles Township High Schools District 219 [6] (Niles North High School and Niles West High School) (residents east of Harlem Avenue are in NTHS District)
• Maine Township High School District 207 [7] (Maine East High School, residents west of Harlem Avenue are in MTWHSD)

Notable people

• Bart Conner, 2-time Gold medal winning Olympic gymnast.
• Harrison Ford, Oscar-nominated actor.
• Mar Dinkha IV, Catholicos-Patriarch of the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East
• Marlee Matlin, Oscar-winning actress.
• Ronnie Kroell, fashion model
• Harvey Mandel, guitarist
• Jeff Garlin, actor, comedian

References

1. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
2. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
3. ^ Nick Katz (2008-07-01). "Village likely to lift gun ban after Supreme Court ruling". Morton Grove Champion (Sun-Times Group). http://www.pioneerlocal.com/mortongrove/news/1033733,mg-gunbanplan-070108-s1.articleprint. Retrieved 2008-07-02. ^{[dead link]}
4. ^ NRA-ILA (2008-07-18). "Village of Morton Grove to Repeal Gun Ban". NRA-ILA News. http://www.nraila.org/News/Read/NewsReleases.aspx?ID=11317. Retrieved 2008-07-19. 

External links

• Village of Morton Grove Government Website
• Action Party of Morton Grove