Wheeling is a village located in both Cook and Lake counties in Illinois, with its main portion situated in Cook County, approximately 23 miles northwest of Chicago’s city center. According to the 2020 census, the village has a population of 39,137 residents. Interestingly, Wheeling was named after Wheeling, West Virginia.
The region now known as Wheeling, Illinois, was once under the control of the Miami Confederacy, a coalition of tribes including the Illini and Kickapoo, beginning in the early 1680s. However, they were later displaced by the Iroquois and Meskwaki in the early 1700s.
Wheeling experiences a temperate climate characterized by cold and snowy winters, and hot and humid summers. The precipitation in Wheeling is evenly spread out across the year.
Wheeling is where you will find the Korean Cultural Center of Chicago.
The residents of Wheeling have access to two public library districts: the Indian Trails Public Library District and the Prospect Heights Public Library District.
Wheeling boasts a unique historical museum that provides insight into the town’s evolution since it was established in 1894. The museum hosts various events to commemorate the town’s significant milestones and honor its rich history as a crucial stopping point for settlers traveling from Chicago to Wisconsin.
Wheeling Community Consolidated School District 21, situated in Wheeling, encompasses five elementary schools and three middle schools. The elementary schools are Walt Whitman Elementary School, Robert Frost Elementary School, Booth Tarkington Elementary School, Mark Twain Elementary School, and Eugene Field Elementary School. The middle schools are Oliver Wendell Holmes Middle School and Jack London Middle School.
Apart from pupils from District 21, a few students also go to schools within Prospect Heights School District 23. The schools in this district consist of Betsy Ross Elementary School serving grades 2-3, Anne Sullivan Elementary School for grades 4-5, Dwight D. Eisenhower Elementary School for PreK-1, and Douglas MacArthur Middle School for grades 6-8.
The majority of students from Wheeling go to Wheeling High School, but some students from Wheeling go to Buffalo Grove High School. These two schools are part of 214, which is the second largest high school district in Illinois.
Wheeling has a stop on the North Central Service of Metra, offering weekday commuter rail transportation between Antioch and Chicago Union Station.
Pace offers bus transportation along various routes that link Wheeling with Des Plaines, Buffalo Grove, and other locations.
Situated in Wheeling and Prospect Heights, Chicago Executive Airport is a bustling general aviation airport that is managed jointly by the two villages. Originally named Palwaukee Municipal Airport, it ranks as the third busiest airport in Illinois, following O’Hare and Midway airports in Chicago.
Some notable individuals include actor John Francis Daley, director Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA, New York Yankees executive Mark Newman, former Cook County Board of Review commissioner Dan Patlak, singer Haley Reinhart, ice hockey center Mike Rucinski, and opera singer Deborah Voigt.