Willow Springs is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion extending into DuPage County.

thumb|Community Center

History

As the French began to explore the region, its position on the Des Plaines River made it a part of the Chicago portage. In would later gain the I&M Canal and the Sanitary and Ship Canal in 1848 and 1900 respectively.

In 1957, the Grimes sisters were found dead in Willow Springs. In 1987, former chief of police Michael J. Corbitt was arrested and convicted of racketeering and murder.

Willowbrook Ballroom was destroyed by fire in 2016.

Geography

Willow Springs is located on the banks of the Des Plaines River and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, adjacent to the Palos Forest Preserves.

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Willow Springs has a total area of , of which (or 97.55%) is land and (or 2.45%) is water.

Neighboring communities are Hickory Hills, Justice, Hodgkins, and Burr Ridge.

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Willow Springs village, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>

!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!

!% 2000

!% 2010

!

|-

|White alone (NH)

|4,542

|4,794

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4,679

|90.35%

|86.78%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |79.89%

|-

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|36

|56

|style='background: #ffffe6; |77

|0.72%

|1.01%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.31%

|-

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|5

|0

|style='background: #ffffe6; |15

|0.10%

|0.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.26%

|-

|Asian alone (NH)

|93

|145

|style='background: #ffffe6; |202

|1.85%

|2.62%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.45%

|-

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|0

|0

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0

|0.00%

|0.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%

|-

|Other race alone (NH)

|0

|2

|style='background: #ffffe6; |15

|0.00%

|0.04%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.26%

|-

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|97

|56

|style='background: #ffffe6; |154

|1.93%

|1.01%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.63%

|-

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|254

|471

|style='background: #ffffe6; |715

|5.05%

|8.53%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |12.21%

|-

|Total

|5,027

|5,524

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,857

|100.00%

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

|}

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Willow Springs had a population of 5,857. The median age was 47.1 years. 18.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.6% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 99.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.0 males age 18 and over.

99.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.2% lived in rural areas.

There were 2,426 households in Willow Springs, including 1,494 families. Of all households, 25.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 53.7% were married-couple households, 19.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 22.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.<br> 2010 At the high school level, all District 107 students move onto Lyons Township High School (District 204) in La Grange/Western Springs, IL. Some District 108 students move onto Argo Community High School (District 217) in Summit, Illinois. Another portion of District 108 students attend Amos Alonzo Stagg High School (Consolidated High School District 230) in Palos Hills, Illinois. Trinity Lutheran School is also in the area.

Movie location

Willow Springs was used as a set location for the film The Lake House, starring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves.

References

  • Village website