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Village of Oswego, Illinois
Village of Oswego, Illinois
	Location in the Chicago metropolitan area
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Counties	Kendall
	Government
- Village President	Brian LeClercq [1]
	Area
- Total	6.7 sq mi (17.3 km2)
- Land	6.6 sq mi (17 km2)
- Water	0.1 sq mi (.3 km2)
Elevation	577 ft (176 m)
	Population (2009)
- Total	29,109
- Density	2,025.1/sq mi (781.9/km2)
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Website	http://www.oswegoil.org/
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For other uses, see Oswego (disambiguation).

Oswego is a village in Kendall County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2009 census, the village population was 29,109. Its population has nearly doubled since 2000, as the Chicago suburbs expanded westward into the area. It is currently the most populated town whose borders are within Kendall County.

The town was chosen as a location for the Fox TV series Prison Break in the episode "Manhunt". They used the Alexander Lumber building for most of the shoot. This could have been because the town's name serves as wordplay on "as we go". However, the town's portrayal, specifically the bustling downtown scene, was largely inaccurate.

[edit] Geography

Oswego is located at 41°41′26″N 88°20′30″W / 41.69056°N 88.34167°W / 41.69056; -88.34167 (41.690681, -88.341778)^[1] and straddles the Fox River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 6.7 square miles (17.3 km²), of which, 6.6 square miles (17.0 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km²) of it (1.50%) is water.

[edit] Downtown

Downtown Oswego is home to historic buildings and homes, as well as shops and restaurants. The Village of Oswego launched a project to enhance and restore the historic downtown district. This project included significant infrastructure and street scape improvements, such as the installation of brick pavers, sidewalks, landscaping, and decorative streetlights and benches. Hudson Crossing Park, located along the Fox River, opened in October 2004. The Waubonsee Creek Promenade, which stretches from Main Street to the new park, is the final phase of the downtown enhancements.

Several festivals are thrown here including the annual Drag Strip Days, Prairie Fest, Wine on the Fox, the Christmas Walk, and the Memorial Day Parade. The Village also hosts the Oswego Country Market on Sundays from May through October.

In 2008, the Village celebrated its 175th anniversary. In 1833, the Pearce family settled along the banks of Waubonsee Creek and formed the first permanent white settlement of the area.

[edit] Oswego School District 308

The Oswego School District serves Oswego, Boulder Hill, Montgomery, Plainfield, Aurora, and Joliet. It operates the following schools:

Oswego High School
Oswego East High School
Traughber Junior High School
Thompson Junior High School
Bednarcik Junior High School
Plank Junior High School
East View Elementary School
Churchill Elementary School
Boulder Hill Elementary School
Fox Chase Elementary School
Long Beach Elementary School
Homestead Elementary School
Old Post Elementary School
Fox Chase Elementary School
The Wheatlands Elementary School
Praire Point Elementary School
Wolf's Crossing Elementary School
Grande Park Elementary School
Southbury Elementary (Opened August 2008), Principal, Philip D. Chapman
Hunt Club Elementary School (Opened August 2009)

It also contains the areas Opportunity School.

[edit] Demographics

[edit] Population

- In a special census in 2008, the Village had 29,012 residents**

As of the 2000 census^[2] there were:

13,326 people living in Oswego
4,476 households in Oswego
3,692 families residing in the village

The population density was 781.9 km² (301.9 sq mi), and there were 4,591 housing units at an average density of 697.5 km² (269.3 sq mi).

[edit] Ethnic Background

As of the 2000 census^[2] the racial make-up of the village was:

93.49% White
1.79% African American
0.18% Native American
1.37% Asian
0.03% Pacific Islander
1.79% from other races
1.24% from two or more races
Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.99% of the population

[edit] Age/Marital Status

As of the 2000 census^[2] there were:

4,476 households, out of which 47.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them
- 74.0% were married couples living together
- 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present
- 17.5% were non-families
- 14.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older
The average household size was 2.96 and the average family size was 3.30.

In the village the population was spread out with
- 31.8% under the age of 18
- 5.5% from 18 to 24
- 37.0% from 25 to 44
- 18.7% from 45 to 64
- 7.0% were 65 years of age or older
The median age was 33 years
For every 100 females there were 96.5 males
For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.6 males.

[edit] Income

As of the 2000 census^[2] the following income-related information was reported:

The median income for a household in the village was $71,502
The median income for a family was $75,929
Males had a median income of $55,580 versus $32,484 for females
The per capita income for the village was $27,204
About 1.6% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the poverty line
- including 3.4% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Notable Residents

Alex Magee - professional American football player.
Paul Scheuring - American screenwriter and director.
Dennis Hastert - Speaker of the House from 1999 to 2007.

[edit] Gallery

Park benches at Oswego, Illinois Village Hall	Downtown Oswego, Illinois	Oswego, Illinois fire department	Oswego, Illinois public library
Oswego Veteran's Memorial Plaza	Hudson Crossing Park	Hudson Crossing Park & Oswego Bridge	Downtown Oswego, Illinois during PrairieFest parade