Tinley Park, Illinois
Encyclopedia
Tinley Park is a village located primarily in Cook County
Cook County, Illinois
Cook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...

, 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 with a small portion in Will County
Will County, Illinois
As of the census of 2000, there were 502,266 people, 167,542 households, and 131,017 families residing in the county. The population density was 600 people per square mile . There were 175,524 housing units at an average density of 210 per square mile...

. The population was 48,401 at the 2000 census, and 58,322 in the 2007 census. It is one of the fastest growing suburbs south of Chicago. In 2009, Tinley Park was selected by BusinessWeek
BusinessWeek
Bloomberg Businessweek, commonly and formerly known as BusinessWeek, is a weekly business magazine published by Bloomberg L.P. It is currently headquartered in New York City.- History :...

as the best place to raise a family in America.

Early History

Records show that prior to European settlement, the area was primarily occupied by the Potawatomi
Potawatomi
The Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...

 tribe.

19th Century

Settlement of the area which now comprises Tinley Park began in the 1820s by emigrants from the Eastern United States
Eastern United States
The Eastern United States, the American East, or simply the East is traditionally defined as the states east of the Mississippi River. The first two tiers of states west of the Mississippi have traditionally been considered part of the West, but can be included in the East today; usually in...

. German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 settlers became predominant in area by the 1840s, and the village was originally established in 1853 as "Bremen". Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, and other American settlers were also common in the area.

In the late 19th century, railroads expanded rapidly, and the village happened to be located on the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock.-Incorporation:...

 line. The influence of the railroad on Bremen was so great that, in 1890, its name was changed to Tinley Park in honor of the village's first railroad station agent, Samuel Tinley, Sr. Even the village's official incorporation took place at the train depot on June 27, 1892.

20th century

With the railroad came industry and commerce. 1905 saw the Diamond Spiral Washing Machine Company found its first factory in Tinley Park. Local businessmen established an electric utility in 1909. A bottling facility for soda was operated in Tinley Park until the 1950s. Inventor John Rauhoff developed and manufactured a waterproofing additive for cement called Ironite, later used in the construction of the Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President...

. In the latter part of the 20th century, Tinley Park was, and remains to be, an area of rapid suburban expansion (Urban sprawl
Urban sprawl
Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a multifaceted concept, which includes the spreading outwards of a city and its suburbs to its outskirts to low-density and auto-dependent development on rural land, high segregation of uses Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a...

) to the west and south of the original site with over 11,000 housing units constructed between 1970-1994

Today

After its centennial (1992), Tinley Park from the late 20th century to the present has been focused on renovation of its downtown historic district. The historic district is made up of the village's original 1892 boundaries. In this district, landowners are encouraged to maintain the historic edifices or to create new, historically friendly facades for otherwise non-historic buildings built in the last 30 years.

Downtown renovation projects include the creation of a park in the very center of this historic area, near the Tinley Park Rock Island train station, and the recent "North Street Project", a multimillion-dollar project which will raise businesses and dwellings to create an area for more than 100 condominiums, over 40000 square feet (3,716.1 m²) of commercial retail space, 10000 square feet (929 m²) of office space, an underground parking facility, and an 11-screen theater which will seat 1,920.

Many arguably historic houses and buildings built before the 1930s have been or are being lost with the intention to re-invent the 'historic' downtown center of Tinley Park. Buildings razed include: the original Tinley Park one-room schoolhouse which has been 're-created' on a site adjacent to Old Zion Church and Tinley Park Historical Society building, Central Jr. High School's former building that was demolished to make room for a vacant lot, 1920s and older houses along South Street that have been demolished, and recently the Bremen Cash Store (built in the late 19th century) that exists only as stacks of bricks on pallets of which it was formerly built. Several houses along north street are also threatened by the aforementioned "North Street Project".

The First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre is an outdoor music venue, in Chicago's southwest suburb of Tinley Park, Illinois, that opened in 1990. It is one of the largest music venues in the Chicago area, with capacities of up to 28,000 spectators...

, (formerly named "The World Music Theatre", also "Tweeter Center") an outdoor venue which seats 28,000, is located in Tinley Park.

Tinley Park was the site of the Tinley Park Lights
Tinley Park Lights
The Tinley Park Lights is a reference to a series of five mass UFO sightings which occurred on August 21, 2004, two months later on October 31, 2004, again on October 1 of 2005, and again on October 31, 2006, in Tinley Park and Oak Park, Illinois, suburbs of Chicago...

, an anomalous multiple mass UFO sighting event in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

According to a recently taken special census, Tinley Park's population is now 58,322, eclipsing the population of its neighbor to the west, Orland Park.
From this census about 77.1% of the population are of Polish descent.

Geography

Tinley Park is located at 41°34′26"N 87°48′14"W (41.573800, -87.803891).

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 15 square miles (38.8 km²), of which, 14.9 square miles (38.6 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1035995244 km²) of it (0.27%) is water. The village lies on the Tinley Moraine
Tinley Moraine
The Tinley Moraine is a moraine around the Lake Michigan basin in North America. It was formed during the Wisconsin Glaciation and is younger than the higher and wider terminal moraine called the Valparaiso Moraine farther from the lake than it. Compared to the Valparaiso Moraine, the Tinley...

 and/or the Valparaiso Moraine
Valparaiso Moraine
The Valparaiso Moraine is a terminal moraine around the Lake Michigan basin in North America. It is a band of high, hilly terrain made up of glacial till and sand that reaches an elevation of near 300 feet above the level of Lake Michigan at its maximum height in Indiana and 17 miles wide at its...

.

Demographics

As of the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...

, there were 48,401 people, 17,478 households, and 12,793 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 3,236.9 people per square mile (1,250.0/km²). There were 18,037 housing units at an average density of 1,206.2 per square mile (465.8/km²). The racial makeup
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...

 of the village was 93.16% White, 1.92% African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

, 0.13% Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

, 2.38% Asian
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...

, 0.02% Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander , is a geographic term to describe the indigenous inhabitants of any of the three major sub-regions of Oceania: Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia.According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, these three regions, together with their islands consist of:Polynesia:...

, 1.11% from other races, and 1.27% from two or more races. Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...

 or Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...

 of any race were 4.13% of the population.

The top five ancestries reported in Tinley Park as of the 2000 census were Irish
Irish American
Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...

 (25.5%), German
German American
German Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry and comprise about 51 million people, or 17% of the U.S. population, the country's largest self-reported ancestral group...

 (23.1%), Polish
Polish American
A Polish American , is a citizen of the United States of Polish descent. There are an estimated 10 million Polish Americans, representing about 3.2% of the population of the United States...

 (19.9%), Italian
Italian American
An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...

 (14.3%) and Dutch (5.3%).

There were 17,478 households out of which 36.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.5% 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, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.8% were non-families. 23.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.27.

In the village the population was spread out with 26.6% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males.

The median income for a household in the affluent village was $61,648, and the median income for a family was $71,858 (these figures had risen to $70,480 and $84,072 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $50,595 versus $34,401 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 $25,207. About 1.1% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.5% of those under age 18 and 3.6% of those age 65 or over.

Due to a drastic increase in the polish population, Tinley Park elected Michael Concannon as the Polish Representative for Polish Americans(PRPA).

Government

Tinley Park is divided between three congressional districts. Most of the village, including all the area in Bremen
Bremen Township, Cook County, Illinois
Bremen Township is one of thirty townships in Cook County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 109,575. It was organized in 1850 and is located southwest of Chicago, Illinois in southern Cook County...

 and Rich Townships
Rich Township, Cook County, Illinois
Rich Township is one of thirty townships in Cook County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 67,623.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, Rich Township covers an area of ; of this, is land and is water.-Cities, towns, villages:* Country Club Hills*...

, is in Illinois' 1st congressional district
Illinois' 1st congressional district
Illinois's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Illinois. Based in Cook County, the district includes much of the South Side of Chicago, extending into the city's southwest suburbs until reaching the border of Will County, and covers , making it one of the 40...

; the area in Will County is in the 11th district
Illinois' 11th congressional district
The 11th Congressional District of Illinois includes the towns of Joliet, Bloomington, Normal, Kankakee, LaSalle, Ottawa and Streator, and all or parts of Will, Kankakee, Grundy, LaSalle, Bureau, Woodford and McLean counties...

; the area in Orland Township
Orland Township, Cook County, Illinois
Orland Township is one of thirty townships in Cook County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 91,418.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, Orland Township covers an area of ; of this, is land and is water...

 south of 167th Street, as well as most of the area southwest of 163rd Street and Ozark Avenue, is in the 13th district
Illinois' 13th congressional district
The 13th congressional district of Illinois covers the southwest suburbs of Chicago, including portions of Cook, DuPage, and Will counties. Since 1999 it has been represented by Republican Judy Biggert....

.

Education

Tinley Park includes two public elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...

 districts, Kirby School District 140 and Community Consolidated School District 146. The town also includes three parochial Pre-K through 8 elementary schools: St. George, which is Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

; Trinity Lutheran, affiliated with the LCMS
Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod
The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With 2.3 million members, it is both the eighth largest Protestant denomination and the second-largest Lutheran body in the U.S. after the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The Synod...

; and Southwest Chicago Christian School of Tinley Park.

Victor J. Andrew High School
Victor J. Andrew High School
Victor J. Andrew High School, Andrew, or VJA, is a public four-year high school located in Tinley Park, Illinois, a southwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States...

 (Consolidated High School District 230
Consolidated High School District 230
The Consolidated High School District 230 is a public high school district located 25 miles southwest of Chicago, Illinois. It has nearly 9,000 students in three high schools.-Schools:Benjamin Franklin High School...

) and Tinley Park High School
Tinley Park High School
Tinley Park High School, TPHS or simply Tinley is a public high school located in Tinley Park, Illinois, approximately 30 miles southwest of Chicago...

 (Bremen Community High School District 228
Bremen Community High School District 228
Bremen Community High School District 228 is a public four year high school district covering about in Bremen Township in southern Cook County, Illinois in the south suburbs of Chicago...

) are both secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...

s located in Tinley Park. A small portion of Tinley Park students go to Lincoln-Way North High School
Lincoln-Way North High School
Lincoln-Way North High School or LWN, is a public four-year high school located approximately one mile south of Interstate 80 near the intersection of Harlem Avenue and Vollmer Road in Frankfort Square, Illinois, a southwest suburb of Chicago, in the United States...

. Most residents of Tinley Park are located within the residency boundaries for Moraine Valley Community College
Moraine Valley Community College
Moraine Valley Community College is a community college located in Palos Hills, Illinois in the southwest suburbs of Chicago. Founded in 1967, it is the second largest community college in the state. It has an enrollment of approximately 35,000...

; the rest reside in the community college
Community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.-Australia:Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults...

 district for South Suburban College
South Suburban College
South Suburban College is a community college located in the south suburbs of Chicago serving the Chicago Southland. The main campus is situated in South Holland, Illinois with a second campus called the University and College Center in Oak Forest, Illinois...

. A very small portion of Tinley Park goes to Joliet Junior College
Joliet Junior College
Joliet Junior College , a community college based in Joliet, Illinois, was the first public community college founded in the United States. JJC offers pre-baccalaureate programs for students planning to transfer to a four-year university, as well as occupational education leading directly to...

.

Sister cities

  •    Büdingen, Hesse
    Hesse
    Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...

    , Germany.
     Mallow
    Mallow, County Cork
    Mallow is the "Crossroads of Munster" and the administrative capital of north County Cork, in Ireland. The Northern Divisional Offices of Cork County Council are located in the town....

    , Co. Cork, Ireland
    Republic of Ireland
    Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

      Nowy Sącz
    Nowy Sacz
    Nowy Sącz is a town in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County, but is not included within the powiat.-Names:...

    , Poland
    Poland
    Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

    .

People from Tinley Park, Illinois

  • Hazem Ali
    Hazem Ali
    Hazem Ali is an American professional wrestler and manager of Palestinian descent best known by his ring name Armando Estrada.-Ohio Valley Wrestling:...

    , Former American Professional Wrestler with WWE known as Armando Estrada
  • Emil Andres
    Emil Andres
    Emil Andres was an American racecar driver active during the 1930's and 1940's....

    , Indy and Sprint Car Driver
  • Gary Bettenhausen
    Gary Bettenhausen
    Gary Bettenhausen is a retired American auto racing driver. He was born in Blue Island, Illinois, raised in Tinley Park, Illinois, and currently resides in Monrovia, Indiana.-Racing family:...

    , Indy and Sprint Car Driver
  • Merle Bettenhausen
    Merle Bettenhausen
    Merle Bettenhausen is a former American race car driver. The second oldest member of the Bettenhausen racing family, he is the son of Tony Bettenhausen and the brother of Gary Bettenhausen and Tony Bettenhausen Jr and was born in Tinley Park, Illinois.Merle's USAC Champ Car racing career was brief...

    , Sprint Car Driver
  • Tony Bettenhausen
    Tony Bettenhausen
    Melvin E. "Tony" Bettenhausen was an American racing driver, who won the National Championship in 1951 and 1958....

    , Indy Car Driver
  • Tony Bettenhausen Jr, Indy Car Driver
  • Frank J. Christensen
    Frank J. Christensen
    Frank J. Christensen is one of the most powerful and politically connected labor leaders in Illinois. He is the longest-serving Business Manager of Elevator Constructors Local 2 in its history...

    , American Labor Leader
  • Gina Glocksen
    Gina Glocksen
    Gina Glocksen was the ninth-place finisher on the sixth season of American Idol. She was eliminated on April 4, 2007. She previously appeared in season 5...

    , American Idol
    American Idol (Season 6)
    The sixth season of American Idol premiered on the Fox Broadcasting Company as a two-night, four-hour premiere special on January 16 and January 17, and ran until May 23, 2007. Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson returned to judge once again, and Ryan Seacrest returned as host...

     finalist
  • Christopher Halper, First Assistant Director
  • Garrett Jones
    Garrett Jones
    Garrett Thomas Jones is a Major League Baseball outfielder/first baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates.In 1999, Jones graduated from Victor J. Andrew High School in Tinley Park, Illinois....

    , MLB baseball player
  • Christine Magnuson
    Christine Magnuson
    Christine Marie Magnuson is an American swimmer and two-time Olympic medalist.She has won a total of five medals in major international competition, four silvers, and one bronze spanning the Olympics, the World Championships, and the Pan Pacific Championships.-Personal:Magnuson went to high school...

    , Olympic Swimmer and 2x Silver Medalist
  • Kevin Sefcik
    Kevin Sefcik
    Kevin John Sefcik is a former Major League Baseball utility player. He was active for 7 seasons, from through .The vast majority of Sefcik's major league service was with the Philadelphia Phillies...

    , Former Major League Baseball
    Major League Baseball
    Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

     Player
  • Tim Talty, Professional Ice Hockey Player

External links

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