The Illinois and Michigan Canal connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. In Illinois, it ran 96 miles (154 km) from the Chicago River in Bridgeport, Chicago to the Illinois River at LaSalle-Peru. The canal crossed the Chicago Portage, and helped establish Chicago as the transportation hub of the United States, before the railroad era. It was opened in 1848. Its function was partially replaced by the wider and deeper Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in 1900, and it ceased transportation operations with the completion of the Illinois Waterway in 1933.
Will County 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 is for central and eastern Will County.
Tinley Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion in Will County. The village is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 55,971. It is one of the fastest growing suburbs southwest of Chicago. In 2009 BusinessWeek named Tinley as the best place in America to raise a family.
Woodridge is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, with small portions in Will and Cook counties, and a southwestern suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 34,158.
Bolingbrook is a village in Will and DuPage counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is a southwest suburb of Chicago on I-55 and Historic Route 66. The village was a new town built on the Gateway Wetlands west of the Des Plaines River in the 1960s. Bolingbrook experienced rapid growth in the 1980s and 1990s, and eventually became the second largest town in the county after Joliet. Per the 2020 census, the population was 73,922. As of 2010, it is the 17th largest incorporated place in Illinois and the state's 2nd largest village.
Joliet is a city in Will and Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, 35 miles (56 km) southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. At the 2020 census, the city was the third-largest in Illinois, with a population of 150,362.
Lockport is a city in Will County, Illinois, United States, located 30 miles southwest of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 26,094. The city was incorporated in 1853. It is situated along the Illinois and Michigan (I&M) Canal, and was the headquarters of the canal when the canal was operating. A section of the canal runs through Lockport, including the remains of the canal's Lock No. 1 from which the town received its name. The canal right-of-way is now the Illinois and Michigan National Heritage Corridor.
Plainfield is a village in Will and Kendall counties, Illinois, United States. The population was 44,762 at the 2020 census.
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.
Homer Glen is a village, located 32 miles (51 km) southwest of downtown Chicago, in Homer Township, Will County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 24,543. The village was incorporated on April 17, 2001. The area that is now Homer Glen was formerly known as "Goodings Grove".
Hubbard High School is a public four-year high school located in the West Lawn neighborhood on the southwest side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Hubbard is part of the Chicago Public Schools district. The school is named for American fur trader and insurance underwriter Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard. As of 2017, Hubbard had an 82.9% five–year graduation rate. In 2017, the student population was 91% Hispanic and 96% "low income".
Lockport Township High School (LTHS) is a public high school in Lockport, Illinois, United States.
Oswego East High School, or OEHS, is a public four-year high school located in Oswego, Illinois, a southwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Oswego Community Unit School District 308, which also includes Oswego High School. The high school was established in 2004 due to the growing population in Oswego, Illinois. From 2012 to 2013, Oswego East underwent expansions and renovations to prepare for an additional growth in student population. The additions were completed in August 2013, increasing the previous capacity of 2,400 students to 3,200 students.
Morris Community High School, or MCHS, is a public four-year high school located in the Chicago suburb of Morris, Illinois, a city 35 miles southwest of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is the school of Morris Community High School District 101.
Wheatland Township is located in Will County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 81,472 and it contained 25,075 housing units.
Lemont High School, or LHS, is a public four-year high school located in Lemont, Illinois, a southwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is the only school of Lemont Township High School District 210, which serves the Village of Lemont and small portions of Woodridge and Downers Grove. LHS also serves as a feeder school for Deaf/Hard-of-hearing students in the area.
The South Suburban Conference (SSC) is a high school athletic and activity conference which comprises fourteen schools located in the south and southwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois.
The South Inter-Conference Association is a former high school umbrella conference organizing extracurricular sporting activities in the southern portion of Cook, portions of Kendall and throughout Will and Kankakee Counties in Illinois. SICA is the predecessor competitive body of the current South Suburban Conference, Southwest Suburban Conference, and Southland Athletic Conference. At one point it was the largest conference in Illinois.
Lincoln-Way West High School or LWW, is a public four-year high school located about 1.5 miles south of Lincoln Highway near the intersection of Gougar Road and Illinois Highway in New Lenox, Illinois, a southwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is the part of Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210. Students living within the Lincoln-Way boundaries of Liberty Junior High in New Lenox School District 122 and Manhattan Junior High in Manhattan School District 114 attend Lincoln-Way West.
Gage Park High School is a public 4–year high school located in the Gage Park neighborhood on the south–west side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1939, Gage Park is operated by the Chicago Public Schools district. Gage Park serves students living within three neighboring communities: Chicago Lawn, New City and West Englewood.
