About Us

Oak Lawn is a residential community of approximately 65,000 people located in the southwestern part of the Chicago Metropolitan Area. It is about 14 miles from the Chicago Loop in Worth Township. Most of its residents are skilled laborers and professional people who are employed outside the community. The approximate boundaries of the village are Crawford Avenue on the east, Harlem Avenue on the west, 87th Street on the north, and on the south the boundaries vary from 99th Street on the west to 111th Street on the east. The main retail business area extends along 95th Street and Cicero Avenue.

Oak Lawn is a village and is governed by a village board elected by the people. A Village President, elected by the people, presides over the Board of Trustees. A Village Manager administers the village government. There are many service organizations in Oak Lawn; there are churches of almost every denomination. Christ Hospital, which opened in 1961 and was greatly expanded in 1975, serves the village and surrounding communities. The Oak Lawn Park District sponsors a variety of recreation and cultural activities.

Hometown, a residential community developed by J. E. Merrion, was originally peopled mostly by World War II veterans and their families. The municipal boundaries are Crawford on the east, Cicero on the west, 91st Street on the south, and 87th Street on the north. A shopping center is located along Southwest Highway, which bisects the village. There is no industry. About 7500 people live in Hometown mainly in duplex homes although there are some single family dwellings and multiple apartment units. Hometown has an aldermanic form of government with 10 aldermen and a presiding mayor.

Included in District 229 is Bridgeview's "Southfield Area," roughly between Oak Park Avenue and Harlem, 87th Street and 92nd Street in the southeast corner of the Village of Bridgeview. The Southfield area was developed as single family homes in about 1957. The present population of Bridgeview is 14,000 and there is a Village government with a President and 6 trustees. The main business is retailing and light manufacturing.

Chicago Ridge was founded in 1914 and has a population of 13,643. A small portion of the north border, roughly between 97th and 99th, Ridgeland and Harlem is included in District 229. Chicago Ridge has a Mayor and Board of Trustees. The municipality contains single family homes and apartment buildings. An industrial park and two shopping centers (Chicago Ridge Mall and The Commons of Chicago Ridge) are the main businesses.

The Oak Lawn Community High School District 229, which serves sections of Bridgeview, Chicago Ridge, Oak Lawn, and all of Hometown, has boundaries of 87th Street on the north, 99th Street on the south, Crawford Avenue on the east, and Harlem Avenue on the west--a rectangle 4 miles wide east and west, 1 1/2 miles long north and south. There are two elementary districts, 122 and 123, within the high school district, and several parochial elementary schools.