Bellwood, Illinois


Bellwood is a village in Proviso Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. Located west of Chicago's downtown Loop, the Village of Bellwood is bounded by the Eisenhower Expressway, the Proviso yards of the former Chicago & Northwestern, now Union Pacific Railroad, and the suburbs of Maywood and Hillside and Berkeley. The population was 19,071 at the 2010 census.

History

Bellwood was incorporated on May 21, 1900.

Geography

Bellwood is located at .
According to the 2010 census, Bellwood has a total area of, all land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 19,071 people, 6,440 households, and 5,100 families living in the village. The population density was 8,608.0 people per square mile. There were 6,683 housing units at an average density of 2,801.4 per square mile. The racial makeup of the village was 11.75% White, 81.73% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.96% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 3.79% from other races, and 1.51% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.94% of the population.
There were 6,440 households out of which 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were married couples living together, 25.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.8% were non-families. 17.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.18 and the average family size was 3.57.
In the village, the population was spread out with 30.5% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 7.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.5 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $52,856, and the median income for a family was $57,037. Males had a median income of $38,015 versus $30,428 for females. The per capita income for the village was $19,420. About 5.9% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.2% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Andre F. Harvey is the current and Bellwood's first African-American mayor. https://chicagocrusader.com/bellwood-gets-first-black-mayor-in-117-years/

Education

The Bellwood School District 88 comprises seven schools: Grant Primary School, Grant Elementary School, Lincoln Primary–Early Childhood Center, Lincoln Elementary School, McKinley Elementary School, Thurgood Marshall Elementary School and Roosevelt Middle School. Some portions are zoned to Berkeley School District 87.
It has one private school:
Proviso Township High Schools District 209 operates public high schools. The community is served by Proviso West High School in Hillside.

Infrastructure

Transportation

The village is serviced by a Metra railroad station with commuter service to Chicago. In November 2011, Union Pacific Railroad announced plans to renovate and upgrade Bellwood's Metra station and add a third rail line. The project, estimated at $4 million, was expected to be completed by the fall of 2012 at no cost to residents.

Notable people