Rosemont, Illinois

Geobox|Settlement
name = Rosemont
native_name =
other_name =
category = Village
etymology =
official_name =
motto =
nickname =


image_caption = River Road in Rosemont


symbol =
country = United States
state = Illinois
region = Cook
region_type = County
district =
district_type = Township
municipality =
location =
elevation_imperial =
prominence_imperial =
lat_d = 41
lat_m = 59
lat_s = 27
lat_NS = N
long_d = 87
long_m = 52
long_s = 26
long_EW = W
coordinates_no_title = 1
highest =
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highest_region =
highest_state =
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lowest =
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lowest_state =
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length_imperial =
length_orientation =
area_imperial = 1.7
area_land_imperial = 1.7
area_water_imperial =
area_urban_imperial =
area_metro_imperial =
population = 4224
population_date = 2000
population_urban =
population_metro =
population_density =
population_density_imperial = 2423.6
population_density_urban_imperial =
population_density_metro_imperial =
established = 1956
date =
government = village
government_location =
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mayor = Bradley A. Stephens
leader =
leader_type =
timezone = CST
utc_offset = -6
timezone_DST = CDT
utc_offset_DST = -5
postal_code = 60018
area_code = 847
code =
whs_name =
whs_year =
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map_caption = Location of Rosemont within Illinois
map_background = Illinois - background map.png map_locator = Illinois2
commons = Rosemont, Illinois
statistics =
website = http://www.rosemont.com/
footnotes =

See also the Rosemont Convention Center

Rosemont is a village in Cook County, Illinois, that is a suburb of Chicago and is in the midst of a huge metropolitan area. Its town form of government was founded in 1956, though it had been settled a long time before that. Its area is small, and its population was just 4,224 at the 2000 census, but there are several large businesses, and the huge 78,000 square meter Rosemont Convention Center there that don't have many employees who reside in Rosemont.

Geography

Rosemont is located at coor dms|41|59|27|N|87|52|26|W|city (41.990730, -87.873816)GR|1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.7 sq mi (4.5 km²), all land.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 4,224 people, 1,692 households, and 986 families residing in the village. The population density was 2,423.6/sq mi (937.3/km²). There were 1,745 housing units at an average density of 1,001.2/sq mi (387.2/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 79.24% White, 1.35% African American, 0.88% Native American, 4.40% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 11.55% from other races, and 2.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 35.35% of the population.

Rosemont was tied for first place in 2000 with Bowdon, Georgia, as the place in the United States with the highest percentage of people reporting Bulgarian ancestry. The percentage of people so reporting in 2000 was 2.7%. [ [http://www.epodunk.com/ancestry/Bulgarian.html Bulgarian ancestry by city - ePodunk ] ]

There were 1,692 households out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.3% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.7% were non-families. 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.31.

In the village the population was spread out with 24.4% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 35.7% from 25 to 44, 18.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 110.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.2 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $34,663, and the median income for a family was $44,939. Males had a median income of $30,066 versus $30,015 for females. The per capita income for the village was $19,781. About 10.6% of families and 14.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.6% of those under age 18 and 10.6% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Rosemont is positioned directly between O'Hare International Airport and Chicago. Due to its location, much of the village is occupied by large hotels and office buildings. Almost all major hotel chains operating in the United States have a presence in Rosemont, including Global Hyatt, Hilton Hotels Corporation, Marriott International, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Accor, and InterContinental Hotels Group, among others.

According to Colliers Bennett & Kahnweiler, the Rosemont/O'Hare office market encompassed approximately convert|13500000|sqft|m2 of total inventory in 2008. [http://www.colliers.com/Markets/Chicago/MarketReports] Corporate headquarters in the village include those of Culligan, U.S. Foodservice, Velsicol Chemical Corporation, Banco Popular North America and Taylor Capital Group (Cole Taylor Bank).

Additionally, Rosemont operates several visitor related-forums. Among these are the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, used for trade shows and gatherings; the Rosemont Theater, used for theatrical purposes; and the Allstate Arena, used for concerts, professional wrestling (three times hosting WrestleMania), DePaul Blue Demons Basketball, Chicago Rush arena football, and Chicago Wolves hockey.

It is estimated that about 1.9 million people visited the above three facilities in 2003, and that annual retail charges made by visitors in the same year totaled $204 million.

In this sense, Rosemont is the quintessential edge city, as the village's daytime population and employment base exceeds the number of actual residents.

In 2007 Muvico Theaters opened its first Chicago area location, the convert|101000|sqft|m2 Rosemont 18, in the village.

Reputation

Within Chicagoland, and despite its status as a popular destination, Rosemont is regarded as an enigma - a closely-knit, reclusive neighborhood that regards outsiders with suspicion. The main residential area is guarded by a police checkpoint. Its reputation for secrecy is so large that filmmaker Michael Moore, on his television series "TV Nation", visited Rosemont to investigate, and to poke fun of village residents.Fact|date=February 2007

Attempts to describe Rosemont and its citizens have been largely unsuccessful. In an April 2004 issue of the Chicago Tribune, a reporter attempted to profile the village, but was rebuked due to the refusal of many citizens to answer questions or talk about their home. The reporter was forced to rely on official sources, and to talk with people who lived outside the residential neighborhood. Fact|date=February 2007The local police department is prone to stopping any outsiders for frivolous reasons and relentlessly pursues perceived troublemakers.

Because of the village's commercial developments, as well as taxes collected from hotel rooms, its municipal government brings in a lot of money, much to the chagrin of neighboring communities. Donald Stephens, the mayor of Rosemont from the village's inception until his death, was heavily involved in political fundraising throughout the state of Illinois.

Rosemont is the sponsor of the seven-time DCI world champions, The Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps.

Recent controversy

In recent years, Rosemont has been the center of a controversy involving the placement of a casino. In 1999, the village won support from the Illinois General Assembly to build a casino in the village. However, in 2001, the casino was blocked after the Illinois Gaming Board claimed that some investors in the Rosemont casino had connections to organized crime.Fact|date=February 2007

The issue became more convoluted after, in 2004, the Gaming Board seemingly reversed its earlier statements and awarded Rosemont the casino license, in competition with two other Illinois communities. Although the board claimed its decision was made by considering the public good, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan blocked the casino license, and the issue is currently in limbo.Fact|date=February 2007

Although the Chicago Crime Commission investigated Mayor Stephens himself for ties to organized crime, no evidence has been presented to back this up, and the village considers the investigation over. During the 1980s, Stephens was acquitted on charges of federal tax and fraud charges.Fact|date=February 2007

Rosemont is sometimes accused of having a "cult" to Stephens, who was mayor from the Village's incorporation in 1956 until his death in 2007, because of the large number of places in the village named after the late mayor, including the Donald E. Stephens Ballroom, the Donald E. Stephens Park, and the Donald E. Stephens Museum of Hummels. Also, the Stephens family has been criticized for rampant nepotism in creating its power within the village - the Public Safety Department is headed by Mayor Stephens' oldest son, Stephens' grandson is the Deputy Director of the department as well as the chief of police, another son serves on the Village Board of Trustees, while other relatives hold various municipal positions.Fact|date=February 2007

Transportation

Rosemont has a station on Metra's North Central Service, which provides weekday rail service between Antioch, Illinois and Chicago, Illinois (at Union Station).

Rosemont also has a station on the CTA Blue Line of the Chicago 'L', which provides direct rail service to both O'Hare and Downtown Chicago.

References

External links

* [http://www.rosemont.com Official Rosemont Website]

Geographic Location
Center = Rosemont, Illinois
North = Des Plaines, Illinois
Northeast = Park Ridge, Illinois
East = O'Hare, Chicago
South = Schiller Park, Illinois
West = O'Hare, Chicago