Elgin, Illinois

Elgin (pronounced (IPA)) is a city 40 mi. (64.5 km) northwest of Chicago, Illinois on the Fox River. Most of Elgin lies within Kane County, Illinois, with a portion in Cook County, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 94,487, making it the eighth largest city in Illinois. Elgin is a diverse and rapidly growing community that was profiled in a 1997 issue of Money Magazine as a microcosm of the United States.

Elgin today

Elgin ranks as one of the most rapidly growing cities in Illinois. Elgin Mayor Ed Schock was quoted in the Chicago Tribune in June 2005, saying that Elgin will in 40 years be the second largest city in Illinois. The city's Far West Development Strategy calls for the construction of 14,000 homes on previously agricultural land west of Randall Road, which has become a major retail corridor connecting the Fox Valley. Elgin's downtown area has also attracted developer interest. Three large residential projects are expected to be completed in the downtown by 2007, at a total cost of more than $100 million. The new 460,000 volume-capacity library, completed at a cost of $30 million, as well as the city's $41 million recreational center, the Centre of Elgin, has helped to renew homebuyer interest in the revitalized downtown.

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This remarkable growth has been accompanied by increased concerns about traffic, urban sprawl, and the city's capacity to provide services to new residents. City officials insist that Elgin's water plants have ample capacity to serve all new residents. Elgin is known for the quality of its tap water, which in the past ten years has been named both the finest in Kane County and the finest in Illinois.

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The city is served by Elgin Community College, one of the fastest-growing community colleges in the state, and Judson College,a four-year Christian college on the banks of the Fox River. Judson features graduate programs in architecture and education, and as of May, 2005 is contemplating a name change to Judson University.

Related Topics:
Elgin Community College - Judson College

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In the 1990s, Elgin became one of the few cities in northern Illinois to host a riverboat casino. The Grand Victoria Casino was initially controversial but has proven a significant source of income for the city. Drawing nearly four million people annually, as of March 2005, it is the fifth most popular tourist attraction in Illinois. The Grand Victoria Foundation, to which the casino has contributed an amount in excess of $116 million, is a major provider of community grants to nonprofits in the city.

Related Topics:
Riverboat - Casino - Grand Victoria Casino - Grand Victoria Foundation

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Elgin is home to a large Lao community, and has been the sister city of Vientiane, the capital of Laos, since 1967. Some Lao have opened grocery stores, where otherwise hard to find Asian ingredients and goods can be purchased locally.

Related Topics:
Vientiane - Laos

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Elgin's civic society is characterized by a large, diverse, and effective group of grassroots organizations, a sense of community pride and a spirit of volunteerism and participation. In recognition of this, for the second time, Elgin won the National Civic League's prestigious All-America City Award in 2002.

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