Crestwood, Illinois

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Crestwood is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 10,950 at the 2010 census. Crestwood has been cited as a success story by proponents of low taxes and minimal government, but in April 2009, the Chicago Tribune revealed that Crestwood's low taxes were due to illegally saving money on its water bills by secretly supplementing its drinking water from a well that was contaminated with toxic chemicals. "Officials in the south suburb had pumped tainted water to residents for more than two decades to avoid the cost of fixing leaky water mains."

Video Crestwood, Illinois

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Crestwood has a total area of 3.078 square miles (7.97 km²), of which 3.05 square miles (7.90 km²) (or 99.09%) is land and 0.028 square miles (0.07 km²) (or 0.91%) is water.

Maps Crestwood, Illinois

Demographics

As of the 2000 census, there were 11,251 people, 4,685 households, and 2,759 families residing in the village. The population density was 3,682.3 people per square mile (1,419.6/km²). There were 4,805 housing units at an average density of 1,572.6 per square mile (606.3/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 92.46% White, 4.52% African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.73% Asian, 1.04% from other races, and 1.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.68% of the population.

The top five ancestries reported in Crestwood as of the 2000 census were Irish (29.4%), German (23.8%), Polish (19.8%), Italian (12.0%) and English (4.8%).

There were 4,685 households out of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.1% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.1% were non-families. 36.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the village, the population was spread out with 21.2% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.1 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $45,813, and the median income for a family was $56,030. Males had a median income of $41,448 versus $31,455 for females. The per capita income for the village was $21,995. About 2.2% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.6% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.

The Windy City ThunderBolts of the independent baseball Frontier League play at Standard Bank Stadium in Crestwood.

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Government

The current mayor (as of April 9, 2013) is Louis Presta who replaced Robert Stranczek. VILLAGE CLERK: Jeannette O'Donnell TRUSTEES: William Pieroth, Anthony Benigno, Daniel Jurka,Patricia Flynn, Linda M. Madlener & Michael "Mick" J. McInerney

Robert Stranczek, son of former mayor Chester Stranczek. Chester retired in October 2007, and it was then announced that Robert would be taking over his father's role as mayor.

Crestwood's government used to rebate to its residents a portion of their property and other municipal tax payments. It was praised by proponents of small government for its low taxes and cheap government. Crestwood's rebates ended in 2009 so that the village could pay the legal fees associated with the contaminated water scandal.

Crestwood is in Illinois' 1st congressional district.

Crestwood is home to several units of the Illinois National Guard, including Battery B, 2nd Battalion 122 Field Artillery; Company B, 404th Brigade Support Battalion; Company G, 634th Brigade Support Battalion; 108th Signal Company; and the 1744th Transportation Company.

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Education

Delia M. Turner Elementary School, a Pre-K - Kindergarten school of the Posen-Robbins School District 143½, is within Crestwood.

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Notable people

• Ron Mahay, pitcher for eight Major League Baseball teams
• Joan Patricia Murphy, Illinois politician

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Water contamination

In April 2009, the Chicago Tribune in an investigative article titled "Poison in the Well", reported that the water from a well used to supply residents with drinking water had been contaminated with chemicals (including two linked to the known carcinogen perchloroethylene) from dry cleaning solvents. Village of Crestwood officials, including Mayor Robert Stranczek, and the former mayor Chester Stranczek, were accused of secretly and illegally using the well and lying to regulatory authorities in order to cover that up. The ensuing investigation has generated three class-action lawsuits, two wrongful death lawsuits, and several federal raids. Tricia Krause, a mother of a son who had leukemia for six years and a daughter who had a brain tumor alerted the USEPA of the wrongdoings of the Village of Crestwood officials.

In April 2013, certified water operator Frank Scaccia pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement. Crestwood's police chief and former water supervisor, Theresa Neubauer, was also found guilty of making false statements to regulators. Former Mayor Chester Stranczek was declared not fit to stand trial due to dementia.

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References

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External links

• Village of Crestwood official website

Source of article : Wikipedia