Elmwood Park is a village on the northwest side of Chicago, Illinois, and is in Cook County. It is primarily an Italian-American neighborhood. The boundaries of Elmwood Park are Belmont Avenue to the north, North Avenue to the south, Harlem Avenue to the east and 80th Avenue to the west.
The area is served by Metra’s Milwaukee District/West Line, which travels between Elgin and Union Station in downtown Chicago. It is considered a very safe neighborhood with lots of good restaurants. It is only a 20-minute drive to O’Hare Airport and a 30-minute drive to the Loop. Its motto is “The Village with Pride.” The Maywood Park Race Track is also located there.
According to the Village of Elmwood Park’s website, it was incorporated as a village in April 1914, in order to prevent being annexed by Chicago. Residents from the city would go to “Elm-Wood-Park” for family picnics underneath 180-year-old elm trees. A cemetery and a train stop were named Elmwood, which then led to the village’s official name of Elmwood Park.
Because Elmwood Park was very swampy, it was called "mud town" and residents needed to own two pairs of shoes: one for inside, and a second pair for outdoors. People kept their outdoors shoes in a muddy pile at their front doors.
Because of archaeological evidence of Paleo-Indian settlements during the past 14,000 years, Elmwood Park is considered the oldest continually inhabited Village in the Chicago region. It may have been inhabited because of its ideal canoe portaging location 10 miles from where the mouth of the Chicago River empties into greater Lake Michigan. Native Americans traded unique chert rock there.
Elmwood Park is 1.91 square miles in area. According to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau and city-data.com, Elmwood Park is 85% white, 1.9% African American, Asian 2.3%, Hispanic 23%, Islander .02%, Native American 0.3% and other 10.6%. Its population is 24,985. The median age is 39. The median income is $53,843. The average household size is 2.55 people.
There are 10,090 housing units in the village. The median home value is $206,736 and the median rent is $873 monthly.
Among the residents 25 and older, 86.9% have graduated from high school and 25.3% hold a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Elmwood Park's public schools are operated under Illinois Community Unit School District 401. The schools include: Elmwood Park High School, Elm Middle School, John Mills Elementary School, Elmwood Elementary School and the Early Childhood Center.
Kreisman Law Offices handles Illinois lawsuits for the entire Chicago metropolitan area, including Elmwood Park. Chicago's Kreisman Law Offices has over 40 years of trial experience and specializes in a wide range of legal services, including Illinois personal injury law, Illinois product defect/product liability law, Illinois medical malpractice claims, and Illinois nursing home abuse cases. Please call us 24 hours a day at 312.346.0045 or toll free 800.583.8002 for a free and immediate consultation, or complete a contact form online.
Our Chicago loop office is in a convenient location for Maywood Park residents. Kreisman Law Offices are located at the corner of Dearborn and Monroe streets. Maywood Park residents can take the Metra train to Kreisman Law Offices.