Steger is a village in Cook County and Will County, Illinois, United States. It is south of Chicago and had a population of 9,584 at the 2020 census.
History
The settlement was founded in 1891 by Chicago real estate interests and initially named Columbia Heights in honor of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition which the City of Chicago had been preparing to host since 1889.
John Valentine Steger built a piano factory there on a parcel of land south of Chicago Heights that was sited immediately west of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad tracks and bordered by the tracks, Vincennes Avenue (now Chicago Road) and 33rd and 34th Streets. By 1904, the factory covered and had a capacity of sixteen thousand pianos per year.
Steger was incorporated in 1896 with 324 residents, at which time John Steger agreed to pay $400 toward incorporation costs with the understanding that the town would change its name to Steger, and he subsequently served two terms as the village's board president. He avoided the issues that had plagued George Pullman in his "model town" by encouraging private home ownership and commerce. By 1920, Steger was called the "piano capital of the world", producing more than a hundred pianos a day. After demand diminished for pianos, the plant closed in 1928.
In 1973, Louis Sherman was elected Village President (Mayor) of the Village of Steger. Sherman was the longest serving Mayor in the history of Steger serving 40 years from 1973 to 2013 having completed his 10th term. Sherman died August 9, 2020, at the age of 92. He was succeeded by Kenneth Peterson, Jr. who was elected in 2013.
Peterson served as the 21st Village President/Mayor from 2013 until his death on September 16, 2024. Following Peterson's death the Village had not acting Village President/Mayor until after the April 1, 2025 election when William Joyce, a long-time Village Trustee won. On April 7, 2025, Joyce was selected as "Interim" Village President/Mayor. Joyce was sworn in as the Village of Steger's 22nd Village President/Mayor on May 1, 2025.
Geography
According to the 2010 census, Steger has a total area of , all land.