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| Incorporated | City in 1900. | |||||||||||||||
| County; State | Cook; Illinois | |||||||||||||||
| Township | Worth, Calumet, Bremen, Thornton | |||||||||||||||
| Government | Council-manager | |||||||||||||||
| Mayor | Donald Peloquin
pop = 23,463 density-km = 2,247.9 | |||||||||||||||
| Population (2000) | {{{pop}}} (up 10.66% from 1990) | |||||||||||||||
| Pop. density | {{{density-km}}}/km² (5,822.4/mi²) | |||||||||||||||
| Zip code(s) | 60406, 60827 | |||||||||||||||
| Area code | 708 | |||||||||||||||
| Land area | 10.4 km² (4.0 mi²) | |||||||||||||||
| Income | Per capita: $16,156 Household: $36,236 | |||||||||||||||
| Home value | Mean: $107,931 (2000) Median: $102,200 | |||||||||||||||
| Website | www.blueisland.org | |||||||||||||||
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Blue Island (formerly Portland) is a city in Cook County, Illinois. The population was 23,463 at the 2000 census. Blue Island is so named because it is situated south of a ridge of land that was once an island when the glacial Lake Chicago covered the area thousands of years ago. Early pioneers gave the ridge the name because at a distance it looked like an island in set a tractless prairie sea. The blue color has attributed to atmospheric scattering or to blue flowers growing on the ridge. The city is a hub for Metra trains.
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Geography
Blue Island is located at (41.658412, -87.679424).GR1 According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.1 square miles (10.7 km²), of which, 4.0 square miles (10.4 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (2.18%) is water.
Demographics
As of the 2000 censusGR2, there were 23,463 people, 8,247 households, and 5,467 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,822.4 people per square mile (2,247.9/km²). There were 8,750 housing units at an average density of 2,171.3/sq mi (838.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 53.68% White, 24.10% African American, 0.60% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 17.68% from other races, and 3.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 37.93% of the population, including 34.0% of Mexican descent. The top four non-Hispanic, non-African American ancentries reported in Blue Island as of the 2000 census were German (11.7%), Irish (10.4%), Polish (6.7%) and Italian (6.6%).[1] There were 8,247 households out of which 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.3% were married couples living together, 19.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.54. In the city the population was spread out with 30.1% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 32.1% from 25 to 44, 17.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 95.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $36,520, and the median income for a family was $42,277. Males had a median income of $31,599 versus $26,425 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,156. About 12.3% of families and 13.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.4% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Nearly all of Blue Island is in Illinois' 1st congressional district; the portion east of the Dan Ryan Expressway is in the 2nd district.
Blue Island's claims to fame
Acclaimed actor Gary Sinise was born in Blue Island. The rock band Enuff Z'Nuff also originated in this town; one of their songs on the album Strength is named "Blue Island," and a later album is titled Welcome to Blue Island. Chicago-born glamour model & artist Traci Glon grew up in Blue Island. As well as former Mest frontman Tony Lovato Also, scenes from the 1987 film Light of Day, starring Michael J. Fox, were filmed in Blue Island, including the scenes at the arcade "The Video Zone" (now a Big Boy submarine sandwich shop). Scenes from the movie Flags of Our Fathers, directed by Clint Eastwood, were filmed in Blue Island. Scenes from the short-lived television show Cupid were filmed here, as were two episodes of the TV series Early Edition. Current Detroit Tigers outfielder and lead-off hitter Curtis Granderson was born in Blue Island. Hands Across America passed through Blue Island May 25, 1986.
External links
- Blue Island, Illinois is at coordinates Coordinates:
Chicago Metropolitan Area | ||
|---|---|---|
| Central City | Chicago |  |
| Largest cities (over 30,000 in 2000) | Aurora • Berwyn •Calumet City • Chicago Heights • Crystal Lake • DeKalb • Des Plaines • East Chicago • Elgin • Elmhurst • Evanston • Gary • Hammond • Harvey • Highland Park • Joliet • Kenosha • Michigan City • Naperville • North Chicago • Park Ridge • Portage • Waukegan • Wheaton | |
| Largest towns and villages (over 30,000 in 2000) | Addison • Arlington Heights • Bartlett • Bolingbrook • Buffalo Grove • Carol Stream • Carpentersville • Cicero • Downers Grove • Elk Grove Village • Glendale Heights • Glenview • Hanover Park • Hoffman Estates • Lombard • Merrillville • Mount Prospect • Mundelein • Niles • Northbrook • Oak Lawn • Oak Park • Orland Park • Palatine • Schaumburg • Skokie • Streamwood • Tinley Park • Wheeling • Woodridge | |
| Counties | Cook • DeKalb • DuPage • Grundy • Jasper • Kane • Kendall • Kenosha • Lake (Illinois) • Lake (Indiana) • LaPorte • McHenry • Newton • Porter • Will | |
