Downers Grove is a village in

DuPage County, Illinois DuPage County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Illinois, and one of the collar counties of the Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 932,877, making it List of ...

, United States. It was founded in 1832 by Pierce Downer, whose surname serves as the

eponym An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

for the village. Per the 2020 census, the population of the village was 50,248. It is a south-western suburb of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

located between I-88 and I-55.

History

Downers Grove was founded in 1832 by Pierce Downer, a farmer who traveled to Illinois from

Rutland, New York Rutland is a town in Jefferson County, New York, United States. The population was 3,038 at the 2020 census. Rutland is in the eastern part of the county, east of Watertown and southwest of Fort Drum. History Prehistoric remains are eviden ...

, but was originally from

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

. Downers Grove was named for a lush grove of old-growth

bur oak ''Quercus macrocarpa'', the bur oak or burr oak, is a species of oak tree native to eastern North America. It is in the white oak section, ''Quercus'' sect. ''Quercus'', and is also called mossycup oak, mossycup white oak, blue oak, or scrub ...

trees surrounding the village, which stood out from the local

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

landscape. Its other early settlers included the Blodgett, Curtiss, Blanchard, Stanley, Lyman, and Carpenter families. The original settlers were mostly migrants from the Northeastern United States and Northern Europe. In 1839, Reverend Orange Lyman, a presbyterian minister, and his wife Maria Dewey Lyman arrived, and built what is believed to be the first home in Downers Grove. The first schoolhouse was built in 1844. In 1846, the Blodgett house was built by Israel and Avis Blodgett. It was the second (or third) home built in Downers Grove. Both the Lyman and Blodgett homes are of cultural significance, as they were both built by

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

families and served as former stops on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

. The

Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwest, Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, CB&Q, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of ...

was extended from

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

to Chicago through Downers Grove in 1864, boosting its population. The town was incorporated in March 1873. Its somewhat unusual spelling ("Apostrophe-free since 1873") remains a minor historical mystery. In April 1947, the wreck of a Burlington Railroad '' Twin Cities Zephyr'' passenger train killed three people, including the engineer. The streamliner struck a large tractor which had fallen from a freight train and two passenger cars crashed through a wall of the Main Street Station. The construction of two major toll roads along the village's northern and western boundaries, I-355 in 1989, and what is now referred to as I-88 in 1958, facilitated the village's access to the rest of

Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities. ...

. I-55 is not far from the south edge of the village. Downers Grove has developed into a bustling Chicago suburb with many diverse businesses, including the headquarters for Devry University, FTD, Ambitech Engineering Corp,

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

, Heartland Food Corporation, and HAVI Global Solutions.

Housing

The housing stock in Downers Grove comprises a mixture; some, generally near the center of town, date from the middle of the 19th century, but housing styles of each succeeding generation are represented. Downers Grove has witnessed one of the highest teardown rates in the Chicago area; small older residences are being demolished and replaced with much larger new houses. Teardowns have been the source of much controversy within the village. Since they occupy much more land than the original houses, rainwater that was originally absorbed by their yards is directed into neighboring yards and streets, resulting in flooding. Concerns have been raised that teardowns reduce

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median, as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on ...

in the town and promote

gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Downers Grove has a total area of , of which (or 98.98%) is land and (or 1.02%) is water. Only the DuPage County communities of Bartlett,

, Naperville and

Bolingbrook 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 (Frontage Road). The village was a new town built on the Gateway Wetlands west of the Des Plai ...

have larger land areas. Within the town are two forest preserves: Lyman Woods and Maple Grove Forest Preserve. A small creek runs through Maple Grove forest preserve. Downers Grove has been designated a

Tree City USA The Arbor Day Foundation is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees. The Arbor Day Foundation has more than one million members and has planted more than 500 million trees in neighborhoods, communitie ...

28 times by the

National Arbor Day Foundation The Arbor Day Foundation is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees. The Arbor Day Foundation has more than one million members and has planted more than 500 million trees in neighborhoods, communitie ...

Climate

Downers Grove is in a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

zone. On average, January is the coldest month, while July is the warmest month. August typically has the most

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

, and February the least. The record high for Downers Grove was in July 2005, and the record low of was set in January 1985.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census, there were 50,327 people living in Downers Grove. The population density was . The racial makeup of the village was 84.3%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

alone (not Hispanic or Latino), 3.4% Black or African American alone, 0.1%

American Indian and Alaska Native Native Americans (also called American Indians, First Americans, or Indigenous Americans) are the Indigenous peoples of the United States, particularly of the lower 48 states and Alaska. They may also include any Americans whose origins lie ...

alone, 5.3% Asian alone, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, and 2.5% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino were 5.0% of the population. There were 20,115 households, with an average household size of 2.42 and an average family size of 3.09. 53.5% of family households included

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 16.2% had a male householder with no spouse present, and 26.1% had a female householder with no spouse present. Out of adults in the village, 55.2% were married (not separated), 5.9% were widowed, 9.8% were divorced, 0.7% were separated, and 28.5% were never married. In the village, 5.9% of the population was under 5 years of age, with 21.5% under the age of 18, and 19.1% were 65 years of age or older. The

median age A population pyramid (age structure diagram) or "age-sex pyramid" is a graphical illustration of the distribution of a population (typically that of a country or region of the world) by age groups and sex; it typically takes the shape of a pyramid ...

was 43.1 years. According to the 2020

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

, the

Median Household Income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

in the village was $97,197 (~$ in ). The median income for a family was $131,733, while the median income for a non-family household was $45,193. About 5.0% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 2.6% of minors under age 18, 5.5% of adults aged 18–64, and 6.0% of seniors age 65 or over. The state of Illinois as a whole, has a $68,428 Median Household Income and a 12.0% poverty rate

Economy

Located 20 miles west of the

Chicago Loop The Loop is Chicago's central business district and one of the city's 77 municipally recognized Community areas in Chicago, community areas. Located at the center of downtown Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan, it is the second-largest busi ...

, Downers Grove residents commonly commute via the village's three Metra BNSF line stations or highway connections. The village itself also serves as headquarters for multiple businesses, including Advocate Aurora Health and

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune (magazine), Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States Joint-stock company#Closely held corporations and publicly traded corporations, corporations by ...

members

Dover Corporation Dover Corporation is an American conglomerate manufacturer of industrial products. The Downers Grove, Illinois-based company was founded in 1955. As of 2021, Dover's business was divided into five segments: Engineered Products, Clean Energy a ...

and Univar Solutions. The village is also home to regional satellite offices of numerous national corporations, including

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

MetLife MetLife, Inc. is the Holding company, holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC), better known as MetLife, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, Annuity (US financial produ ...

, and

State Farm State Farm Insurance is a group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. Founded in 1922, it is the largest property and casualty insurance, property, casualty and auto i ...

. Downers Grove's retail economy is largely supported by the local section of

Ogden Avenue Ogden Avenue is a street extending from the Near West Side of Chicago to Montgomery, Illinois. It was named for William B. Ogden, the first mayor of Chicago. The street follows the route of the Southwestern Plank Road, a plank road opened ...

. The stretch of Ogden Avenue through Chicago's western suburbs is particularly known for its automobile dealerships, classic car dealerships, and service centers. Ogden Avenue is also framed by a variety of grocery and convenience stores. Industrial and corporate parks can be found on Ogden's tributaries adjacent to major tollways such as I-355 or I-88.

Top employers

According to the Village's 2023 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Arts and culture

Architecture

Downers Grove has 68 confirmed Sears Kit Homes, 11 Harris Brothers, 9 Wardway/Gordon-Van Tine, and 1 Aladdin Kit Home. Source Downers Grove Museum. Sears and Other Kit-Home research.

Tivoli Theatre

The Tivoli Theatre is located in Downers Grove. Built in 1928, with an initial seating capacity of 1,390, The Tivoli was the first theatre in DuPage County to show "

talkies A sound film is a Film, motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, bu ...

". The Tivoli was equipped with an original

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

theatre organ. Replaced in 1992, the current instrument, dubbed "Opus 942", originally came from the Indian Theatre in

East Chicago, Indiana East Chicago is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 26,370 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Centered around heavy industry, the city is home to the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal, an artificial freshwa ...

. The Wurlitzer is frequently played during the opening credits of films shown on weekend evenings.

Parks and recreation

Downers Grove contains many parks and forest preserves, including Doerhoefer Park. The Hidden Lake Forest Preserve contains a glacier-dug pond that provides boating access to the nearby

DuPage River The DuPage River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 tributary of the Des Plaines River in the U.S. state of Illinois. Course The river begins as two in ...

(East Branch). Lyman Woods, a nature preserve, was originally ranching lands. The preserve consists of oak savannas, prairies, and marshes. The land was purchased by Downers Grove in 1987. The preserve contains over 300 native species of plants and animals; six of which are considered rare in northern Illinois. In 1996, residents of Downers Grove passed the referendum to protect Lyman Woods from residential and commercial development.

Government

Local

The Village of Downers Grove operates under a magisterial council-manager form of government. The Village Council is the policy-making body that authorizes a professional manager to oversee the daily operations of the village. The Village Council is composed of the Mayor and six Commissioners elected at-large. In addition to the Municipal Code, which establishes many of the rules and regulations by which the Village operates, the council has also adopted separate council policies on several matters related to municipal activities. The Mayor of Downers Grove is Robert T. Barnett. The Commissioners of Downers Grove are Greg Hose, Nicole Walus, Leslie Sadowski-Fugitt, Rich Kulovany, Chris Gilmartin and Danny Glover. The Mayor and Commissioners are elected for four-year terms at odd-year Consolidated General Elections. The terms for Mayor Barnett and Commissioners Walus, Sadowski-Fugitt, and Kulovany expire in May 2023. The terms for Commissioners Hose, Gilmartin, and Glover expire in May 2025. The elections for Mayor and Commissioners are

non-partisan Nonpartisanship, also known as nonpartisanism, is a lack of affiliation with a political party and a lack of political bias. While an ''Oxford English Dictionary'' definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., ...

; the candidates' party affiliations do not appear on the ballot, and direct party funding is not traditionally practiced.

State and national

The majority of the Village of Downers Grove is within the 6th US Congressional District of Illinois. Downers Grove resident

Sean Casten Sean Thomas Casten (born November 23, 1971) is an American businessman and politician serving as the U.S. representative for . The district covers southwestern Chicago, as well as many of Chicago's inner southwestern suburbs, such as Downers Gro ...

(Democrat) has represented the district since 2019. Portions of southwest Downers Grove are within 11th US Congressional District. This district is represented by Bill Foster (Democratic). The majority of the Village of Downers Grove is within the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the ...

41st Legislative District, which is represented by John Curran (Republican) as of 2023. A portion of northern Downers Grove is within the

24th Legislative District, which is represented by Suzanne Glowiak (Democratic) as of 2019. The majority of the Village of Downers Grove is within the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

81st Representative District, which was represented by Ron Sandack (Republican) as of 2015. Sandack abruptly resigned in July 2016 citing issues with social media and "ugly" politics. In August, local Republican officials chose David S. Olsen, previously the mayor pro tem of Downers Grove, as the new Representative of the 81st District. In 2018, newcomer Anne Stava-Murray overcame David S. Olsen in the election with only approximately $30,000 (~$ in ). Portions of northern Downers Grove are within the

47th Representative District, which is represented by Deanne Mazzochi (Republican) and the

48th Representative District, which is represented by Terra Costa Howard (Democratic). In 2006, the

July 4 Events Pre-1600 * 362 BC – Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans. * 414 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and procla ...

parade in Downers Grove featured both of the major Illinois gubernatorial candidates at the time, Judy Baar Topinka (R) and

Rod Blagojevich Rod R. Blagojevich ( ; born December 10, 1956), often referred to by his nickname "Blago", is an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Blagojevich previously worked ...

(D).

Education

Downers Grove is home to twelve public elementary schools, two public middle schools and two public high schools, Downers Grove North High School and Downers Grove South High School. Eleven of the elementary schools, including Hillcrest, Belle Aire, El Sierra, Kingsley, Fairmount, Highland, Whittier, Pierce Downer, Henry Puffer, Lester, and Indian Trail Schools and two of the middle schools-Herrick and O'Neill Middle School, are part of Downers Grove Grade School District 58. The other elementary schools, Prairieview and Elizabeth Ide and Lakeview Jr. High School, are part of Center Cass School District 66. Downers Grove has two Catholic Schools, St. Joseph's and St. Mary's of Gostyn, that enroll students from pre-school through 8th grade. The two high schools in Downers Grove,

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

, are part of Community High School District 99. They serve the entire community of Downers Grove, the majority of the village of Woodridge, and parts of Westmont, Darien, Lisle,

, Oak Brook and unincorporated Downers Grove and Lisle Townships. Good Shepherd Lutheran School is a Christian Pre-K-8 school of the

Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), also referred to simply as the Wisconsin Synod, is an American Confessional Lutheran denomination of Christianity. Characterized as Christian theology, theologically conservative, it was founded ...

in Downers Grove. Downers Grove is home to the Avery Coonley School. Founded in 1906 and in its present location in Downers Grove since 1929, it is a private K-8 school, known for its math and science-oriented teaching as well as its focus on the arts and foreign language. Downers Grove is also the home of

Midwestern University Midwestern University (MWU) is a Private university, private Postgraduate education, graduate school with campuses in Downers Grove, Illinois and Glendale, Arizona. As of the 2022–23 academic year, a total of 2,758 students were enrolled a ...

, which trains osteopathic physicians and surgeons,

physician assistant A physician assistant or physician associate (PA) is a type of non-physician practitioner. While these job titles are used internationally, there is significant variation in training and scope of practice from country to country, and sometimes be ...

pharmacists A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in ...

, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and dentists. According to the

2010, Downers Grove has one of the nation's most educated citizenry, with 50.7% of individuals over the age of 25 holding bachelor's or advanced degrees; the national average is 27.9%. Downers Grove Christian School celebrated their 50-year anniversary in 2020 and offers classes for Preschool 2 and 3, Pre-K 4, K-8th Grade. Located next to the Lincoln Center and a ministry of First Baptist Church of Downers Grove.

Infrastructure

Transportation

The main line of the

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...

is also used by

Metra Metra is the primary commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 243 train station, stati ...

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

. Metra's

BNSF Line The BNSF Line is a Metra commuter rail line operated by the BNSF Railway in Chicago and its western suburbs, running from Chicago Union Station to Aurora, Illinois through the Chicago Subdivision. In 2010, the BNSF Line continued to have the h ...

has three stops in Downers Grove at Belmont Road, Main Street, and Fairview Avenue. Interstate Highways

355 __NOTOC__ Year 355 ( CCCLV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Arbitio and Maesius (or, less frequently, year 1108 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 355 ...

and 88 pass through the community, as well as the major surface street

US 34 U.S. Route 34 (US 34) is an east–west United States highway that runs for from north-central Colorado to the western suburbs of Chicago. Through Rocky Mountain National Park it is known as the Trail Ridge Road where it reaches an elevati ...

. Downers Grove is served by the Pace Bus Service, a system of suburban public transportation. The Grove Commuter Shuttle runs four routes throughout the community to two of the three train stations that are in the village. The shuttle also operates for the RotaryGrove Fest from remote parking lots on the north and south sides of the village located at the respective north and south high schools.

Utilities

Downers Grove drinking water comes from Lake Michigan, via the DuPage Water Commission pipeline, which purchases the water from the City of Chicago Department of Water Management. Its electricity infrastructure is largely maintained by

Commonwealth Edison Commonwealth Edison, commonly known by syllabic abbreviation as ComEd, is the largest electric utility in Illinois, and the primary electric provider in Chicago and much of Northern Illinois. Its service territory stretches roughly from Iroquoi ...

Company (ComEd); its natural gas infrastructure was built by Northern Illinois Gas. Household waste pickup is contracted out by the village to Republic Services, as is yard waste pickup; these are paid for by either household-purchased stickers or rented carts. Curbside recycling is free. Waste water is treated by the Downers Grove Sanitary District.

Notable people

* Muriel Anderson (b. 1960), composer and guitarist * Henry Williams Blodgett (1821–1905),

United States federal judge In the United States, a federal judge is a judge who serves on a court established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. Often called "Article III judges", federal judges include the chief justice and associate justices of the U.S. S ...

and Illinois state representative *

Bob Bryar Robert Cory Bryar (December 31, 1979 – November 24, 2024) was an American musician and sound engineer best known as the drummer of American rock band My Chemical Romance. He was the longest-tenured and last official drummer in the band, perf ...

(b. 1979), drummer for

My Chemical Romance My Chemical Romance is an American Rock music, rock band from New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist Mikey Way. They are considered one of ...

* Nick Burdi (b. 1993), baseball player * Megan Callahan-Shah (b. 1985), 8-time

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

nominated writer for

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

* Greg Corner (b. 1974) bassist for

Kill Hannah Kill Hannah was an American rock band formed in 1993 in Chicago, Illinois. The band released six studio albums, seven EPs, and two compilation albums as well as three DVDs. History Kill Hannah was formed by singer-songwriter Mat Devine in 1 ...

, co-host and musical director for JBTV * Andy Dunn (b. 1979), CEO of Bonobos Inc. * David Edwards (b. 1997) is a professional football player for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

. *

Charles Draper Faulkner Charles Draper Faulkner (March 11, 1890 – December 31, 1979) was a Chicago-based Americans, American architect renowned for the churches and other buildings that he designed in the United States and Japan. He designed over 33 Christian Science ...

(1890–1979), architect * Collin Fernandez (b. 1997), professional soccer player * Sherron Francis (b. 1940), abstract artist * Lauren Frost (b. 1985), actress best known as Ruby Mendel in

Disney Channel Original Series This article lists past, present and future television programming on American basic cable channel and former premium channel, Disney Channel, since its launch on April 18, 1983. Current programming * 1 Indicates its program is shared with D ...

Even Stevens ''Even Stevens'' is an American comedy television series produced by Brookwell McNamara Entertainment that originally aired on Disney Channel from June 17, 2000, to June 2, 2003, airing a total of 65 episodes spanning three seasons. It follows ...

'' and

Disney Channel Original Movie Since its launch on April 18, 1983, American cable and satellite pay television channel Disney Channel airs and/or releases/distributes original first-run television films under the banner names of Disney Channel Premiere Films until October 1 ...

The Even Stevens Movie ''The Even Stevens Movie'' is a 2003 American comedy film released as a Disney Channel Original Movie that is based on the Disney Channel Original Series ''Even Stevens''. It premiered on June 13, 2003, serving as the series finale. The movie ...

'' *

Cammi Granato Catherine Michelle Granato (born March 25, 1971) is an American former ice hockey player and one of the first women to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November 2010. She currently works as an assistant general manager for the Vancou ...

(b. 1971), Olympic ice hockey champion, inductee in

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...

Tony Granato Anthony Lewis Granato (born July 25, 1964) is an American former professional ice hockey left winger and former head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey team. He served as head coach of the United States men's national ice hockey tea ...

(b. 1964), NHL player, head coach of

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...

and

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

Kendall Gretsch Kendall Gretsch (born April 2, 1992) is an American triathlete, Paralympic biathlon, biathlete and Paralympic cross-country skiing, cross-country skier. She was born with spina bifida. She has competed in both Summer Paralympics and Winter Para ...

, Paralympian *

Savannah Harmon Savannah Ashley Harmon (born October 27, 1995) is an American professional ice hockey defenceman for the Toronto Sceptres of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and member of the United States women's national ice hockey team. She previ ...

(b. 1995), ice hockey player for the PWHL,

2022 Beijing Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), were an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beijing, China, and surrounding areas wit ...

silver medalist * Miles Harvey (b. 1960), journalist and author * F. Kenneth Iverson (1925–2002) CEO of Nucor Steel * Eric Jagielo (b. 1992), baseball player *

Nancy Johnson Nancy Elizabeth Johnson (née Lee; born January 5, 1935) is an American lobbyist and politics in the United States, politician from the U.S. state, state of Connecticut. Johnson was a United States Republican Party, Republican member of the Un ...

(b. 1974), 2000 Summer Olympics gold medalist in the

10 metre air rifle 10 meter air rifle is an International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) shooting event, shot at a bullseye target over a distance of using a calibre air rifle with a maximum weight of . It is one of the ISSF sports governed in shooting spor ...

* Matt Jones (b. 1983), professional hockey player formerly with the

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...

(NHL) * Dan LeFevour (b. 1987), professional quarterback for

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

* Fred Faulkner Lester (1926–1945), Hospital corpsman in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

and awardee of the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

. * Eric Lichaj (b. 1988), professional soccer player, currently with Hull City and also a member of the US national team *

Emil Martinec Emil John Martinec (born 1958) is an American string theorist, a physics professor at the Enrico Fermi Institute at the University of Chicago, and director of the Kadanoff Center for Theoretical Physics. He was part of a group at Princeton Universi ...

(b. 1958), string theorist * Thomas McCracken Jr. (born 1952), Illinois state legislator and lawyer *

Jim McDermott James Adelbert McDermott (born December 28, 1936) is an American politician and psychiatrist who was the U.S. representative for from 1989 to 2017. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The 7th district includes most of Seattle, Vashon Is ...

(b. 1936), U.S. representative representing

Washington's 7th congressional district Washington's 7th congressional district encompasses most of Seattle and Burien, and all of Vashon Island, Lake Forest Park, Shoreline, and Normandy Park. Since 2017, the 7th district has been represented in the U.S. House of Representatives ...

from 1989 to 2017 * Sherrill Milnes (b. 1935), baritone, formerly with the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

Sandi Morris Sandi Morris (born July 8, 1992) is an American pole vault List of United States records in track and field, record holder. She won the silver medal in the Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Women's pole vault, pole vault event at the 201 ...

(b. 1992), pole vaulter, silver medalist at 2016 Olympics and 2017 World Championships * Edward F. Mrkvicka Jr. (b. 1944), lay minister and financial expert * Bryan Mullins (b. 1987), former basketball player and current Men's Basketball head coach at

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of T ...

* Bill Novey (1948–1991), head of special effects at

Walt Disney Imagineering Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc.—commonly referred to as Walt Disney Imagineering, Imagineering, or WDI—is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construc ...

* Emo Philips (b. 1956), comedian * Lanny Poffo (1954–2023), professional wrestler * "Shorty" Powers (1922–1979), NASA spokesman for

Project Mercury Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet Un ...

Joe Principe Joseph Daniel Principe (; born November 14, 1974) is an American musician. He is the bassist, backing vocalist, and co-founder of the punk rock band Rise Against. He is also straight edge, a vegan, an animal rights advocate, and actively prom ...

(b. 1974), bass guitarist for

Rise Against Rise Against is an American punk rock band from Chicago, formed in 1999. The group's current line-up comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist Tim McIlrath, lead guitarist Zach Blair, bassist Joe Principe and drummer Brandon Barnes. Rise Against's mu ...

* Denise Richards (b. 1971), actress and former model, ''

The World Is Not Enough ''The World Is Not Enough'' is a 1999 spy film, the nineteenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 agent Jam ...

'', '' Wild Things'', '' Denise Richards: It's Complicated'' *

John Ridgely John Ridgely (born John Huntington Rea, September 6, 1909 – January 18, 1968 ) was an American film character actor with over 175 film credits. Early years Ridgely was born in Chicago, Illinois,Katz, Ephraim (1979). ''The Film Encyclopedia: ...

(1909–1968), actor, '' The Big Sleep'', ''

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

'', '' Destination Tokyo'' *

Johnny Sain John Franklin "Johnny" Sain (September 25, 1917 – November 7, 2006) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who was best known for teaming with left-hander Warren Spahn on the Boston Braves teams from 1946 to 1951. He ...

(1917–2006), baseball pitcher, 6-time World Series champion; died in Downers Grove *

Randy Savage Randy Mario Poffo (November 15, 1952 – May 20, 2011), better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler and professional baseball player, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation ( ...

(1952–2011), Randall Mario Poffo, ring name "Macho Man", former professional wrestler and actor * Graham Smith (b. 1979), musician, founder and main member of Kleenex Girl Wonder *

Luther Ely Smith Luther Ely Smith (June 11, 1873 – April 2, 1951) was a St. Louis, Missouri lawyer and civic booster. He has been described by the National Park Service as the "father of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial," which was renamed as the Gate ...

(1873–1951), founder of the

Gateway Arch National Park Gateway Arch National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in St. Louis, Missouri, near the starting point of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. In its initial form as a List of nationa ...

Barbara Stock Barbara Stock (born May 26, 1956)Benjamin, Ruth (2006). Who Sang What on Broadway, 1866-1996: The singers (L-Z)'. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 718. . is an American former actress, best known for roles as Susan Silverman in ABC cr ...

(b. 1956), actress, '' Spenser: For Hire'', ''

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

'' * Joseph Tumpach (1912–1968), Illinois state representative and motel owner *

Matthew West Matthew Joseph West (born April 25, 1977) is an American contemporary Christian musician and singer-songwriter. He has released five studio albums and is known for his songs "More (Matthew West song), More", "You Are Everything (Matthew West so ...

(b. 1977), contemporary Christian musician

References

External links

Village of Downers Grove
{{Authority control Populated places established in 1832 Chicago metropolitan area Villages in DuPage County, Illinois 1873 establishments in Illinois Villages in Illinois