Cook County

Introduction

Cook County, with the county seat of Chicago, is the second-most populous county in the U.S. after Los Angeles County, California. With a population of 5,211,263 as of 2017, Cook County’s population is larger than that of 28 U.S. states and the combined populations of seven (7) states. More than 40% of all Illinois residents live in Cook County and its 29 townships. 

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Cook County has a total area of 1,635 square miles, of which 945 square miles is land and 690 square miles is the water of Lake Michigan. The county is the sixth-largest Illinois county by land area and the largest in total area. 

Major Highways

Cook County, particularly Chicago, has residents working round-the-clock in a variety of industries, a vibrant nightlife, and is a hub for transportation and tourism, making Cook County roadways busy 24/7. Unfortunately, this also means that motor vehicle accidents are common including work zone accidents, car and truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, rideshare accidents, car dooring accidents, bicycle accidents, and pedestrian accidents.

According to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), in 2017, Cook County had 159,202 motor vehicle accidents. Of these accidents, 265 were fatal, 30,613 resulted in injuries, and 3,576 of these accidents resulted in A-injuries, or injuries that are classified by IDOT as any injury, other than a fatality, that prevents the injured person from walking, driving, or continuing with the activities they were capable of prior to the accident. This can include severe lacerations, skull and chest injuries, broken limbs, and abdominal injuries.

The major highways that run through Cook County include: I-55, I-57, I-80, I-88,  I-90 / I-94 / Chicago Skyway, I-190,I-290, I-294, I-355, US 6, US 12, US 14, US 20, US 30, US 34, US 41, US 45, US 66, Illinois Route 1, Illinois Route 7, Illinois Route 19, Illinois Route 21, Illinois Route 25, Illinois Route 38, Illinois Route 43, Illinois Route 50, Illinois Route 53, Illinois Route 56, Illinois Route 58, Illinois Route 59, Illinois Route 62, Illinois Route 64, Illinois Route 68, Illinois Route 72, Illinois Route 83, Illinois Route 110, Illinois Route 17, Illinois Route 390, Illinois Route 394.

Climate and Weather

Cook County weather is typical for Illinois, with highs averaging 84 °F during the summer months and lows averaging 18 °F during winter. On average, Cook County gets 38.1 inches of measurable precipitation in the form of rain, snow, or hail, which not only contributes to motor vehicle accidents, but also slip and falls, pedestrian accidents, and bicycle accidents.

Demographics

Cook County has approximately 1,974,181 households with 44% of these households consisting of married couples and 30.9% with children under the age of 18. The median household income of Cook County is $45,922 and the median income for families is $53,784. 

Cook County takes seriously the health and safety of its children, families, and senior residents offering various programs geared towards promoting healthy lifestyles, providing accessible and affordable medical care to lower-income residents, and ensuring that children, adults, and seniors are provided access to any additional help they may require during difficult times.

Cook County lawyers at America’s Consumer Lawyer can also assist during these difficult times including incidents of nursing home abuse and neglect, motor vehicle accidents, premises accidents, and child accidents, abuse, or neglect.

Communities

Cities: Berwyn, Blue Island, Burbank, Calumet City, Chicago, Chicago Heights, Country Club Hills, Countryside, Des Plaines, Elgin, Evanston, Harvey, Hickory Hills, Hometown, Markham, Northlake, Oak Forest, Orland Park, Palos Heights, Palos Hills, Palos Park, Park Ridge, Prospect Heights, Rolling Meadows

Town: Cicero

Villages: Alsip, Arlington Heights, Barrington, Barrington Hills, Bartlett, Bedford Park, Bellwood, Bensenville, Berkeley, Bridgeview, Broadview, Brookfield, Buffalo Grove, Burnham, Burr Ridge, Calumet Park, Chicago Ridge, Crestwood, Deer Park, Deerfield, Dixmoor, Dolton, East Dundee, East Hazel Crest, Elk Grove Village, Elmwood Park, Evergreen Park, Flossmoor, Ford Heights, Forest Park, Forest View, Franklin Park, Glencoe, Glenview, Glenwood, Golf, Hanover Park, Harwood Heights, Hazel Crest, Hillside, Hinsdale, Hodgkins,Hoffman Estates, Homewood, Indian Head Park, Inverness, Justice, Kenilworth, La Grange, La Grange Park, Lansing, Lemont, Lincolnwood, Lynwood, Lyons, Matteson, Maywood, McCook, Melrose Park, Merrionette Park, Midlothian, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Norridge, North Riverside, Northbrook, Northfield, Oak Forest, Oak Lawn, Oak Park, Olympia Fields, Orland Hills, Orland Park, Palatine, Palos Park, Park Forest, Phoenix, Posen, Richton Park, River Forest, River Grove, Riverdale, Riverside, Robbins, Roselle, Rosemont, Sauk Village, Schaumburg, Schiller Park, Skokie, South Barrington, South Chicago Heights, South Holland, Steger, Stickney, Stone Park, Streamwood, Summit, Thornton, Tinley Park, University Park, Westchester, Western Springs, Wheeling, Willow Springs, Wilmette, Winnetka, Worth

Unincorporated Communities: Central Stickney, Hines, La Grange Highlands, Nottingham Park, Sag Bridge, Sutton

Townships: Thornton Township, Wheeling Township, Worth Township, Proviso Township, Maine Township, Schaumburg Township, Palatine Township, Lyons Township, Bremen Township, Niles Township, Hanover Township, Orland Township, Elk Grove Township, Leyden Township, Bloom Township, Northfield Township, Cicero Township, Rich Township, Berwyn Township, New Trier Township, Palos Township, Oak Park Township, Stickney Township, Norwood Park Township, Lemont Township, Calumet Township, Barrington Township, Riverside Township, River Forest Township

Education

Cook County, due to its sheer size, is home to many public and private schools, which include:

• Alsip-Hazelgreen-Oak Lawn School District 126
• Arbor Park School District 145
• Argo Community High School District 217
• Argo Evergreen Park Reavis Oak Lawn Special Education Cooperative
• Arlington Heights School District 25
• Atwood Heights School District 125
• Avoca School District 37
• Barrington Community Unit School District 220
• Bellwood School District 88
• Berkeley School District 87
• Berwyn North School District 98
• Bloom Township High School District 206
• Bremen Community High School District 228
• Brookfield-Lagrange Park School District 95
• Brookwood School District 167
• Burbank School District 111
• Burnham School District 154½
• Calumet City School District 155
• Calumet Public School District 132
• Central Stickney School District 110
• Chicago Heights School District 170
• Chicago Ridge School District 127½
• Cicero School District 99
• City of Chicago School District 299
• Community Consolidated School District 15 
• Community Consolidated School District 54
• Community Consolidated School District 59
• Community Consolidated School District 62 
• Community Consolidated School District 168 
• Community High School District 218
• Consolidated High School District 230 
• Cook County School District 104
• Cook County School District 130
• Country Club Hills School District 160
• Dolton School District 148
• Dolton School District 149
• East Maine School District 63
• East Prairie School District 73
• Elementary School District 159
• Elgin Area School District U46 (a unit school district)
• Elmwood Park Community Unit School District 401
• Evanston Township High School District 202
• Evanston/Skokie School District 65
• Evergreen Park Community High School District 231
• Evergreen Park Elementary School District 124
• Fairview School District 72
• Flossmoor School District 161
• Ford Heights School District 169
• Forest Park School District 91
• Forest Ridge School District 142
• Franklin Park School District 84
• General George Patton School District 133
• Glencoe School District 35
• Glenview Community Consolidated School District 34
• Golf School District 67
• Harvey School District 152
• Hazel Crest School District 152½
• Hillside School District 93
• Homewood Flossmoor Community High School District 233
• Homewood School District 153
• Hoover-Schrum Memorial School District 157
• Indian Springs School District 109
• Kenilworth School District 38
• Kirby School District 140
• Komarek School District 94
• LaGrange Elementary School District 102
• LaGrange School District 105 South
• LaGrange Highlands School District 106
• Lansing School District 158
• Lemont Township High School District 210
• Lemont-Bromberek Combined School District 113A
• Leyden Community High School District 212
• Lincoln Elementary School District 156
• Lincolnwood School District 74
• Lindop School District 92
• Lyons School District 103
• Lyons Township High School District 204
• Maine Township High School District 207
• Mannheim School District 83
• Matteson School District 162
• Maywood-Melrose Park-Broadview School District 89
• Midlothian School District 143
• Morton Grove School District 70
• J. Sterling Morton High School District 201
• Mount Prospect School District 57
• New Trier Township High School District 203
• Niles Elementary School District 71
• Niles Township High School District 219
• Norridge School District 80
• North Palos School District 117
• Northbrook School District 27
• Northbrook School District 28
• Northbrook/Glenview School District 30
• Northfield Township High School District 225
• Oak Lawn Community High School District 229
• Oak Lawn-Hometown School District 123
• Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200
• Oak Park Elementary School District
• Orland School District 135
• Palos Heights School District 128
• Palos School District 118
• Park Forest School District 163
• Park Ridge-Niles School District 64
• Pennoyer School District 79
• Pleasantdale School District 107
• Posen-Robbins School District 143½
• Prairie-Hills Elementary School District 144
• Prospect Heights School District 23
• Proviso Township High Schools District 209
• Reavis Township High School District 220
• Rhodes School District 84½
• Rich Township High School District 227
• Ridgeland School District 122
• Ridgewood Community High School District 234
• River Forest Public Schools District 90
• River Grove School District 85½
• River Trails School District 26
• Riverside-Brookfield Township District 208
• Riverside School District 96
• Rosemont Elementary School District 78
• Sandridge School District 172
• Schiller Park School District 81
• Skokie School District 68
• Skokie School District 69
• Skokie School District 73½
• South Berwyn School District 100
• South Holland School District 150
• South Holland School District 151
• Steger School District 194
• Sunnybrook School District 171
• Sunset Ridge School District 29
• Thornton Fractional Township High School District 215
• Thornton School District 154
• Thornton Township High School District 205
• Tinley Park Community Consolidated School District 146
• Township High School District 211
• Township High School District 214
• Union Ridge School District 86
• West Harvey-Dixmoor Public School District 147
• West Northfield School District 31
• Westchester Public School District 92½
• Western Springs School District 101
• Wheeling Community Consolidated School District 21
• Willow Springs School District 108
• Wilmette Public Schools District 39
• Winnetka School District 36
• Worth School District 127

Colleges and Universities

• Harold Washington College
• Harry S. Truman College
• Kennedy-King College
• Malcolm X College
• Olive-Harvey College
• Richard J. Daley College
• Wilbur Wright College
• Loyola University
• The University of Chicago
• Illinois Institute of Technology
• Roosevelt University
• Robert Morris University
• North Park University

When sending your child off to school you assume they will remain safe, however, this isn’t always the case. School bus accidents, crossing accidents, gym and physical education accidents, lack of supervision, playground injuries, and school district negligence are just a few examples of the types of school injury cases America’s Consumer Lawyer has experience with.

Attractions

Cook County has many activities and attractions to offer its residents and visitors, including:

• Millennium Park
• Willis Tower
• Navy Pier
• Grant Park
• Shedd Aquarium
• Lincoln Park Zoo
• The Field Museum
• Adler Planetarium
• Chicago Botanic Garden
• Chicago Riverwalk
• Chicago Children’s Museum
• Burnham Park
• Oak Street Beach
• North Avenue Beach
• Legoland
• Ping Tom Memorial Park
• Oz Park
• City Winery
• Indian Boundary Park 

While most of the time spent at these attractions will be enjoyable and uneventful, accidents can occur, including slip and falls, dog bites, bicycle accidents, drunk driving accidents, swimming, boating, and drowning accidents, and motor vehicle accidents.

Agruss Personal Injury: People, First

We see you as a person, not just a client – and that makes us better at work we do. We listen. We learn your story. And, as we help you get the money you deserve, we go above and beyond in a way most law firms never could and never would. Because we’re not just lawyers. And you’re not just a client. We’re friends, neighbors, family. We’re all people and here at America’s Consumer Lawyer, we put people first.