Bolingbrook, Illinois

Bolingbrook is at 41°41′55″N 88°5′19″W (41.698613, -88.088668),[6] approximately 28 miles southwest of Downtown Chicago.

According to the 2010 census Bolingbrook has a total area of 24.257 square miles (62.83 km²), of which 24.05 square miles (62.29 km²) (or 99.15%) is land and 0.207 square miles (0.54 km²) (or 0.85%) is water.[7]

Bolingbrook borders the communities of Woodridge, Romeoville, Plainfield, Naperville, and Darien.

Interstate 55, locally the Stevenson Expressway, runs through the southern part of the village heading northeast toward Chicago and southwest toward Plainfield and Joliet. Interstate 355, also known as the Veterans Memorial Tollway (formerly the North-South Tollway), runs along the far east side of the village between New Lenox and Addison. Illinois Route 53, locally known as Bolingbrook Drive, runs north–south through the middle of the village.

Other main streets in Bolingbrook include Boughton Road, Lily Cache Lane, Weber Road, Veterans Parkway (formerly Naperville Road), Briarcliff Road, Hassert Boulevard (formerly 111th Street), Rodeo Drive (formerly 119th Street), Schmidt Road, Crossroads Parkway, and Remington Boulevard.

As of the census[9] of 2000, there were 56,321 people, 17,416 households, and 14,246 families residing in the village. The population density was 2,746.5 people per square mile (1,060.2/km²). There were 17,884 housing units at an average density of 872.1 per square mile (336.7/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 64.51% White, 20.41% African American, 0.23% Native American, 6.38% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 5.65% from other races, and 2.77% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.09% of the population.

There were 17,416 households, out of which 48.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.5% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.2% were non-families. 14.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.22 and the average family size was 3.56.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 32.3% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 35.2% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 4.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.0 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $67,852, and the median income for a family was $71,527 (these figures had risen to $76,392 and $82,462 respectively as of a 2007 estimate[10]). Males had a median income of $46,915 versus $33,665 for females. The per capita income for the village was $23,468. About 2.9% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.1% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.

A typical neighborhood street in Bolingbrook

Bolingbrook is a relatively new suburb of Chicago, having been incorporated in 1965. The first settlement in what is now Bolingbrook was established in 1831, but the informal farming villages remained unincorporated for over 130 years. The tiny Boardman Cemetery, in what is now the Heritage Creek subdivision, contains the remains of some of these early residents.

Modern Bolingbrook has its roots in the housing boom of the 1950s. The first subdivision in Bolingbrook, known as Westbury, was immediately west of Route 53. A second subdivision, known as Colonial Village, followed on the far east side of Route 53.[11]

The village continued to grow steadily for the remainder of the 1960s, reaching a population of 7,000 by 1970. The 1970s were the first period of rapid growth in Bolingbrook, during which its population quintupled to reach over 37,000 by 1980. Much of this growth was as much due to mass annexation as well as raw population growth; the population of Bolingbrook by the 1970 census but with its 1980 land boundary was approximately 25,000, further reflecting the vigorous annexation that took place during the 1970s.[12]

By 1990, Bolingbrook's population had only increased by about 10% from the previous decade, to about 41,000.

John J. "Jack" Leonard was instrumental in the village's incorporation and served as the village's first mayor.[13] Prior to hiring a full-time police chief, he served "double-duty" as both Village President and part-time Police Chief. Eventually, the first police chief, Fred Greening was hired. He was recruited from the detective division of the Detroit Police Department.

In 1971, Bolingbrook purchased station 2 from the Lemont Fire Protection District, which had been serving much of the village, thus establishing its own fire department. Since then, that station has been expanded and four others have been built.[14]

As of August 2020, the acting mayor of Bolingbrook is Mary Alexander-Basta. On July 31, 2020, longtime mayor Roger C. Claar resigned, having served in the role since 1986; Village Trustee Basta was unanimously appointed by the village board to complete Claar's term.[15][16][17][18]

As of 2019, 24 companies[19] of various sizes have their corporate headquarters in Bolingbrook. The largest being: The nation-wide cosmetic retailer Ulta Beauty, as well as vehicle floor liner manufacturer WeatherTech.[20] Other corporate headquarters include: ATI Physical Therapy, Stevenson Crane, American Chrome, Computer Projects of Illinois, Diageo, Diamond Technical Services, Epir Technologies, Goya Foods' Illinois division,[21] Midwest Fuel & Injection, G & W Electric, Illinois Paper & Copier, Jet Brite car washes, Wi-Tronix, Perkins Manufacturing, Vision Integrated Graphics, Clark Foam Products, Wastebuilt, COTG - Chicago Office Technology Group, and Windy City Wire.[22]

Major highways in Bolingbrook include:

Most of Bolingbrook lies within the boundaries of Valley View School District 365U and Fountaindale Public Library District, both of which also include nearby Romeoville, Illinois. Other school districts that serve Bolingbrook include Plainfield School District 202, Indian Prairie School District 204, Naperville School District 203, Woodridge School District 68, and Downers Grove High School District 99.[24]

• Mustafa Ali, WWE wrestler born in Bolingbrook
• Kenneth Boatright, football free agent raised in Bolingbrook[30]
• Ronnie Bull, retired Bears running back who currently lives in Bolingbrook
• Troy Doris, Olympian finalist triple jumper
• J. J. Furmaniak, professional baseball infielder raised in Bolingbrook
• Jerry Harris, cheerleader from Cheer (TV series) raised in Bolingbrook
• Anthony Herron, former professional American football player and now broadcast analyst
• Michael S. Pearson, Fort Hood 2009 victim raised in Bolingbrook
• Drew Peterson, former Bolingbrook police sergeant, suspected in the disappearance of his fourth wife, convicted of drowning his third wife[31]
• Steve Williams, football free agent raised in Bolingbrook

• San Pablo City, Laguna, Philippines
• Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan
• Xuchang, Henan, China

• The Promenade Bolingbrook

• Village website
• Clow Airport
• Illinois Aviation Museum
• website of the Bolingbrook Park District
• Fountaindale Public Library