Hawthorn Woods, Illinois
Encyclopedia
Hawthorn Woods is a village in the Fremont
Fremont Township, Lake County, Illinois
Fremont Township is a township in Lake County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 23,955.-Geography:Fremont Township covers an area of ; of this, or 2.86 percent is water...

 and Ela
Ela Township, Lake County, Illinois
Ela Township is a township in Lake County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 39,688.-History:The township form of government, modeled after the New England town meeting, was established in the United States after 1785, when federal legislation authorized states to create...

 Townships of Lake County
Lake County, Illinois
Lake County is a county in the northeastern corner of the state of Illinois, on the shore of Lake Michigan. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 703,462, which is an increase of 9.2% from 644,356 in 2000. Its county seat is Waukegan. The county is part of the Chicago metropolitan area...

, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The population was 6,002 at the 2000 census and estimated to have grown to over 8,000 by 2008. The village is located approximately 40 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. It was officially incorporated in 1958. Major transportation arteries include Midlothian Road, OldMcHenry Road, Gilmer Road, and the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway
Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway
The Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway is a Class II railroad that operates in the suburbs surrounding Chicago. The railroad is a link between Class I railroads in northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana...

. The new Hawthorn Woods Country Club, whose golf course was designed by golf professional Arnold Palmer, is located within the village's perimeter.

Hawthorn Woods is also known to its residents to have aggressive fees in excess of neighboring villages. A review of neighboring Lake Zurich village codes (http://www.sterlingcodifiers.com/codebook/index.php?book_id=373) and comparison to Hawthorn Woods shows higher costs in Hawthorn Woods. In addition, the articles above about utility taxes fail to mention that Lake Zurich (and other neighboring villages) adopted the utility fees as a substitute for vehicle registration fees. As Hawthorn Woods adopts both methods of taxation, the village again exceeds neighboring village tax burdens. A review of the mayor's outlook on how to manage the budget and get the city financially stable can be reviewed at http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs047/1102673403676/archive/1102933579813.html

Police Officers within Hawthorn Woods have been verbally briefed to increase ticket writing efforts to enhance revenue. A 2010 Chicago Sun-Times article summarized how this is done within Chicago: http://www.suntimes.com/news/cityhall/2606072,CST-NWS-tickets17.article To date, Hawthorn Woods has avoided similar publication of its government efforts. However, a review of citations shows a rapidly increased rate of resident sticker violations on parked vehicles - not traffic stops. This is interesting because the ticket writing officer would have to verify that the vehicle was registered in a Hawthron Woods city domicile to write the ticket. The same registration check would verify that the village registration fee had been paid - even if the sticker was not displayed. The reader is left to make his or her own conclusions on motivations given the facts.

In 2010, parks and recreation fees for youth sports team use of community fields was increased to the point that many teams moved practices and games to other villages. The full impact of those fees and lost revenue is still under investigation as calls to the village parks department from a local reporter have not been returned.

Information on why and how city officials are pursuing additional revenue at http://www.vhw.org/documents/AgendaFinanceCommitteeJuly14_000.pdf
and at the following:
http://www.vhw.org/documents/WhydoestheVillageofHawthornWoodsneedtoimposeautilitytaxonelectricityandnaturalgas.pdf

Further resident perspective on management practices within the village can be found at http://athornyissue.blogspot.com/

Recreation and family life in the village:

In early 2011, conflicts between the local youth soccer organization - ELA - and the most recent government of the village appear to have become personal in nature. The youth organization was denied use of soccer fields long used by the organization with hundreds of village children as members. Efforts to uncover where the fields were alternately leased has not been forthcoming from the village. The personal nature of the issues have become apparent with an email campaign from the sitting mayor and additional letter writing campaigns from a former coach for ELA that, when combined, appear to contain inconsistencies and partial truths.

Geography

Hawthorn Woods is located at 42°13′41"N 88°3′19"W (42.228306, -88.055319).

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the village has a total area of 5.4 square miles (14 km²), of which, 5.4 square miles (14 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (1.11%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2008, there are 7,500 people, 1,831 households, and 1,708 families residing in the village. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 1,119.9 people per square mile (432.3/km²). There were 1,848 housing units at an average density of 344.8 per square mile (133.1/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 94.55% White, 0.07 African American, 0.02% Native American, 3.10% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.57% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 1.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.07% of the population.

There were 1,831 households out of which 55.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 89.2% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 3.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 6.7% were non-families. 4.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.28 and the average family size was 3.39.

In the village the population was spread out with 33.6% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 29.1% from 45 to 64, and 4.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 101.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.8 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $132,720, and the median income for a family was $134,034. Males had a median income of $100,000+ versus $55,156 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the village was $49,346. About 2.1% of families and 1.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.4% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.

Notable residents

  • Dominick Basso
    Dominick Basso
    Dominick Basso , sometimes shown incorrectly as Dominic Basso, was a mobster in the Chicago Outfit and a high-ranking bookmaker who was convicted in 1988 for syndicated gambling...

    , Chicago mobster
  • Chelsea Brummet
    Chelsea Brummet
    Chelsea Jean Brummet is an American actress and singer and known for her work on Nickelodeon's All That.-Early life and career:...

    , actress and singer
  • Keith Hunt, former mayor
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