BlockBefore

West Chicago, Illinois

20 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1908 and the latest in 1998. It stands in Winfield Township. It lies in ZIP code area 60185. The Survey maps it on the West Chicago quadrangle. 25,614 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 755 feet above sea level.

West Chicago within DuPage County

On record in West Chicago

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 2 records

Population over time

2 figures

West Chicago fell from 27,086 to 25,614 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
201027,086
202025,614-1,472 (-5%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 20 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

In the county-history sources

2,392 words on this township

History Of Dupage County (1857), published 1857 has no passage naming this settlement, which was common for smaller places. Its township is covered in full.

The chapter on Winfield Township covers the township.

Read the chapter on Winfield Township - 2,392 words.

Fires near this place

1 since 2014

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of West Chicago in 2014, burning about 5 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
7 April 2014Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resources14-177

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in DuPage County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of West Chicago: 2 plants, 1 producer. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Vermiculite. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Zonolite Chicago PlantVermiculitePlant
East Riverdale Pit & MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionPlant
Warrenville Plant & PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in DuPage County

Storms near this place

31 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names West Chicago in 31 storm reports between 1998 and 2026: 19 thunderstorm wind, 7 hail, 1 funnel cloud, 1 lightning. The reports record 40 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 2007Thunderstorm WindWest Chicago40 hurt, $500,000The roof of a warehouse above two of four loading docks, gave way. Forty people were injured, seven of which had to go the hospital.
August 2001LightningWest Chicago$25,000Lightning struck a house and started a fire in the attic and roof.
March 2026HailWest Chicago-A video showed quarter to half dollar size hail near the DuPage Airport.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindWest Chicago-A small carport was lofted and thrown 100 feet into a fence near West Chicago. Large tree branches were downed in the area as well.
June 2024Tornado (EF0)West Chicago-This tornado began in the Blackwell Forest Preserve in Warrenville and tracked southeastward through the south side of Wheaton before lifting soon after it entered the Morton Arboretum. The tornado primarily caused tree damage along its path, though it also caused some minor damage to signs at a shopping center.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindWest Chicago-A large tree limb was blown down on Fremont Street.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindWest Chicago-A roughly 2 foot diameter tree was blown down in the 700 block of Elmwood Avenue, blocking the road. A 14 inch diameter tree limb was blown down just south of Elmwood Avenue. A 6 to 8 inch diameter tree limb was blown down in the 500 block of Elite Avenue.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindWest Chicago-Emergency management relayed a photo of a snapped tree branch at least 12 inches in diameter from a healthy tree.
July 2023HailWest Chicago-Emergency management reported one inch hail near IL Rt 59 and Washington Ave in West Chicago.
April 2022Thunderstorm WindWest Chicago-Tree limbs 3 inches in diameter were blown down.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindWest Chicago-Photos showed roof damage to a house on Elizabeth Street. A utility pole was damaged near the West Chicago High School. Numerous tree limbs were snapped off over several blocks of southern West Chicago, including some tree limbs one foot in diameter. One tree had almost all limbs removed from the top half. A flag pole was bent 35 degrees. Wind speeds were estimated to 75 mph.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindWest Chicago-A utility pole was broken and power lines were blown down.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindWest Chicago-A large tree was blown down.
August 2018Thunderstorm WindWest Chicago-A one foot diameter tree limb was blown down blocking George Street.
June 2015Flash FloodWest Chicago-Around three feet of standing water was reported on Ann Street west of Joliet Street near Community High School.
April 2010Thunderstorm WindWest Chicago-Tree limbs were blown down along with 75 feet of wooden fence.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindWest Chicago-Several trees were blown down.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindWest Chicago-One foot diameter tree blown down.
July 2007FloodWest Chicago-Four to five inches of standing water Route 59 and Route 64.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindWest Chicago-Large tree blown down at Route 59 and Geneva Road.
July 2006HailWest Chicago-Penny size hail was reported at Route 59 and Route 64.
September 2006Thunderstorm WindWest Chicago-Wind gusts were estimated to 60 mph.
May 2004Thunderstorm WindWest Chicago-Many large trees and power lines were blown down across much of the downtown area.
May 2004Thunderstorm WindWest Chicago-Large tree limbs were down.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindWest Chicago-DuPage EOC reported a 58 mph wind gust and a 52 mph wind gust was reported at the DuPage airport. Strong winds downed trees.
April 2020HailWest Chicago-no account filed
May 2018HailWest Chicago-no account filed
June 2010Thunderstorm WindWest Chicago-no account filed
June 2009HailWest Chicago-no account filed
May 2004HailWest Chicago-no account filed
July 2000Funnel CloudWest Chicago-no account filed

Every storm recorded in DuPage County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Ingalton1.5 miles20
Prince Crossing1.7 miles20
Lakewood2.2 miles20
Winfield2.8 miles20
Geneva Road2.8 miles20
Jewell Road3.6 miles20
Carol Stream4.1 miles20
Warrenhurst4.3 miles20

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on West ChicagoAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q580487The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 422146. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.