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Bensenville, Illinois facts for kids

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Bensenville
Village of Bensenville
Downtown Bensenville
Downtown Bensenville
Flag of Bensenville
Flag
Motto(s): 
Gateway to Opportunity
Location of Bensenville in DuPage County and Cook County, Illinois.
Location of Bensenville in DuPage County and Cook County, Illinois.
Location of Illinois in the United States
Location of Illinois in the United States
Country United States
State Illinois
County DuPage, Cook
Township Addison, Leyden
Government
 • Type President-Trustee
Area
 • Total 5.58 sq mi (14.46 km2)
 • Land 5.53 sq mi (14.33 km2)
 • Water 0.05 sq mi (0.13 km2)
Elevation
679 ft (207 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 18,813
 • Density 3,401.37/sq mi (1,313.23/km2)
Time zone UTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code(s) 630
FIPS code 17-05248

Bensenville is a village located near O'Hare International Airport in DuPage County, Illinois, with a portion of the town in Cook County. As of the 2020 census, the village population was 18,813.

First known as Tioga, it was formally established as Bensenville in 1873 along the Milwaukee Road (now Canadian Pacific) right-of-way. The community is named after Benzen, Germany. A post office was established in 1873, but because there was an existing "Benson", the suffix "ville" was added.

The Edge Ice Arena is located in Bensenville, former home of the Chicago Steel junior ice hockey team.

The Churchville School in Bensenville is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Bensenville has a total area of 5.618 square miles (14.55 km2), of which 5.57 square miles (14.43 km2) (or 99.15%) is land and 0.048 square miles (0.12 km2) (or 0.85%) is water.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1880 136
1890 295 116.9%
1900 374 26.8%
1910 443 18.4%
1920 650 46.7%
1930 1,680 158.5%
1940 1,869 11.3%
1950 3,754 100.9%
1960 9,141 143.5%
1970 12,956 41.7%
1980 16,106 24.3%
1990 17,767 10.3%
2000 20,703 16.5%
2010 18,352 −11.4%
2020 18,813 2.5%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the 2010 census the population density was 3,296.6 people per square mile (5,305.3/km2). There were 6,743 housing units. The racial makeup of the village was 67.3% White, 3.5% African American, 1.0% Native American, 4.8% Asian, and 3.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 47.8% of the population.

There were 6,312 households, out of which 36.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.4% were married couples living together, 11% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.50.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 24.5% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 20 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were over 65 years of age. The median age was 33.4 years.

The median income for a household in the village was $52,500 and the median income for a family was $55,500. About 15.4% of families and 15.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.1% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those over age 65.

Transportation

Midwest Hiawatha 1943
The "Midwest Hiawatha" traveling through Bensenville, 1943

Bensenville has a station on Metra's Milwaukee District/West Line, which provides daily rail service between Elgin and Chicago (at Union Station). From there, passengers can connect to an Amtrak train.

In popular culture

Bensenville is the site of Victory Auto Wreckers, a 7-acre (2.8 ha) junkyard on Green Street which has repeatedly aired the same commercial, starring Bob Zajdel, on Chicago television stations since 1981.

Part of the movie Flatliners was filmed at the old green house that was next to Black Hawk Junior High School in 1990.

The Spilotro brothers were executed in a basement in Bensenville and buried in a cornfield in Indiana as depicted in the movie Casino which depicts the corruption at the Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas. Joe Pesci portrayed one of the Spilotro brothers.

In the television series Boss, a multiepisode story arc involves the main character, Mayor of Chicago Tom Kane (Kelsey Grammer), being damaged by a scandal in which he authorized the dumping of carcinogenic chemicals that soak into the groundwater of Bensenville.

The Christian metalcore band Gwen Stacy recorded the video for their single "The First Words" in an abandoned neighborhood in Bensenville.

Sister cities

Economy

Top employers

According to Bensenville's 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the village are:

# Employer # of Employees
1 US Foods 400
2 Fortune Fish & Gourmet 350
3 Chicago White Metal Casting 325
4 Expeditors International 300
5 Victor Envelope Co 220
6 Allmetal, Inc 200
6 Ewing-Doherty Mechanical Inc 200
6 UPS Freight Services 200
7 Envelop Express 175
8 Amglo Kemlite Labs 150
8 Rubicon 150
8 Creative Werks 150

Notable people

  • Daren Dochterman is an art designer and illustrator for over 35 feature films including The Abyss, and Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
  • Richard Oruche, basketball player for the Nigerian National Basketball Team. He competed in the 2012 Olympic Games. He played basketball for the Fenton Bison, Bensenville's high school.
  • William A. Redmond was a longtime Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives who served as Speaker from 1975-1981.
  • Genevieve "Audrey" Wagner was a professional baseball player in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, winning the league's batting title in 1948. She later earned an M.D. and pilots license.
  • Marcin Kleczynski, Polish-born Malwarebytes CEO who grew up in Bensenville.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Bensenville para niños

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