Buffalo Grove, Illinois

This article is about the Chicago suburb. For the unincorporated Ogle County community of the same name, see Buffalo Grove, Ogle County, Illinois.

Buffalo Grove, Illinois
Village
Location in Cook County and the state of Illinois.
Location of Illinois in the United States
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Cook and Lake
Townships	Wheeling and Vernon
Incorporated	1958
Government
• Type	Council-manager
• President	Beverly Sussman
Area
• Total	9.53 sq mi (24.7 km2)
• Land	9.50 sq mi (24.6 km2)
• Water	0.03 sq mi (0.08 km2)  0.31%
Population (2010)
• Total	41,496
• Density	4,368.0/sq mi (1,686.5/km2)
Standard of living (2009-11)
• Per capita income	$44,067
• Median home value	$313,400
ZIP code(s)	60089
Area code(s)	847 and 224
Geocode	17-09447
Website	www.vbg.org

Buffalo Grove is a village in Cook and Lake counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, within the northern suburbs of Chicago.

As of the 2010 census, the village population was 41,496. Most of the village is located within the 10th Congressional District of Illinois, although the southern portion is represented in the 8th Congressional District.

Geography

Buffalo Grove is located at (42.166332, −87.963391), among the northern suburbs of Chicago. Illinois Route 83 leads north towards central Lake County and south towards O'Hare International Airport. East-west streets take residents 20 minutes east to Lake Michigan and other North Shore suburbs such as Lake Forest, Highland Park, and Glencoe.

Buffalo Grove is about 30 miles (48 km) northwest of the Chicago Loop.

Buffalo Grove is split along Lake Cook Road into two parts: the Lake County Vernon Township portion; and the Cook County Wheeling Township portion. Around three-quarters of the village is in Vernon Township. Both portions differ in their demographics and similarities with neighboring communities. Buffalo Grove shares a border with Wheeling to its southeast, Arlington Heights to its southwest and south, Riverwoods and Deerfield directly east, Lincolnshire to its northeast, Vernon Hills directly north, and Long Grove to its west and northwest. Unincorporated Prairie View is located in two different parts around the village. First, there is the larger and historic portion which is towards the north and includes Didier Farms. Then, there is the second, much smaller portion which is centered on the Horatio Gardens subdivision just northeast of the intersection of Weiland Road and Pauline Avenue. Today, Buffalo Grove and Lincolnshire continue to annex certain portions of Prairie View.

According to the 2010 census, the village has a total area of 9.53 square miles (24.7 km²; 2,470 ha), of which 9.50 square miles (24.6 km²; 2,460 ha) (or 99.69%) is land and 0.03 square miles (0.078 km²; 7.8 ha) (or 0.31%) is water. According to the village's land use data, single-family homes make up 43.9% of village land, 9.2% for single-family attached homes, 4.2% for multi family homes, 4.8% for commercial purposes, 2.4% for office, 10.8% for industrial, 3.5% is public property, 6.1% is right-of-way/utility, and only 1.4% remains vacant. A modest 13.8% is for parks and open space; there are 50 parks throughout the village and 45 miles (72 km) of bike paths/sidewalks. The Mike Rylko Community Park, located northwest of the intersection of McHenry Road (IL Route 83) and Buffalo Grove Road, is the largest park in the village with an estimated 76.5 acres (31.0 ha). The village also manages a small portion of the Buffalo Creek Forest Preserve which primarily is located in Long Grove. The forest preserve has a total of 408 acres (165 ha) and located north of the intersection of Lake-Cook Road and Arlington Heights Road.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1960	1,492		—
1970	12,333		726.6%
1980	22,230		80.2%
1990	36,427		63.9%
2000	42,909		17.8%
2010	41,496		−3.3%
Est. 2014	41,701		0.5%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2010, a total 41,496 people, 15,708 households, and 11,655 families were residing in the village. The population density was 4,666.9 people per square mile (1,802.7/km²). There were 16,166 housing units at an average density of 1,758.2 per square mile (679.2/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 79.82% White, 1.00% African American, 0.16% Native American, 15.99% Asian, 0.0434% Pacific Islander, 1.41% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.92% of the population. Like in many of the nearby North Shore Suburbs, there is a large Jewish population in Buffalo Grove. 2.8% of the total population of Buffalo Grove were born in Ukraine.

Out of 15,708 households, 42.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.0% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.8% were non-families. 22.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.23.

In the village the population was spread out with 28.9% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 32.2% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 93.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.2 males.

According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the village is US$83,545, and the median income for a family is $101,336. Males have a median income of $63,107 versus $41,039 for females. The per capita income for the village is $49,794. 3.3% of the population and 1.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 2.6% are under the age of 18 and 2.2% are 65 or older.

In 2011, 16.0% of Buffalo Grove's residents were Asian, making it the Chicago suburb with the seventh highest percentage of Asians.

Education

Earl Pritchett Elementary School.

Four school districts and three high schools from two districts serve Buffalo Grove, which are Township High School District 214 and Adlai E. Stevenson High School District 125. The majority of public high school students in Buffalo Grove that live in the Cook County portion of Buffalo Grove attend Buffalo Grove High School, which is the only public high school located within Buffalo Grove itself. A smaller population of students residing in the Cook County portion of Buffalo Grove attend Wheeling High School, in nearby Wheeling. Those living in the Lake County portion of Buffalo Grove attend Adlai E. Stevenson High School in nearby Lincolnshire.

Grade school districts and schools serving Buffalo Grove are:

Cook County:

Buffalo Grove-Wheeling Community Consolidated School District 21:

• Booth Tarkington Elementary School (K-5) (in Wheeling)
• Eugene Field Elementary School (K-5) (in Wheeling)
• James Whitcomb Riley Elementary School (K–5) (in Arlington Heights)
• Edgar Allan Poe Elementary School (K-5) (in Arlington Heights)
• Joyce Kilmer Elementary School (K–5)
• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Elementary School (K-5)
• Jack London Middle School (6–8) (in Wheeling)
• James Fenimore Cooper Middle School (6–8)

Lake County:

Aptakisic-Tripp C C School District 102:/Aptakisic-Tripp Community Consolidated School District 102

• Tripp Elementary School (K-4)
• Earl Pritchett Elementary School (K-4)
• Meridian Middle School (5–6)
• Aptakisic Junior High School (7–8)

Kildeer Countryside C C School District 96:/Kildeer Countryside Community Consolidated School District 96

• Willow Grove Kindergarten Center (Kindergarten)
• Ivy Hall Elementary School (1–5)
• Prairie Elementary School (1–5)
• Country Meadows Elementary School (in Long Grove) (1–5)
• Kildeer Countryside Elementary School (in Long Grove) (1–5)
• Twin Groves Middle School (6–8)
• Woodlawn Middle School (in Long Grove) (6–8)

Lincolnshire-Prairie View School District 103:

• Laura Sprague Elementary School (K-2) (in Lincolnshire)
• Half Day Intermediate School (3–4) (in Lincolnshire)
• Daniel Wright Junior High School (5–8) (in Lincolnshire)

Private school:

• St. Mary School (Catholic pre-school through 8th grade)

Libraries

The Vernon Area Library, which is located just east of the border in neighboring Lincolnshire.

Wheeling Township Buffalo Grove as well as a small portion of Lake County Buffalo Grove is served by the Indian Trails Public Library District located in Wheeling south of the intersection of Dundee Road and Schoenbeck Road. Vernon Township Buffalo Grove is served by the Vernon Area Public Library District located in Lincolnshire just north of the intersection of Half Day Road and Olde Half Day Road.

Local media

Buffalo Grove news is reported by the Buffalo Grove Patch, an online community newspaper that launched in 2010. In addition, the village has been covered by the Pioneer Press with its Buffalo Grove Countryside.

Attractions

The Raupp Museum, operated by the Buffalo Grove Park District, is the town's museum of local history. Saint Mary's Church, completed 1899, is the oldest building in the village. Lou Malnatis Pizzaria is housed in the second oldest building in the village (also completed 1899). Located around the same downtown area, there is the Buffalo Grove Town Center, which is a major shopping and retail destination within the village, at the Buffalo Grove Road and McHenry Road intersections with Lake-Cook Road, being anchored by the Buffalo Grove Theaters and by Escape, a bowling/arcade/baseball batting cages/laser-tag venue that hosts birthday parties.

During the summer, Buffalo Grove hosts two festivals. The Buffalo Grove Invitational Fine Arts Festival is held in Buffalo Grove Town Center in mid-July, with over 30,000 visitors attending on average. In September, Buffalo Grove hosts the multi-day Buffalo Grove Days festival around the intersection of Lake-Cook Road and Raupp Boulevard. The festival is mostly home to carnival games, roller coaster rides, arts and craft booths, food vendors, and live music. There is a parade held at the beginning of the festival and fireworks on the Saturday night. The festival usually attracts not just Buffalo Grove residents, but also residents from the neighboring communities. Throughout the summer Buffalo Grove hosts a Farmer's Market at the Spray and Play Pool on McHenry Road west of the intersection of Buffalo Grove Road.

In 2014, the Buffalo Grove Park District opened the Community Arts Center, which houses a theatre space and classrooms. The theatre is used by the Park District's local theatre company, Big Deal Productions.

Transportation

One of the major transportation issues in Buffalo Grove is the Illinois Route 53 Extension, a proposed transportation project in Lake County that began back in the 1960s. Illinois Route 53 (IL 53) currently ends at Lake Cook Road in Buffalo Grove. The project would build a 25-mile (40 km) extension of IL 53 to IL 120 in Grayslake.

Buffalo Grove relies on multiple arterial roads. Going north-south, the village uses Milwaukee Avenue (Illinois Route 21) on the east, Buffalo Grove Road and Weiland Road down the center, and Arlington Heights Road on the west. Going east-west, the village uses Dundee Road (Illinois Route 68) to its south, Lake-Cook Road and Deerfield Parkway towards the center, and both Aptakisic and Half Day Road (Illinois Route 22) to its north. McHenry Road (Illinois Route 83) acts as a diagonal road in the village, going north-south in some portions, but east-west in others.

Since 1996, Buffalo Grove has had a station on Metra's North Central Service, which provides daily rail service between Antioch and Chicago (at Union Station). The train station is located just east of the intersection of Weiland Road and Deerfield Parkway. North of the intersection of Half Day Road (IL Route 22) and Prairie Road is the station for Prairie View, also used by many residents. The North Central Service runs primarily during rush hour and does not run on the weekends, so many Buffalo Grove residents use the Arlington Heights Metra Station, the Deerfield Metra Station, or the Lake Cook Road Metra Station also in Deerfield.

Notable people

• Raymond Benson, thriller author (e.g., James Bond)
• Megan Bozek, Ice hockey player
• John Burroughs, famous 19th century wilderness naturalist and friend of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford
• Ali Cobrin, actress (Kara in American Reunion)
• Ronald Goldman, victim in the O. J. Simpson murder case
• Aaron Himelstein, actor
• Brett Lebda, Defenseman for the Columbus Blue Jackets
• Vince Vaughn, actor
• Sidney Mathias, state representative
• Andy Wozniewski, defense hockey player in the NHL and NLA
• Felice Herrig, kickboxer, Muay Thai fighter, and mixed martial artist in the UFC

External links

• Village of Buffalo Grove