Located directly north of Chicago, the city of Evanston, Illinois is 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west and Wilmette to the north. At the 2010 census, Evanston’s population was 74,486. It is one of the North Shore communities that border Lake Michigan. Evanston is the home of Northwestern University. Its total area is 7.8 square miles. Zip codes in Evanston are 60201 and 60202.
The 2010 census showed that Evanston is ethnically and racially mixed. In Evanston, 65.6% of the population is white, 18.1% is black or African American, 0.2% is American Indian or Alaska Native, 8.6% is Asian, 0.02% is Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, 3.6% is some other race, and 3.8% is from two or more races. Also, 9.0% of the Evanston population is Hispanic or Latino.
At the 2010 census, there were 30,047 Evanston households. Among these, 26.1% had children under the age of 18, 39.8% were headed by married couples living together, 9.7% had a female head of household, and 48% were non-families. Also, 37.5% of all households were made up of single people, and 10.5% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25, and the average family size was 3.05.
As of 2011, the median income for a household in Evanston was $60,033, and the median income for a family was $102,706. The per capita income was $40,732. About 6.4% of families and 12.1% of the population were below the poverty line.
Most of Evanston (and a small part of the nearby Village of Skokie) is within the boundaries of Evanston Township High School District 202. The district has a single high school, Evanston Township High School (ETHS), with an enrollment of just over 3,500 in grades 9 through 12. The school's mascot is Willie the Wildkit, named after Northwestern University’s Wildcats, and the school's colors are orange and blue.
Evanston-Skokie School District 65, covering all of Evanston and a small part of Skokie, provides pre-kindergarten through grade 8. The district has ten elementary schools (kindergarten through fifth grade), three middle schools (grades 6 through 8), two magnet schools, (K through 8), two special schools or centers, and an early childhood school.
The Chicago Transit Authority serves Evanston via the Purple Line, which is an extension of the Red Line, running south into Chicago’s Loop. The CTA’s Yellow Line also serves portions of Evanston. Metra’s North Line has stops in Evanston at Main Street, Davis Street and Central Street, with service into Ogilvie Transportation Center.
Evanston is also easily accessible from Chicago by car. Motorists can use the Edens Expressway (I-94), Green Bay Road and Ridge Avenue to Lake Shore Drive, and McCormick Boulevard.
Major employers are Northwestern University, North Shore University Health Care System, Saint Francis Hospital, City of Evanston, Evanston-Skokie School District, Evanston Township High School, Presbyterian Home, Rotary International and Jewel Osco.
In 1851, a group of Methodist business leaders founded Northwestern University. They chose a site along Lake Michigan to locate the university, purchasing several hundred acres of land from Dr. John Foster, a Chicago farm owner. In 1854, the founders of Northwestern submitted to the county judge their plans for a city to be named Evanston after John Evans, who was one of their leaders.
Evanston was formally incorporated in 1863. In 1939, Evanston hosted the first NCAA basketball championship. In August 1954, Evanston hosted the second assembly of the World Council of Churches, still the only WCC assembly to have been held in the United States. President Dwight Eisenhower welcomed the delegates.
Evanston is the birthplace of Tinkertoys. Alcohol was prohibited there from 1858 until 1972, when the Evanston City Council voted to allow restaurants and hotels to serve liquor on their premises. Today the distillery, F.E.W. found off of Chicago Avenue in Evanston makes gin, rye, bourbon and other specialty spirits. The initials, “FEW” stand for Francis Elizabeth Willard, a temperance reformer who worked hard to pass the 18th Amendment, prohibition of the sale of intoxicating liquors and was also important in the women’s suffrage movement and the passage of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote.
Kreisman Law Offices handles Illinois lawsuits for the entire Chicago metropolitan area, including Evanston. Chicago's Kreisman Law Offices has more than 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 Evanston residents. Driving directions to Kreisman Law Offices are as follows: take Lake Shore Drive/US–41 S. Turn right on E. Monroe St., traveling west to S. Michigan Avenue. Then take a right onto S. Michigan Avenue, then a left onto E. Madison Street. Travel west on E. Madison Street, then take a left onto Dearborn. Kreisman Law Offices is located at the corner of Dearborn and Monroe Streets. Or if you prefer, there are many convenient modes of public transportation to Kreisman Law Offices, including the Metra and CTA.