Tri-Cities, Illinois

Tri-Cities
Tri-Cities
Region
	Clockwise from top: Fox River, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, St. Charles Municipal Building, Dutch Mill in Batavia, Central Geneva Historic District
Country	United States of America
State	Illinois
County	Kane, DuPage
Founded	1833-1835
Townships	List of townships Batavia ; Geneva ; St. Charles ; Wayne (DuPage) ; Winfield (DuPage) ;
Government
• Mayor of Batavia	Jeffery D. Schielke
• Mayor of Geneva	Kevin Burns
• Mayor of St. Charles	Lora Vitek
Population (2014)
• Total	81,532 (est.)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
ZIP codes	60510, 60134, 60174, 60175
Area codes	630

Last updated August 30, 2023

The Tri-Cities, or Tri-City area, is a vernacular region that is situated between the large cities of Aurora and Elgin, Illinois, and encompasses the cities of Batavia, Geneva, and St. Charles.

A "vernacular region" is a distinctive area where the inhabitants collectively consider themselves interconnected by a shared history, mutual interests, and a common identity. Such regions are "intellectual inventions" and a form of shorthand to identify things, people, and places. Vernacular regions reflect a "sense of place," but rarely coincide with established jurisdictional borders.^[1]

The Tri-City area is primarily located in Kane County, though Batavia and St. Charles include parcels in DuPage County. The three communities are often grouped together due to their shared history, close proximity on the Fox River, relative socioeconomic condition, and similar population sizes. They are among the oldest in Kane County as well as the state.

History of the name

The name, "Tri-City" originated in 1910 with the publication of the first Tri-City Directory: Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles, by the Evans Directory Service of Elgin, Illinois. There were ten editions of the Tri-City Directory published from 1910 to 1943. During this same period, the local telephone directories served all three cities, as well.

There are other origin stories. In 2011, Batavia Mayor Jeffery D. Schielke has theorized that the Tri-City moniker originated in the early 20th century from the deviation of the railroad track between Aurora and Elgin to the three cities, which conductors nicknamed the Tri-Cities. Former St. Charles mayor Norris has theorized that the nickname grew in popularity during the 1940s and 1950s, when the area experienced a relative population boom and the boundaries of the cities began to move closer and closer together. Nowadays, the Tri-City area is bonded by retail and industrial corridors on Kirk and Randall Roads, joint policy decisions, area organizations, and the Fox River.^[2]

Historic places

The Fabyan Windmill located in Geneva
The Fabyan Villa in Geneva
The Arcada Theater in St. Charles
The historic Hotel Baker in downtown St. Charles.
The Batavia Depot Museum in downtown Batavia.
The Batavia Institute in Batavia, a former sanitarium where Mary Todd Lincoln stayed.
The historic Campana Factory in Batavia.

Points of interest

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia
The Illinois Prairie Path and the Fox River Trail
The historic downtowns of Batavia, Geneva and St. Charles

Demographics

The following demographics represent an average of the three cities.

There were approximately 31,477 housing units in the Tri-City Area. The racial makeup of the area, on average, was 91.83% White, 1.80% Black or African American, 0.17% Native American, 2.40% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, and 1.39% from two or more races. On average, Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.30% of the population.

There were 30,666 households in the area. The average household size was 2.66.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.47% under the age of 18, and 11.63% who were 65 years of age or older. The Tri-Cities are split fairly evenly between males and females, with a female population of 50.7%.

The average per capita income for the area was $42,575. About 5.1% of the population was below the poverty line.

According to the 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, the average median income for a household in the area was $87,861, the average median income for a family was $107,108 and the median home value was $290,567.

Education

Colleges

There are no four-year institutions located in any of the Tri-Cities. Batavia had bid on being the host of Illinois State University but ultimately lost to Normal. The University of Illinois has a satellite office in St. Charles.

Nearby colleges include:

Community colleges

Batavia and Geneva are both served by Waubonsee Community College. St. Charles is served by Elgin Community College.

Secondary schools

Batavia High School
Geneva Community High School
St. Charles North High School
St. Charles East High School
West Aurora High School - serves the extreme southwestern side of Batavia

Neighboring communities

Transportation

Transit

Bus transportation serviced by Pace
Nearest Metra train stations are located in Geneva, Aurora, and Elgin.

Major roads

Related Research Articles

Kane County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 516,522, making it the fifth-most populous county in Illinois. Its county seat is Geneva, and its largest city is Aurora. Kane County is one of the collar counties of the metropolitan statistical area designated "Chicago–Naperville–Elgin, IL–IN–WI" by the US census.

Elgin is a city in Cook and Kane counties in the northern part of Illinois, United States. Elgin is located 35 mi (56 km) northwest of Chicago, along the Fox River. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 114,797, the sixth-largest city in Illinois.

Aurora is a city in the Chicago metropolitan area. Located primarily in DuPage and Kane Counties, it is the second most populous city in Illinois, after Chicago, and the 144th most populous city in the United States. The population was 197,899 at the 2010 census, and was 180,542 at the 2020 census.

Batavia is a city mainly in Kane County and partly in DuPage County in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in the Chicago metropolitan area, it was founded in 1833 and is the oldest city in Kane County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 26,098.

Carpentersville is a village in Kane County, Illinois, United States. The population was 37,983 at the 2020 census.

Elburn is a village in Kane County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,602 as of the 2010 census, up from 2,756 at the 2000 census. It is located at the intersection of Illinois Route 38 and Route 47. Elburn is a town situated 46 miles (74 km) west of the Chicago Loop with frequent commuter rail service from its Metra station at the end of the Union Pacific West Line.

Illinois Route 31 (IL 31) is a 58.41-mile-long (94.00 km) north–south state highway in northeastern Illinois, United States. It travels from U.S. Route 34 (US 34) in Oswego north to US 12, near the Wisconsin state line, just south of Richmond.

Area codes 630 and 331 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for portions of Chicago's near and far western suburbs, including the majority of DuPage County, Illinois. To the northwest, the numbering plan area (NPA) also includes a small portion of Cook County, including parts of Schaumburg, Streamwood and Hanover Park. To the west, Kane County is divided between area codes 847 and 224 in the north, including Elgin, and area codes 630 and 331 in the south, including Aurora. To the south, the northern part of Will County and a small part of southern Cook County, including the village of Burr Ridge and parts of the village of Lemont, are also included in the 630 and 331 area codes. To the southwest, the city of Yorkville, in exurban Kendall County, is included, as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upstate Eight Conference</span>

The Upstate Eight Conference is an organization of ten high schools in northeastern Illinois, representing ten communities in Chicago's suburbs. These high schools are all members of the Illinois High School Association.

The Fox Valley—also commonly known as the Fox River Valley—is a region centered on the Fox River of Northern Illinois, along the western edges of the Chicago metropolitan area. The region extends from the village of Antioch, in far northern Illinois, to the city of Ottawa in the south. It includes rural areas, suburban development, and 19th-century downtowns. Around 1 million people live in this area.

The Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad (CA&E), known colloquially as the "Roarin' Elgin" or the "Great Third Rail", was an interurban railroad that operated passenger and freight service on its line between Chicago and Aurora, Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles, and Elgin, Illinois. The railroad also operated a small branch to Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Hillside and owned a branch line to Westchester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illinois Prairie Path</span> Bicycle trail network in Illinois, US

The Illinois Prairie Path is a network of 61 miles (98 km) of bicycle trails, mostly in DuPage County, Illinois. Portions of the trail extend west to Kane County and east to Cook County. Most of the trail is categorized as rail-to-trail, meaning that the bicycle path is built atop a converted former railroad right of way. In the case of the Prairie Path, the vast majority of its routing runs on the former right-of-way of the Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad.

Randall Road is a major north-south stroad and county highway in McHenry and Kane County, Illinois. The road is named after Norman Randall, a prominent area landowner in the 1930s. It serves as the western extent of the Fox Valley suburbs in the Chicago metropolitan area. Its southern terminus is in Aurora, Illinois, at Marseillaise Place. Its northern terminus is at a full four-way intersection at McHenry Avenue and James R. Rakow Road in Crystal Lake, Illinois. The road is 31.4 mi (50.5 km) in length.

The Illinois Technology and Research Corridor is a region of commerce and industry located along Interstate 88 in the Chicago metropolitan area, primarily in DuPage, Kane, and DeKalb Counties. The corridor is home to the headquarters or regional centers for many Fortune 1000 companies, several office and industrial parks, colleges and universities, research and scientific institutions, medical centers, government centers, and abundant shopping, dining, lodging, and entertainment amenities. In addition to the I-90 Golden Corridor, the I-94 Lakeshore Corridor, and the I-55 Industrial Corridor, the Illinois Technology and Research Corridor is one of the principal economic centers in suburban Chicago.

Geneva is a city in and the county seat of Kane County, Illinois, United States. It is located on the western side of the Chicago suburbs. Per the 2020 census, the population was 21,393.

Winfield Township is one of nine townships in DuPage County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 45,836 and it contained 16,445 housing units. It is the least populous of the DuPage County Townships.

The Aurora, Elgin & Fox River Electric (AE&FRE), was an interurban railroad that operated freight and passenger service on its line paralleling the Fox River. It served the communities of Carpentersville, Dundee, Elgin, South Elgin, St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia, North Aurora, Aurora, Montgomery, and Yorkville in Illinois. It also operated local streetcar lines in both Aurora and Elgin.

St. Charles is a city in DuPage and Kane counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It lies roughly 40 miles (64 km) west of Chicago on Illinois Route 64. Per the 2020 census, the population was 33,081. The official city slogan is "Pride of the Fox", after the Fox River that runs through the center of town. St. Charles is part of a tri-city area along with Geneva and Batavia, all western suburbs of similar size and socioeconomic condition.

The Fox River Trail is a multi-use path in Illinois along the Fox River. Largely in Kane County, the trail connects the communities of Algonquin, Carpentersville, Dundee, Elgin, South Elgin, St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia, North Aurora, Aurora, Montgomery, and Oswego.

The Little 7 Conference was a high school athletic conference in Illinois. It was officially organized in October 1921 for 1921–1922 school year.

References

↑ [Scheetz, George H.] "Whence Siouxland?" Book Remarks [Sioux City Public Library], May 1991.
↑ Heun, Dave (January 1, 2011). "How the 'Tri-Cities' moniker came about" . Daily Herald (Column). Archived from the original on 2016-08-15.

41°50′N88°18′W / 41.833°N 88.300°W / 41.833; -88.300

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[Scheetz-1] [Scheetz, George H.] "Whence Siouxland?" Book Remarks [Sioux City Public Library], May 1991.

[2] Heun, Dave (January 1, 2011). "How the 'Tri-Cities' moniker came about" . Daily Herald (Column). Archived from the original on 2016-08-15.

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