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La Grange is a village in Cook County, Illinois, located approximately 13 miles west of Chicago's Loop, with a population of 16,321 as of the 2020 census. Founded by Franklin Dwight Cossitt in 1870 and officially incorporated on June 11, 1879, La Grange was developed as an ideal planned suburban community with restricted land deeds preventing saloons, donated church and school properties, and homes priced between $2,000-$8,000. The village experienced explosive growth of over 600 percent between the 1880s and 1890s as Chicago residents relocated westward following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and the city's rapid expansion. Named after La Grange, Tennessee, where founder Cossitt was raised, the village sits along the former Chicago-Dixon Road (now Ogden Avenue/U.S. Highway 34) and was served by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad as a milk stop called Hazel Glen. Early innovation in La Grange included Dr. George Fox's pioneering telephone system in the 1880s, which grew from 52 lines in 1894 to 2,346 by 1921. Chicago is the third-most populous city in the United States with 2.74 million residents at the 2020 census, located on the western shore of Lake Michigan in Illinois, and serves as the seat of Cook County, the second-most populous county in the U.S. Incorporated as a city in 1837 near a portage between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watershed, Chicago experienced rapid growth in the mid-19th century and rebuilt after the devastating 1871 Great Chicago Fire, becoming a leader in urban planning and architecture including the Chicago School and steel-framed skyscraper development. As an international hub for finance, culture, commerce, and transportation, Chicago hosts the world's largest and most diverse finance derivatives market generating 20% of all commodities and financial futures volume, O'Hare International Airport among the world's busiest airports, and a metropolitan economy ranking sixth globally with over $919 billion in GDP in 2024. The city attracts 55 million annual visitors to its cultural institutions, Lake Michigan beaches, and restaurants, while contributing significantly to jazz, blues, house music, and improvisational comedy through venues like the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera, and Art Institute of Chicago. Chicago hosts major professional sports teams across all major leagues, the renowned Chicago Marathon, and prestigious universities including the University of Chicago and Northwestern University, solidifying its status as a global cultural and economic center. Chicago Heights is a city in Cook County, Illinois, located approximately 30 miles south of the Chicago Loop in the southern suburbs of the Chicago metropolitan area, with a 2020 census population of 27,480. Established in the 1890s by Chicago developers led by Charles Wacker, the city became an industrial hub after major manufacturers including Inland Steel, Owens-Illinois Glass Company, and Ludowici Roofing Tile Company built factories there, attracting Italian, Polish, Slovak, Lithuanian, Irish, and Black workers to the East Side and Hill neighborhoods. In 1916, the Lincoln Highway Association routed the country's first transcontinental highway through the city at its major crossroads of Dixie Highway and U.S. Route 30, earning it the nickname "The Crossroads of the Nation." The city experienced significant prosperity during World War II as factories produced essential war materials, and a Ford stamping factory built in the 1950s further boosted the economy, though the area declined economically from the 1970s onward as heavy manufacturing scaled down. Chicago Heights sits on the Tinley Moraine with a total area of 10.38 square miles and remains known for its industrial heritage and strategic position as a regional transportation hub.