Wabash Heights, Illinois

Wabash Heights is a city in Wabash County, Illinois. It is a principal city of the Kennedy-Wabash Heights-Jacksonville MSA, with an estimated population of just over 84,000 in 2008.

History
The first settlement in the area which is now Wabash Heights took place around 1850 with the establishment of large farms. The consolidation of farmland formed as Shaughnessy Township in 1871. One of the most significant farms was the Grape Meadow Ranch, which surrounded the confluence of the Chippewa and Stuyvesant Rivers from 1847 to 1919.

Significant development began with the town of Lennox along a dirt road connecting it to Eastwood during the early 1930s. The townspeople, mostly workers in surrounding farms or factory workers, built blocks of dense urban homes in the town, although the town's borders only reached out a few blocks in each direction.

The population boom in neighboring Eastwood during the 1940s also brought people to the Lennox area. Urban neighborhoods and industrial parks near the modern Eastwood-Wabash Heights border. Further development was seen during the 1950s, in which post-war homes began dominating farmland in between Eastwood and Lennox, as well as in the towns themselves. By 1955, the development shifted from post-war homes to suburban ranches, which began to rapidly spread throughout the township.

The city of Wabash Heights was incorporated in 1959, with a population of 48,823. Massive Polish and German immigration to the city furthered it's growth between 1963 and 1972, adding approximately 14,000 new immigrants to the city. As the banking economy of Kennedy crashed, some banks which survived the crash sought Wabash Heights as an alternative and still operate in the city.

During the 1980s, Wabash Heights was seen as a high-tech hotspot as electronics factories began establishing in the more economically depressed parts of the city. This brought many shipping jobs to the city and neighboring communities.

The original site of the town of Lennox became prime property in the eyes of real estate developers in the late 1980s and early 1990s due to it's location along major roads. Many historical properties were purchased, demolished, and converted into mid-and-low-rise offices. The city enacted the Lennox Zoning Ordinance in 1996, which prohibited any further office space from developing in the coined "historical zone," which was criticized due to the fact that the city used the same practice to purchase land for it's Municipal Building in 1958.

Today, Wabash Heights is a middle-class suburb with strong ties to the manufacturing, shipping and technology industries. Finance is also a major profession in the city, being the most popular occupation among females.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 85,519 people, 39,854 households, and 32,442 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,278.9 per square mile. There were 42,534 housing units at an average density of 2,336.7/sq mi.

The racial makeup of the city was 64.12% White, 21.63% African American, 3.12% Asian, 0.18% Native American, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 2.61% from other races, and 8.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.78% of the population.

Top ancestries in the city were Polish (19.44%), Italian (12.42%) and German (10.18%).

In 1990, the median income for a household in the city was $44,763, and the median income for a family was $51,866.

The median income for a household in the city was $48,387, and the median income for a family was $54,602. The per capita income for the city was $21,994.

Housing
The median house price in Wabash Heights was $104,286 in 2008. The average rent was $678 - $831 for houses and $506 for apartments. Renters made up 19.46% of the city population.

The city's vacancy rate in 2009 was 6.2%. Foreclosures make up 84.2% of vacant homes.

Poverty
About 7.8% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line.

In 2008, about 2.3% of households were reported to receive food stamps, and about 6.4% received some kind of welfare benefits.

The poverty rate was most consistent in single-parent households, which consist of 19.7% of all families and have a poverty rate of 16.4%. Married-couple households with no children had the lowest poverty rate at 3.19%.

Approximately 10.6% of Whites, 6.8% of Blacks, 2.3% of Asians, 4.8% of Native Americans and 7.2% of Hispanics were below the poverty line.

Education
Wabash Heights is served by the Wabash Heights Consolidated School District, a combined district which once consisted of the Waterfield and Wabash districts.

There are three high schools in the district:
 * Patrick Stolzfield High School
 * Brooks High School
 * Katherine G. Woldowac High School

The district also includes two middle schools - Wabash Heights Middle School and John G. Wald Junior High; as well as an array of neighborhood elementary schools.

According to the 2000 US Census:
 * 18.7% did not finish High School
 * 81.2% of citizens were high school graduates
 * 9.6% attended less than one year of college
 * 4.7% attended college for more than one year but did not finish


 * 26.4% of citizens held a college degree
 * 5.4% associates
 * 11.2% bachelors
 * 7.5% masters
 * 2.3% doctorate

Crime
Wabash Heights sports a neutral violent crime rate, but a high property crime rate. Assaults and Car Thefts are major contributors to the crime rate, accounting for 40.3% of all crimes.

Crime is regulated by the Wabash Heights Police Department, an agency of 142 sworn officers. Since 1987, the department has not practiced auxiliary policing after Neighborhood Watch member Paul Madarski was shot in the leg and critically wounded.

Despite elevated crime rates, the drug trade in the city is minor. The county sheriff's department estimates that less than 4.3% of all drug related offenses are committed in the city.

The sheriff's department also reports that crime in the city has decreased 11.2% since 1985, when crime rates hit an all-time high. In 1985, the total number of murders per capita was 21.4, triple the current murder rate.