Highland Park

Highland Park is a suburban city located in the southeastern part of Lake County, Illinois, about 25 miles (40 km) north of downtown Chicago. The city was established as a city on March 11, 1869, with a population of 500, and evolved from the two settlements of St. John and Port Clinton. The Ravinia Festival is an open-air pavilion seating 3,200, which hosts classical, pop, jazz and latin concerts in the summers. In 2013, Highland Park passed an ordinance banning assault weapons within the city. In 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld the ban. On July 4, 2022, a mass shooting occurred at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, killing seven people and injuring dozens more. A suspect was apprehended hours later and charged with first-degree murder. Highland Park has several landmark structures listed in the National Register of Historic Places, notably the Willits House by Frank Lloyd Wright. There are three public beaches: Rosewood Beach, Moraine Beach (part of which is available for off-leash dogs), and Park Avenue Beach (which also has a boating facility). Highland Park is also home to the North Shore Yacht Club, which is also the summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 1936. It has several attractions including a downtown shopping district and the R Gavinia Festival, originally an artists' colony, which still retains much of its early character and architecture. In addition to several houses designed by Wright, the National register lists homes designed by prominent architects including John S. Van Bergen, Howard Van Doren Shaw, Robert E. Seyfarth, and David Adler.

History

In 1847, two German immigrants, John Hettinger and John Peterman founded a town along Lake Michigan, which they called St. John's. Three years later, another German Immigrant, Jacob Clinton Bloom, founded Port Clinton. Port Clinton was described by Elijah Middlebrook Haines as "one of the most promising villages in the city" In 1854, a lighthouse was built in Port Clinton, thanks to funding by the US Congress and sponsorships from Illinois representatives. In 1860, Port Clinton stopped growing as a town, and the lighthouse was shut down. In 1867, ten men purchased Highland Park for $39,198.70. Following construction of the Chicago and Milwaukee Railroad, a depot was established at Highland Park and a plat, extending south to Central Avenue, was laid out in 1856. Highland Park was named from its parklike setting at a lofty elevation relative to the lake, and was given its name from Walter S. Gurnee. The town annexed the village of Ravinia in 1899. In 2013, Highland Park passed an ordinance banning assault weapons within the city. In 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld the ban, and later that year, the Supreme Court allowed the ruling to stand. On July 4, 2022, a mass shooting occurred at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, killing seven people and injuring dozens more. A suspect was apprehended hours later and charged with first-degree murder.

Overview

Ravinia Festival is an open-air pavilion seating 3,200, which hosts classical, pop, jazz and latin concerts in the summers. The festival is located in Ravinia District, originally an artists' colony, which still retains much of its early character and architecture. There are three public beaches in Highland Park: Rosewood Beach, Moraine Beach (part of which is available for off-leash dogs), and Park Avenue Beach (which also has a boating facility). Highland Park is also home to the North Shore Yacht Club. Highland Park has several landmark structures listed in the National Register of Historic Places, notably the Willits House by Frank Lloyd Wright. In addition to several houses designed by Wright, the National register lists homes designed by prominent architects including John S. Van Bergen, Howard Van Doren Shaw, Robert E. Seyfarth, and David Adler. The community is home to a number of prominent landscape architects, including Jens Jensen, who lived in the community and designed several projects in the area that are listed on the register. It is also the summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, which has been there since 1936. It has a downtown shopping district and the Chicago Cubs baseball team, which is based in the park. It also has several parks, including Highland Park Park, which was once a popular summer destination for Chicago Cubs players and their families. The city has a large number of historic homes, many of which were built in the 1800s and 1900s.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.2 square miles (31.7 km²) of which 12.6 square miles is land and 0.039 sq miles (0.1 km²), or 0.27%, is water. Its geographic features include a 100-foot-high (30 m) bluff running along 6 miles (10 km) of Lake Michigan shoreline and deep, wooded ravines extending up to 1 mile (1.6 km) inland. Elevations range from 580 to 725 feet (177 to 221 m) above sea level. The city is located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, on the eastern shore of the Great Lakes region of the United States. It is the largest city in the state with a population of more than 1,000,000. It has a population density of 1.2 people per square mile (2.2 per km²). The city's population was 1,816,000 in the 2010 Census. It was the most populous city in Michigan in the 1990s. It had a population growth rate of 0.7% in the 2000 Census. Its population has declined 0.3% since the 1990 Census. The town's population peaked at 1,715,000 (2000 Census) in the early 1990s, when it had a growth rate exceeding 1.5%. The city has an estimated population of 1,100,000 as of the 2010 census.

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 29,763 people living in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 91.05% White, 1.84% Black or African American, 2.9% Asian, 0.18% Native American, and 2.51% of some other race. 7.28% of the population were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). As of the census of 2000, the city had 31,365 people, 11,521 households, and 8,917 families. The median income for a household in theCity was $100,967, and the median income. for a family was $117,235. About 2.3% of families and 3.8%. of the residents were below the poverty line, including 3.9%. of those under age 18 and 4.1% of those age 65 or over. The city had a population of 31,364 as of the 2000 U.S. census. The population density was 2,537.5 inhabitants per square mile (979.7/km²). There were 11,934 housing units at an average density of 965.5 per squaremile (372.8/ km²). The city's population was spread out, with 27.0% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 27.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.1%. who were 65 years of age or older.

Transportation

The main highway in Highland Park is US-41, which connects Chicago to Milwaukee. Commuter rail is available at four Metra stations within city borders. O'Hare International Airport is located approximately 20 miles (32 km) southwest of the city. Boat launch facilities are available along Lake Michigan. Pace also offers several bus routes. The city is located on the Illinois River, which flows into the Chicago River. It is also on the Wisconsin River which runs through the city, which runs into the city of Milwaukee. The town is on the U.S. border with Wisconsin, and is located near the towns of Ravinia Park and Highland Park. It also has a population of about 2,000 people, making it one of the most densely populated areas in the Chicago metropolitan area. The population of Highland Park was 1,788 in 2010. It has a total population of 2,816. It was the most populous city in the state of Illinois at the time of the 2010 presidential election, with a population growth rate of 7.7%. The city has a history of violence, particularly against African-Americans. The area was the site of several shootings in the 1970s and 1980s, including one in which a man was killed by a stray bullet from a passing car. In the 1990s and 2000s, a number of shootings occurred in the area, including two in the early hours of the morning. The shootings occurred near the town's downtown area, near the intersection of US- 41 and US-54.

In popular culture

Highland Park is the location of the main characters' former home in the CBS drama The Good Wife. It was used for location shots for several movies written and directed by John Hughes in the 1980s including Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Weird Science, Sixteen Candles, Uncle Buck and Home Alone. The creators of the Revenge of the Nerds, Beethoven, and other films grew up in Highland Park. It also was the setting for the 2000/2001 Fox and PBS documentary show American High. Since 2000, Highland Park movies have included Kicking & Screaming and Shattered Memories of Love. In the film Shattered Glass, Stephen Glass, portrayed by actor Hayden Christensen, makes repeated reference to his family's residence in Highlands Park as an indication of the high expectations they have for his career. It has the feel of a gated community without the actual gates, writes Vanity Fair, and has a tradition of "very clever minds who left to strike gold in Hollywood." It also has the feeling of a "gated community... without the actually gates" It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area, near San Francisco and Los Angeles. It is a suburb of San Francisco, with a population of more than 100,000. The town has a history of being used as a filming location for several films, including Ordinary People, Risky Business, and Lucas. The city also has a reputation for being a hotbed of crime, especially in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Education

North Shore School District 112 operates an early childhood center, eight elementary schools, and two middle schools. Township High School District 113 operates Highland Park High School, as well as Deerfield High School in nearby Deerfield. The district also operates a middle school and a high school. The school district's website is www.northshoreschools.org. For confidential support call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch, or see www.samaritans.org for details. In the U.S. call the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255. For information on suicide prevention in the UK, visit www.suicidepreventionlifeline.co.uk.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Highland Park, Lake County, Illinois = 46.3. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 28. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 22. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Highland Park = 3.7 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 30,176 individuals with a median age of 41.1 age the population grows by 4.45% in Highland Park, Lake County, Illinois population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 2,464.96 residents per square mile of area (951.72/km²). There are average 2.73 people per household in the 11,928 households with an average household income of $110,485 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 7.00% of the available work force and has dropped -4.75% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 23.50%. The number of physicians in Highland Park per 100,000 population = 277.9.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Highland Park = 32.9 inches and the annual snowfall = 37.1 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 110. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 190. 82 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 13.4 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 50, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Highland Park, Lake County, Illinois which are owned by the occupant = 78.67%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 47 years with median home cost = $436,690 and home appreciation of -13.35%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $19.95 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $8,883 per student. There are 13.8 students for each teacher in the school, 420 students for each Librarian and 420 students for each Counselor. 3.10% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 33.11% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 28.15% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).