Romeoville, Illinois

Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox settlement

Romeoville is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. The village is located Template:Convert southwest of Chicago on the Gateway Wetlands, directly west of the Des Plaines River. Per the 2020 census, the population was 39,863.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is located in the southwest suburban area of Chicago near Interstate 55 and Interstate 355.

History

File:EAST PORTAL LOOKING WEST - Romeo Road, Sanitary and Ship Canal Bridge, Spanning Sanitary and Ship Canal, Romeoville, Will County, IL HAER ILL, 99-ROM, 1-4.tif

Isle a La Cache Bridge on Romeo Road, 1968

Romeoville was one of the last areas of Will County occupied by Native Americans. The village of Romeo was first settled on September 14, 1835, on Isle a La Cache, a small island in the Des Plaines River. Around this time, the first bridge was built to allow access to the island from the west bank of the river. In 1848, the I&M Canal was finished, drawing new residents to the area. On January 19, 1895, residents of Romeo voted to incorporate and changed the village's name to Romeoville. The community, along with nearby Joliet, became known as "Stone City" in reference to its prosperous limestone quarries. The Illinois State Capitol in Springfield was unveiled in 1888, and is constructed entirely of Romeoville limestone. Lewis University was established on the outskirts of town in 1934.

Romeoville is home to Citgo's Lemont Refinery. The refinery was constructed in 1922 across the river from the village. It was later the site of the 1984 Romeoville petroleum refinery disaster.

In 1950, Romeoville had approximately 46 homes and a population of 147. The village remained sparsely populated until 1957, when over Template:Convert of wetlands along IL-53 became the Hampton Park Subdivision. An additional Template:Convert were added in 1964, as Romeoville's population slowly grew. On October 5, 1990, the first interchange on I-55 and Weber Road was built, connecting the village to the rest of Chicagoland. Throughout the following decade, the area along Weber Road quickly became suburbanized as several new housing developments were completed. Romeoville was one of fastest-growing communities in Illinois throughout the 1990s and 2000s. The population grew rapidly, and the village experienced an influx of over 25,000 new residents in two decades.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On September 16–17, 2023, a family of four, consisting of two adults and two children, were killed in a mass shooting at their home in Romeoville; their three dogs were also killed. Police believed the killings were a targeted attack.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The shooter, identified as 31-year-old Nathaniel Huey Jr., was tracked down with his fiancée at Catoosa, Oklahoma, on September 20. During an attempted traffic stop, Huey fled but eventually crashed his vehicle. Afterwards, he fatally shot his fiancée and then himself.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Romeoville has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert, comprising 98.3%, is land and Template:Convert, comprising 1.7%, is water. Romeoville borders the neighboring communities of Bolingbrook, Plainfield, Crystal Lawns, Crest Hill, Lockport and Lemont.<ref name="census-g001">Template:Cite web</ref>

Climate

Romeoville is home to a National Weather Service forecast office, although bulletins issued by said office begin, "The National Weather Service in Chicago..."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Demographics

Template:US Census population

2020 census

**Romeoville village, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition**
Template:Nobold
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 2020<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	19,992	16,654	50.38%	41.78%
Black or African American alone (NH)	4,545	5,362	11.45%	13.45%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	61	32	0.15%	0.08%
Asian alone (NH)	2,486	2,718	6.27%	6.82%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	3	2	0.01%	0.01%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	53	121	0.13%	0.30%
Mixed Race or Multi-Racial (NH)	657	1,166	1.66%	2.93%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	11,883	13,808	29.95%	34.64%
Total	39,680	39,863	100.00%	100.00%

Economy

File:Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, Romeoville, IL, ComEd substation.jpg

A Commonwealth Edison substation in Romeoville, next to the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal

Romeoville is home to over 600 businesses.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2013, the village won a Gold Medal from the International Economic Development Council and Atlas Integrated in the High Performance Economic Development category. They earned the award by creating 1,560 jobs during 2012–2013, which was the most for a town with a population between 25,001 and 100,000.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Top employers

According to the village website,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the top employers in the village are:

#	Employer	# of Employees
1	Amazon	1,824
2	Valley View School District 365U	1,300
3	Green Core	1,200
4	PDV Midwest Refining CITGO	803
5	Aryzta	600
6	Ulta Beauty	543
7	Walmart	537
8	RTC	530
9	Magid Glove and Safety	529
10	Lewis University	525

Other major employers include Kehe Foods, FedEx Ground, and the Village of Romeoville.

Education

K–12 education

Romeoville residents attend the following schools:

Valley View School District 365U

Valley View Early Childhood Center
Beverly Skoff Elementary School
Irene King Elementary School
Kenneth L. Hermansen Elementary School
Robert C. Hill Elementary School
A. Vito Martinez Middle School
John J. Lukancic Middle School
Romeoville High School
St. Andrew the Apostle School

Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202

Eichelberger Elementary School
Creekside Elementary School
Lakewood Falls Elementary School
John F Kennedy Middle School
Indian Trails Middle School
Plainfield East High School

Lockport Township High School District 205

Lockport Township High School

Higher education

Joliet Junior College – Romeoville Campus
Rasmussen College – Romeoville Campus
Lewis University – Main Campus

Government

Mayors

Mayors of Romeoville
Years in Office	Mayor
1895–1899	Louis Hamann<ref name=RomeoMayors>Template:Cite web</ref>
1899–1903	John J. Keig<ref name=RomeoMayors/>
1904–1905	Henry Brockman<ref name=RomeoMayors/>
1906–1907	George Garden<ref name=RomeoMayors/>
1907–1909	George Farrell<ref name=RomeoMayors/>
1910–1915	Edward Swanson<ref name=RomeoMayors/>
1915–1919	Joseph Startz<ref name=RomeoMayors/>
1919–1920	John Mitchell<ref name=RomeoMayors/>
1921–1927	Fred Boehme<ref name=RomeoMayors/>
1928–1929	Anthony Startz<ref name=RomeoMayors/>
1929–1969	Neal Murphy<ref name=RomeoMayors/>
1969–1973	John O'Hara<ref name=RomeoMayors/>
1973–1977	Dewey "Red" Chambers<ref name=RomeoMayors/>
1977–1981	Donald Kennedy<ref name=RomeoMayors/>
1981–1985	Howard Trippett<ref name=RomeoMayors/>
1985–1993	John Strobbe<ref name=RomeoMayors/>
1993–1997	Sandra Gulden<ref name=RomeoMayors/>
1997–2009	Fred Dewald<ref name=RomeoMayors/>
2009–present	John Noak<ref name=RomeoMayors/>