Willow Springs is a village in Cook County, Illinois, with a small portion in DuPage County. The village was founded in 1892, and was named for the springs along the Des Plaines River. Per the 2020 census, the population was 5,857.
Geography
Willow Springs is located on the banks of the Des Plaines River and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.
According to the 2010 census, Willow Springs has a total area of , of which (or 97.42%) is land and (or 2.58%) is water.
Demographics
2020 census
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.
2000 Census
As of the census of 2000, there were 5,027 people, 1,948 households, and 1,381 families living in the village. The population density was 1,299.8 people per square mile (501.5/km2). There were 1,991 housing units at an average density of 514.8 per square mile (198.6/km2). The racial makeup of the village was 93.91% White, 0.72% African American, 0.12% Native American, 1.85% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.07% from other races, and 2.31% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.05% of the population.
The top five ancestries reported in Willow Springs as of the 2000 census were Polish (25.3%), German (19.6%), Irish (12.6%), Italian (11.3%) and Czech (6.9%).
There were 1,948 households, out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.6% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.1% were non-families. 24.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the village, the population was spread out, with 22.5% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 30.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 101.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.7 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $58,322, and the median income for a family was $66,886. Males had a median income of $48,776 versus $35,466 for females. The per capita income for the village was $30,394. About 5.9% of families and 6.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.1% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Most of Willow Springs is in Illinois' 3rd congressional district, while the northwestern portion is in the 6th district.
The current Mayor is Melissa Neddermeyer.
The current Board of Village Trustees are:
Michael Kennedy (Term Expires 2025);
Rick Mika (Term Expires 2025);
Tom Arra (Term Expires 2025)
Terrence M. Carr (Term Expires 2023);
Ernie Moon (Term Expires 2023); and
Fred Posch (Term Expires 2023)
Education
Several public elementary and middle school students attend Willow Springs School District 108, while others attend Pleasantdale Elementary and Pleasantdale Middle School in Pleasantdale School District 107. At the high school level, some District 108 students move onto Argo Community High School (District 217) in Summit, IL, and District 107 students move onto Lyons Township High School (District 204) in La Grange/Western Springs, IL. Another portion of District 108 students attend Amos Alonzo Stagg High School (Consolidated High School District 230) in Palos Hills, IL.
Trinity Lutheran School is in the area.
College of DuPage serves residents north of the river while Moraine Valley Community College serves those south of the river.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Willow Springs has a station on Metra's Heritage Corridor, which provides daily rail service between Joliet and Chicago Union Station.
Movie location
Willow Springs was used as a set location for the film The Lake House, starring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves.
