Tinley Park, Illinois

Tinley Park (formerly Bremen) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States (with a small portion in Will County), and is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 55,971, and it is among the fastest-growing suburbs southwest of Chicago. In 2009, BusinessWeek named Tinley Park the "best place in America" to raise a family.

19th century
Modern habitation of the area which, today, comprises Tinley Park began in the 1820s with emigrants from Europe and the eastern United States. By the 1840s, Germans and German-Americans had become such a prominent group in the area that, when the Village was formed in 1853, it was given the name of Bremen. Additionally, Irish, English, Scottish, Canadian and other groups of settlers also moved to the region.

In the late 19th century, railroads had expanded across America at a rapid pace, and the Village happened to be located on the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad line. The influence of this new form of transport was so great on Bremen that, in 1890, its name was changed to Tinley Park, in honor of the village's first railroad station agent, Samuel Tinley, Sr. Even the village's official incorporation took place at the train depot, on June 27, 1892, when local citizens voted 34-24 to continue as the Village of Tinley Park; Henry Vogt would be the Village's first mayor.

20th century
With the railways came industry and commerce; 1905 saw the Diamond Spiral Washing Machine Company open a Tinley Park factory, the company's first. Local businessmen established an electric utility in 1909. A bottling facility for soda operated in Tinley Park until the 1950s. Inventor John Rauhoff developed and manufactured a waterproofing additive for cement called ironite, later used in the construction of the Hoover Dam. In 1956, a building was erected for the new Tinley Park Public Library. In the latter half of the 20th century, Tinley Park was, and remains to be, an area of rapid suburban expansion to the west and south of the original site, with over 11,000 housing units constructed between 1970 and 1994.

Today
After its centennial (in 1992), Tinley Park has focused on the renovation of its historic downtown district, which encompasses the Village's original 1892 boundaries. In this district, landowners are encouraged to maintain the sites' historic edifices, or to create new, but "historically-friendly", facades for otherwise modern buildings built in the last 30 years.

Downtown renovation projects have included the opening of a park near the Oak Park Avenue Metra train station, as well as the recent South Street Project, a multimillion-dollar project that will create more than 220 apartments and 40000 sqft of commercial retail space.

Since its opening in 1990, the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre (formerly World Music Theater, Tweeter Center Chicago and First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre) has been a major outdoor music venue, accommodating around 28,000 people. The amphitheater, which has hosted numerous musicians and festivals over its 30+ years in operation, features an overhead-covered seated section with open sides, and a large, sloping grass lawn area at the back.

On February 2, 2008, a mass shooting occurred at Lane Bryant in Brookside Marketplace on the Will County side of the village. The store closed after the shooting.

The North American Reptile Breeders Conference (NARBC) is among the largest reptile and amphibian shows in the country, with locations in four cities, including Tinley Park. The twice-annual convention features dozens of kiosks, with breeders and vendors showing and selling their animals, as well as interesting gifts, pet supplies and more. The popular event is held in the spring and fall at Tinley Park Convention Center.

Geography
According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Tinley Park has a total area of 16.13 sqmi, of which 16.12 sqmi (or 99.93%) is land and 0.01 sqmi (or 0.07%) is water.

It is bordered by Oak Forest to the northeast, Orland Park to the northwest, Orland Hills and Mokena to the west, Country Club Hills to the east. Matteson to the southeast, Frankfort to the southwest and Frankfort Square to the south.

Demographics
As of the 2020 census there were 55,971 people, 21,871 households, and 14,760 families residing in the village. The population density was 3,469.56 PD/sqmi. There were 22,751 housing units at an average density of 1,410.30 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the village was 80.56% White, 6.41% African American, 0.14% Native American, 4.21% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 2.31% from other races, and 6.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.39% of the population.

There were 21,871 households, out of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.68% were married couples living together, 10.01% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.51% were non-families. 29.01% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.67% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.21 and the average family size was 2.56.

The village's age distribution consisted of 21.4% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 27.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.1 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $82,163, and the median income for a family was $103,902. Males had a median income of $61,179 versus $41,084 for females. The per capita income for the village was $40,955. About 4.2% of families and 5.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.8% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.

Tinley Park has the 7th-highest Palestinian-American population in the United States, with neighboring Orland Park having the 5th-highest.

Government
Tinley Park is divided between two congressional districts. Most of the village, including all the area in Bremen Township and Rich Township, as well as the area in Will County, is in Illinois's 1st congressional district; the area in Orland Township south of 167th Street, as well as most of the area southwest of 163rd Street and Ozark Avenue, is in the 3rd district.

Education
Tinley Park includes four public school districts – Kirby School District 140 (contains 5 grade schools, and 2 middle schools: Prairie View Middle School, and Virgil I. Grissom Middle School), Community Consolidated School District 146 (contains 4 grade schools, and Central Middle School), Summit Hill School District 161, (contains 5 grade schools, and Summit Hill Junior High School) and School District 159 (contains 4 grade schools, and Colin Powell Middle School).

The town also includes three parochial Pre-K through 8 elementary schools: St. George, which is Catholic; Trinity Lutheran, affiliated with the LCMS; and Southwest Chicago Christian School of Tinley Park.

Victor J. Andrew High School (Consolidated High School District 230) and Tinley Park High School (Bremen Community High School District 228) are both secondary schools located in Tinley Park. A small portion of Tinley Park students go to Lincoln-Way East High School. A small portion in the southwest part of the village also attends Rich Central High School.

Most residents of Tinley Park are located within the residency boundaries for Moraine Valley Community College; the rest reside in the community college district for South Suburban College. A very small portion of Tinley Park goes to Joliet Junior College.

Transportation
Metra trains access Tinley Park via the Rock Island District. The Oak Park Avenue and 80th Avenue Stations, which are located in Tinley Park, are part of the Rock Island District.

Pace provides bus service on Routes 356, 364 and 386 connecting Tinley Park to destinations throughout the Southland.


 * the village's east–west thoroughfare.
 * , the village's major north–south throughfare.
 * on the western corner of the village.
 * on the northern corner of the village.
 * the village's major north–south thoroughfare in Cook County.
 * the village's second major east-west thoroughfare.
 * located entirely in Tinley Park.

Notable people

 * Emil Andres, Indy and Sprint car driver
 * Gary Bettenhausen, Indy and Sprint car driver
 * Merle Bettenhausen, Sprint car driver
 * Tony Bettenhausen, Indy car driver
 * Tony Bettenhausen Jr., Indy car driver
 * Miles Boykin, wide receiver for NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers
 * Tevin Coleman, running back for NFL's San Francisco 49ers
 * John Ericks, pitcher with Pittsburgh Pirates 1995–97
 * Armando Estrada, former wrestler with WWE
 * Nathan Everhart, wrestler with WWE
 * Gina Glocksen, season six finalist on American Idol
 * Michael Hastings, Illinois State Senator, 98th General Assembly
 * Garrett Jones, outfielder, first baseman with Minnesota Twins, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees
 * Stacie Juris, Miss Illinois Teen USA 2009 and Miss Illinois USA 2013
 * Christine Magnuson, Olympic swimmer (two-time silver medalist)
 * Real Friends, pop punk band
 * Kevin Sefcik, utility player with Philadelphia Phillies and Colorado Rockies
 * John J. Szaton, Polish-American sculptor and creator of Coal Miner
 * Kanye West, musician, rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
 * Jeremiah Wright, former minister to Barack Obama

Sister cities

 * 🇩🇪 Büdingen, Germany
 * 🇮🇪 Mallow, Ireland
 * 🇵🇱 Nowy Sącz, Poland