Saint Charles

St. Charles is a city in DuPage and Kane counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It lies roughly 40 miles (64 km) west of Chicago on Illinois Route 64. Per the 2020 census, the population was 33,081. The official city slogan is "Pride of the Fox", after the Fox River that runs through the center of town. St. Charles was the location of the Native American community for the chief of the Pottawatomie that inhabited the area. There is widespread speculation of slavery-era Underground Railroad stations operating in St.Charles homes, complete with tunnels and false doorways. On April 25, 2020, the Kane County Health Department ordered Smithfield Foods to close its meat processing plant because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a local instance of the pandemic's effects on the meat industry in the United States. The city is part of a tri-city area along with Geneva and Batavia, all western suburbs of similar size and socioeconomic condition. The Fox River runs through downtown, which is a popular destination for both tourists and residents. The largest park in the city is the Potawatomies Park, which sits on the river and is the largest park and a popular tourist destination in the tri- city area. The population of the city was 11,077 in the 2010 census, with a population density of 791 per square mile (305 per square km). The city was 93% Hispanic/Latino in the 2000 census, according to the 2000 Census.

History

Saint Charles is the primary city name, but also Campton Hills, St Charles are acceptable city names or spellings, Valley View on the other hand no longer accepted or obsolete and are no longer used as a designation. St. Charles was the location of the Native American community for the chief of the Pottawatomie that inhabited the area. After the Black Hawk War in 1832, the entire area of the Fox Valley was opened to American settlement. St. Charles became incorporated as a city February 9, 1839, and reincorporated October 17, 1874 (under the 1870 Illinois Constitution) There is widespread speculation of slavery-era Underground Railroad stations operating in St.Charles homes, complete with tunnels and false doorways. The most plausible connection to the Underground Railroad in the town is the Wheeler House, built in St Charles in 1837. The city has attracted groups of European immigrants, including from Ireland and Sweden during the 1840s and 1850s, and later from Belgium and Lithuania. On April 25, 2020, the Kane County Health Department ordered Smithfield Foods to close its meat processing plant because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a local instance of the pandemic's effects on the meat industry in the United States. A city park overlooking the river was dedicated to this Native American past. A direct automobile route to Chicago, which eventually became Route 64 (Main Street), was constructed in 1920. Four Illinois state routes, including Routes 64, 38 (Lincoln Highway), 25 (5th Avenue) and 31 (2nd Street) now run through the city. Streetcar lines along the Fox River between Elgin and Aurora were built through the town in 1896, operated by the Aurora, Elgin & Fox River Electric company.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, St. Charles has a total area of 14.934 square miles (38.68 km²) of which 97.83% is land. The Fox River runs through downtown. Potawatomie Park, which sits on the river, is a popular destination for both tourists and tri-city area citizens. It is the largest park in the city and is located on the banks of the Fox River. The city has a population of 2,816. The population of the city was 2,788 at the 2010 U.S. Census. The town is located in the Kansas City metropolitan area and is part of the St. Louis-St. Louis area. It has an estimated population of 3,715. The area has an area of 15.9 square miles, or 37.4 km², of which 14.61sq miles (37.84km²) is land and 0.324 sq miles (0.84 km 2) (or 2.17%) is water. The largest city in the area is Kansas City, Missouri, which has an population of 4,716. St.Charles is home to the Missouri River, which runs through the city. The river is a major source of water supply for the city, as well as for the rest of the tri- city area. The Missouri River is also a popular tourist destination for tourists and citizens of the area, as it flows through the town's downtown area.

Demographics

There were 10,351 households, out of which 36.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.1% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.3% were non-families. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.13. The median income for a household in the city was $75,181, and the median incomes for a family was $94,704. The city's population density was 1,993.9 inhabitants per square mile (769.8/km²) 5.50% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. The per capita income for the city is $33,969. Out of the total population, 3.4%. of those under the Age of 18 and 3.9% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. The U.S. 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 anyrace.

Government and infrastructure

The Illinois Youth Center St. Charles is a juvenile correctional facility of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice. It opened in December 1904. It is located in the town of St.Charles, Illinois. The facility is home to a number of youth programs. It also houses the state's juvenile justice system. It was built in 1904 and has a capacity for 1,500 inmates. The center is located on the banks of the St. Louis River. It has a maximum security facility for up to 60 inmates, and a minimum-security facility for 60. It's located in a former mill site, which was once used as a prison. It now houses a youth program for the first time in its history, and has about 1,000 youths. The youth program is run by the Department of juvenile justice, which is part of the State of Illinois. It opens in the spring of each year, and the facility is open to the public in the summer and the winter. The state's youth program was founded in 1903. In the fall of that year, it opened a new facility, the Illinois Juvenile Center, in the city of St Charles. The current facility opened in the winter of 2008. It holds about 1.5 million youth, and is the largest juvenile facility in the state. It houses about 100,000 youth, many of whom are in the juvenile justice program. In 2010, it was the largest youth center in Illinois, with a capacity of 1,400.

Education

The public education system in St. Charles is operated by the Community Unit School District 303. There are thirteen elementary schools: Anderson, Bell-Graham, Corron, Davis, Ferson Creek, Fox Ridge, Lincoln, Munhall, Norton Creek, Wasco, and Wild Rose. St. Patrick Catholic School opened its doors in 1930 and previously served about 500 students at the downtown campus. The school opened another location off Randall Road which serves over 500 students. The Glenwood School for Boys and Girls has a campus in St Charles known as the Rathje Campus named for the Frank C. Rathje family. The community is part of Community College District 509 which is served by Elgin Community College. The district also has two middle schools: Thompson and Wredling; and two high schools: St.Charles East High School, and St. Charlie North High School. The city is also home to the University of Wisconsin-St. Charles, which is a member of the North Central Conference of Colleges and Schools. The university is located in the town of Elgin and serves students from all over the state of Wisconsin. The town has a population of about 4,000 people and is home to a number of colleges and universities, including St. Mary's College of Wisconsin and Elgin State College of the Arts and Sciences. The area is also the home of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, which was established in 1894 and has been named after the town's first football coach, William "Bill" Curnow.

Culture

Downtown St. Charles was named one of the region's "Top 10" by the Chicago Tribune for fine dining, arts and entertainment, recreational opportunities, unique shopping, and a lively nighttime personality. Local theatres include Steel Beam Theatre, the Vero Voce Theater & School of Performing Arts, and Kane Repertory Theatre. In 2008, as part of a promotional effort by a local water gardening company, St.Charles named itself the water garden capital of the world. The city's public library is nationally ranked among the best libraries in the U.S. and has earned a "three star" rating in the 2010 Library Journal Index. The town is home to the Q Center, a 95-acre conference site. It is now used by Accenture, and hosts meetings, conferences and executive learning for Fortune 500 companies, associations and social, military, education, religious and fraternal organizations from all over the world and is located on a former Catholic Women's Liberal Arts College site. The St Charles History Museum maintains a small museum of community artifacts in a historic former Texaco service station built in 1928 on Main Street. The Friends of the Library sponsors spring and fall book sales each year and offers special delivery options for those who have special circumstances, such as visual, mobility or hearing impairments. The library has a large collection of print materials, as well as DVDs, CDs, downloadable content, online research databases, and an online genealogy collection. The City of St Charles also hosts an annual Scarecrow Fest, featuring 100+ handmade scarecrows.

Economy

Piano-making was a major industry in St. Charles in the first three decades of the 20th century. The arrival of the Chicago Great Western Railway enabled The Cable Co. to build a factory on 11 acres of land in 1901. The factory was closed on Jan. 7, 1937, and sold to the W.H. Howell company, which made furniture there until 1980. The building was razed in September 2000 to make way for a residential development; the site is now occupied by condominiums and mixed-use buildings. The top employers in the city are: Corning, American Tourister, Carter's, Pfalzgraff, and Anchor Hocking. It was foreclosed upon and closed in 1997. It reopened in May 1986 as the indoor Piano Factory Outlet Mall, whose outlet stores included Corning and Carter's. It is now a mixed-used building site with apartments, condos and a hotel. It has a population of 2,000, according to the city's 2016 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.

In popular culture

St. Charles is featured in the 2011 American independent horror film Munger Road. The 2020 documentary A Secret Love follows the story of a couple who lived in St. Charles for decades. Filming for an upcoming David Fincher movie called The Killer is currently taking place in the city. The city is also the subject of the 2012 film "The Town That Saved My Life" The town is also featured in an early Brendan Fraser movie With Honors. The town has been featured in numerous other films and TV shows, including "Dumb and Dumber" and "Saving Mr. Banks" The city has also been featured on the cover of "The New York Times" and in the "Saturday Night Live" series "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Friends" in the 1980s and 1990s. It has also appeared in the TV series "American Horror Story" and the "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II" series. It is also mentioned in the book "The Godfather: Part III: The Search for the Holy Grail" by Stephen King and the film "Wizard of Oz" by Neil Gaiman. It also appears in the 2010 film "Munger Road" by the same name, but with a different name. It was filmed in the early 1990s on location in the town's downtown area. The name of the movie is "The Killing" and it is based on a real-life incident involving a man and a woman who were killed by a gunman.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Saint Charles, Kane County, Illinois = 46.3. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 60. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 70. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Saint Charles = 3.5 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 33,081 individuals with a median age of 36.3 age the population grows by 13.49% in Saint Charles, Kane County, Illinois population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 2,295.86 residents per square mile of area (886.43/km²). There are average 2.62 people per household in the 11,785 households with an average household income of $80,283 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 8.70% of the available work force and has dropped -4.36% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 22.58%. The number of physicians in Saint Charles per 100,000 population = 132.5.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Saint Charles = 36 inches and the annual snowfall = 32.8 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 104. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 189. 83 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 11.3 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 46, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Saint Charles, Kane County, Illinois which are owned by the occupant = 68.10%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 25 years with median home cost = $213,340 and home appreciation of -19.26%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $19.77 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,872 per student. There are 18.6 students for each teacher in the school, 1138 students for each Librarian and 1122 students for each Counselor. 6.82% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 28.48% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 14.71% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).