Editing Chicago Heights, Illinois (section)

===Public library===
On May 20, 1901, many Chicago Heights residents signed a petition asking for the mayor and aldermen to select a board of directors that would be responsible for founding and running a free public library in Chicago Heights. On June 28, 1901, the first library board members were sworn in, including Sam W. Lea, F.W. Schact, W.E. Canady, James Bowie, David Wallace, Joseph Caldwell, C.W. Salisbury, A.J. Sorensen, and A.W. McEldowney. The library was opened in a small room in the new city building on February 20, 1902. That month, the library board wrote to industrialist [[Andrew Carnegie]] seeking funds to build a library building in Chicago Heights. In July, the board was notified that Carnegie had proposed $15,000 toward the cost of a library building as long as the city could provide a free site for the building and if the council could promise $1,500 a year to keep the library running. The Carnegie Library in Chicago Heights was designed by Richard E. Schmidt. The library was located at 1627 Halsted Street and opened on September 11, 1903, with a staff of two and 1,643 volumes. A bigger library was eventually needed, and on August 5, 1972, the present building at 15th Street and Chicago Road was opened. The Chicago Heights Free Public Library was a million-dollar building that opened with 60,000 books, records, and other materials.