Glen Ellyn, Illinois

The Village of Glen Ellyn is a community located in the county of DuPage, Illinois, about 25 miles west of Chicago. According to the 2010 census, about 30,000 residents live in Glen Ellyn.

Glen Ellyn is served by the Metra Union Pacific-West Line into Chicago’s Ogilvie Transportation Center. Glen Ellyn is also served by Pace bus routes 715, 654 and 657. Zip codes there are 60137 and 60138.

Glen Ellyn was originally settled in 1834 as a halfway stop between Chicago and the Fox River Valley. It was also a stop for passengers traveling from Galina, Ill., by stagecoach to Rockford, Ill.

The main campus of the College of DuPage is in Glen Ellyn with its most famous alumni being the comedy legends John Belushi and his brother James. Singer/performer Laurie Anderson grew up in Glen Ellyn.

Glen Ellyn’s primary schools are part of Glen Ellyn’s School District 41. Its high schools are part of the Glenbard Township High School District 87. There is also a private Catholic school, St. Petronille.

At the last census, the racial makeup of the village was 89.5% White, 2.13% African American, 0.14% Native American, 4.74% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.83% from other races, and 1.66% from two or more races. Hispanics of any race made up 4.72% of the population.

There were 10,207 households, of which 36.7% had children under the age of 18. Additionally, 61.0% of households were married couples living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.5% were non-families. Individuals accounted for 25.2% of all households and 9.3% were people 65 years of age or older living alone. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.21.

The population included a wide age spread, with 28.4% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% were 65 years or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males.

According to 2008-2012 estimates published by the U.S. Census Bureau, the median income for a household in the village was $90,640, and the median income for a family was $123,455. Men had a median income of $68,630 compared to $36,287 for women. The per capita income for the village was $39,783. A total of 2.8% of the population, and 1.3% of families, had incomes below the poverty line. By age, 2.4% of those under the age of 18, and 2.0% of those 65 and older, were living below the poverty line.

According to the census report, between 1900 and 2000, the population grew significantly. Here are the population figures:

• 1900: 793
• 1930: 7,680
• 1960: 15,972
• 1990: 24,944
• 2000: 26,999

At the east end of Glen Ellyn, Roosevelt Road provides access onto Interstate 355, which leads to the interstates and an easy drive into Chicago’s Loop.

The first landowner in Glen Ellyn was Deacon Winslow Churchill. He and his family moved to Glen Ellyn from New York in 1834. Other newcomers to the area built town necessities a tavern and school.

Moses Stacy, a soldier in the War of 1812, arrived in the area in 1835. His inn, Stacy's Tavern, built in 1846 and his second home, was a halfway stop between Chicago and the Fox River Valley. Stacy's Tavern, a historical monument, stands at what is now the intersection of Geneva Road and Main Street.

In 1849, construction of a railroad line through Glen Ellyn was completed. The area around the railroad became the center of the town. At first, trains running through the town on the railway did not stop there. A local man named Lewey Q. Newton made an offer to the railroad company: Newton said he would build a depot and water tank and pay for them himself if the railroad would require trains to stop there. The depot that Newton built became known as Newton Station.

In 1889, residents Thomas E. Hill and Philo Stacy spearheaded a project to create a new lake, called Lake Glen Ellyn, by having a dam built in a nearby stream. In 1890, residents discovered mineral springs near the village.

In 1891, Glen Ellyn, advertised as Chicago's newest suburb and health resort, became the village's official name; it was incorporated on May 10, 1892. The large Lake Glen Ellyn Hotel opened in 1892, the same year much of the business district was destroyed by fire. Fourteen years later, the hotel was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. In 1907, Glen Ellyn’s first fire department was organized. It is still known as the last all-volunteer fire organization in DuPage County, Ill.

By World War I, Glen Oak Country Club served the Oak Park and Glen Ellyn communities, and in 1922 the first Glenbard high school was built.

The town went through several name changes, including Babcock's Grove (named for three brothers who settled there), DuPage Center, Stacy's Corners (after the Stacy family), Newton's Station, Danby (after Danby, Vermont, a local landowner's birthplace), Prospect Park, and finally Glen Ellyn. The name Glen Ellyn is based on the Welsh version of the name of the then-village president Thomas E. Hill's wife Ellen, preceded by glen, referring to the local geography.

Kreisman Law Offices handles Illinois lawsuits for the entire Chicago metropolitan area, including Glen Ellyn, and its four connected counties. Chicago's Kreisman Law Offices offer a wide range of legal services, including personal injury law, medical negligence cases, birth injury cases, chemical exposure cases, product defect/product liability law, wrongful death law, and workers’ compensation. The Illinois attorneys at Kreisman Law Offices have more than 40 years of trial experience. 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 law office is in a convenient location for Glen Ellyn residents. Directions to our office from Glen Ellyn are as follows: take I-88 East to I-290 East, which eventually becomes Congress Parkway. Exit onto South Wacker Drive; make a right onto W. Jackson Blvd., traveling east to Dearborn Street; turn left onto Dearborn Street. Kreisman Law Offices is located at the southwest corner of Dearborn Street and Monroe Street.