29-652: Romeoville is a village in Will County, Illinois , United States. The village is located 26 mi (42 km) southwest of Chicago on the Gateway Wetlands, directly west of the Des Plaines River . Per the 2020 census , the population was 39,863. It is located in the southwest suburban area of Chicago near Interstate 55 and Interstate 355 . Romeoville was one of the last areas of Will County occupied by Native Americans. The village of Romeo
58-576: A high of 85 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −26 °F (−32 °C) was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of 104 °F (40 °C) was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.58 inches (40 mm) in January to 4.34 inches (110 mm) in July. As of the 2010 Census , there were 677,560 people, 225,256 households, and 174,062 families residing in
87-454: A targeted attack. The shooter, identified as 31-year-old Nathaniel Huey Jr., was tracked down with his fiancée at Catoosa, Oklahoma , on September 20. During an attempted traffic stop, Huey fled but eventually crashed his vehicle. Afterwards, he fatally shot his fiancée and then himself. According to the 2010 census, Romeoville has a total area of 18.759 square miles (48.59 km), of which 18.44 square miles (47.76 km), comprising 98.3%,
116-575: Is a county in the northeastern part of the state of Illinois . According to the 2020 census , it had a population of 696,355, an increase of 2.8% from 677,560 in 2010, making it Illinois's fourth-most populous county. The county seat is Joliet . Will County is one of the five collar counties of the Chicago–Naperville–Elgin, IL–IN–WI Metropolitan Statistical Area. The portion of Will County around Joliet uses area codes 815 and 779, while 630 and 331 are for far northern Will County and 708
145-483: Is for central and eastern Will County. Will County was formed on January 12, 1836, out of Cook and Iroquois Counties . It was named after Conrad Will , a politician and businessman involved in salt production in southern Illinois. Will was a member of the first Illinois Constitutional Convention and a member of the Illinois legislature until his death in 1835. Besides its present area, the county originally included
174-410: Is governed by a 22-member county board elected from 11 districts. Each district elects two members. The county executive, county clerk, coroner, auditor, treasurer, recorder of deeds, state's attorney, and sheriff are all elected in a countywide vote. The current county executive is Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, who took office in 2020. Will County government has been housed in a succession of courthouses,
203-482: Is land and 0.319 square miles (0.83 km), comprising 1.7%, is water. Romeoville borders the neighboring communities of Bolingbrook , Plainfield , Crystal Lawns , Crest Hill , Lockport and Lemont . Romeoville is home to a National Weather Service forecast office , although bulletins issued by said office begin, "The National Weather Service in Chicago..." Romeoville is home to over 600 businesses. In 2013,
232-574: Is served by four U.S. interstate highways, four U.S. highways, and 12 Illinois highways. Pace provides bus transit services within the county. Four different Metra commuter rail lines ( Metra Electric Main Line , Southwest Service , Rock Island District and Heritage Corridor ) connect Will County with the Chicago Loop . Amtrak serves the county at Joliet Transportation Center . The Lincoln Service operates between Chicago and St. Louis, while
261-515: The Des Plaines River just east of I-55 . According to ExxonMobil, the refinery employs about 600 people and was constructed in 1972. 41°26′N 87°59′W / 41.44°N 87.98°W / 41.44; -87.98 Valley View School District 365U Valley View School District 365U (VVSD) is located about 35 miles southwest of downtown Chicago , where Interstates 55 & 355 intersect. The district comprises most of Bolingbrook and Romeoville, Illinois . Formed in 1972,
290-652: The Forest Preserve District of Will County . The 17,000 acres (69 km ) Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie is a U.S. Forest Service park in the county on the grounds of the former Joliet Arsenal . Other parks include Channahon State Park and the Des Plaines Fish and Wildlife Area . In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Joliet have ranged from a low of 13 °F (−11 °C) in January to
319-639: The Texas Eagle provides service from Chicago south to San Antonio and west to Los Angeles . Will County is a major hub in the national natural gas pipeline grid where pipelines from Canada and the Gulf of Mexico meet and then fan out to serve the Midwest. The following major energy companies own pipeline that runs through Will County: ExxonMobil owns and operates the Joliet Refinery along
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#1732772065729348-568: The U.S. Census Bureau , the county has an area of 849 square miles (2,200 km ), of which 837 square miles (2,170 km ) is land and 12 square miles (31 km ) (1.5%) is water. The Kankakee River , Du Page River and the Des Plaines River run through the county and join on its western border. The Illinois and Michigan Canal and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal run through Will County. A number of areas are preserved as parks (over 20,000 acres (81 km ) total) under
377-489: The 1969 courthouse, with Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois including the building on its “2022 Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois”. After a number of votes and appeals, demolition was approved and the destruction of the building began on December 4, 2023. Like most of the collar counties , Will County was once a Republican stronghold. It went Republican in all but three elections from 1892 to 1988. Since
406-522: The 1990s, it has become a swing county. It voted for the national winner in every presidential election from 1980 to 2012, but Chicago-born Hillary Clinton won it along with the rest of the "collar counties" aside from McHenry in 2016. K-12 school districts, including any with any territory in Will County, no matter how slight, even if the schools and/or administrative headquarters are in other counties: K-12: Secondary: Elementary: Will County
435-485: The Hampton Park Subdivision. An additional 400 acres (160 ha) were added in 1964, as Romeoville's population slowly grew. On October 5, 1990, the first interchange on I-55 and Weber Road was built, connecting the village to the rest of Chicagoland . Throughout the following decade, the area along Weber Road quickly became suburbanized as several new housing developments were completed. Romeoville
464-709: The Kankakee and Des Plaines Rivers , branches of the Illinois . The surface is generally level, and destitute of timber, excepting small groves. The soil is very fertile, and much of it is under cultivation. The soil of the prairies is a deep, sandy loam, adapted to Indian corn and grass. In 1850 the county produced 527,903 bushels of Indian corn; 230,885 of wheat; 334,360 of oats; 32,043 tons of hay, and 319,054 pounds of butter. It contained 14 churches, 3 newspaper offices; 3472 pupils attending public schools, and 200 attending other schools. Quarries of building stone are worked near
493-657: The Village of Romeoville. Romeoville residents attend the following schools: Valley View School District 365U Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 Lockport Township High School District 205 Major highways in Romeoville include: Interstate Highways [REDACTED] Interstate 55 [REDACTED] Interstate 355 US Highways [REDACTED] Historic US 66 Illinois Highways [REDACTED] Route 7 [REDACTED] Route 53 Will County, Illinois Will County
522-526: The county seat. The Des Plaines river furnishes water-power. The county is intersected by the Illinois and Michigan canal , by the Chicago branch of the Central railroad , the Chicago and Mississippi , and by the Chicago and Rock Island railroad . Named in honor of Conrad Will, for many years a member of the Illinois legislature. Capital, Joliet. Population 16,703." — 1854 U.S. Gazetteer According to
551-404: The county. The population density was 809.6 inhabitants per square mile (312.6/km ). There were 237,501 housing units at an average density of 283.8 per square mile (109.6/km ). The racial makeup of the county was 76.0% white, 11.2% black or African American, 4.6% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 5.8% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 15.6% of
580-422: The district now stands at more than $ 2.1 billion. Standard & Poor's (AA-) and Moody's (A1) have both upgraded the district's bond rating in late 2005. This has resulted in a lower bond interest cost for taxpayers. The financial outlook for the next several years remains positive with additional retail and industrial property development, and slowing residential construction occurring in both communities within
609-530: The district serves the educational needs of more than 18,000 students in 20 educational facilities. Valley View School District 365U is one of Will County's largest employers, with more than 2000 full time employees. Voters have approved several referendums proposals in the past decade, including approval by more than a 67% margin in a $ 142.3 million referendum in March, 2002. No additional referendums have been requested since 2002. The Equalized Assessed Valuation of
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#1732772065729638-526: The first being erected in 1837. The fourth courthouse was designed of reinforced concrete in the Brutalist style by Otto Stark of C.F. Murphy Associates and completed in 1969. Citing lack of space, inefficiency and high operating costs, the County Board chose to erect a new courthouse, which was designed by Wight & Co. and completed in 2020. Considerable controversy surrounded the disposition of
667-537: The part of Kankakee County, Illinois , north of the Kankakee River . It lost that area when Kankakee County was organized in 1852. Since then its boundaries have not changed. 36 locations in Will County are on the National Register of Historic Places . "WILL, a county in the E. N. E. part of Illinois, bordering on Indiana, has an area of 1,236 square miles (3,200 km ). It is intersected by
696-454: The population. In terms of ancestry, 21.6% were German , 18.6% were Irish , 13.3% were Polish , 11.1% were Italian , 5.9% were English , and 2.1% were American . Of the 225,256 households, 44.0% had children under 18 living with them, 61.9% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 22.7% were non-families, and 18.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size
725-627: The village won a Gold Medal from the International Economic Development Council and Atlas Integrated in the High Performance Economic Development category. They earned the award by creating 1,560 jobs during 2012–2013, which was the most for a town with a population between 25,001 and 100,000. According to the village website, the top employers in the village are: Other major employers include Kehe Foods, FedEx Ground, and
754-442: Was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.41. The median age was 35.4. The median income for a household in the county was $ 75,906 and the median income for a family was $ 85,488. Males had a median income of $ 60,867 versus $ 40,643 for females. The per capita income was $ 29,811. About 5.0% of families and 6.6% of the population were below the poverty line , including 9.0% of those under 18 and 5.6% of those 65 or older. Will County
783-676: Was first settled on September 14, 1835, on Isle a La Cache, a small island in the Des Plaines River . Around this time, the first bridge was built to allow access to the island from the west bank of the river. In 1848, the I&;M Canal was finished, drawing new residents to the area. On January 19, 1895, residents of Romeo voted to incorporate and changed the village's name to Romeoville. The community, along with nearby Joliet , became known as "Stone City" in reference to its prosperous limestone quarries. The Illinois State Capitol in Springfield
812-414: Was one of fastest-growing communities in Illinois throughout the 1990s and 2000s. The population grew rapidly, and the village experienced an influx of over 25,000 new residents in two decades. On September 16–17, 2023, a family of four, consisting of two adults and two children, were killed in a mass shooting at their home in Romeoville; their three dogs were also killed. Police believed the killings were
841-539: Was unveiled in 1888, and is constructed entirely of Romeoville limestone. Lewis University was established on the outskirts of town in 1934. Romeoville is home to Citgo's Lemont Refinery . The refinery was constructed in 1922 across the river from the village. It was later the site of the 1984 Romeoville petroleum refinery disaster . In 1950, Romeoville had approximately 46 homes and a population of 147. The village remained sparsely populated until 1957, when over 600 acres (240 ha) of wetlands along IL-53 became
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