Matteson, Illinois

Matteson () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,073 at the 2020 census. It is a south suburb of Chicago. History The area encompassed by modern Matteson was settled by Europeans in the late 1800s, primarily by settlers of German descent. Platted in 1855, Matteson had nearly 500 residents when it incorporated as a village in 1889. The village's namesake is Joel Aldrich Matteson, who served as Illinois' tenth governor from 1853 to 1857. The 20th century saw improvements in plumbing, the electrification of the Illinois Central Railroad, and the construction of today's school district, resulting in significant population growth: the village's population exceeded 3,000 by the late 1960s. Lincoln Mall opened in 1973, annexing 195 acres of land for the village in the process; the mall closed in 2014 and was demolished in 2018. Present-day Matteson is home to more than 20,000 residents and hundreds of businesses. It is near Ingalls Memorial Hospital and Advocate South Suburban Hospital, two major hospitals servicing Southland Chicago. By 1995, Black Americans made up a significant portion of Matteson's residential population. Fearing white flight, the village launched a program to encourage white Americans to move to the village. This program and the underlying racial tensions in the village attracted national attention after Dateline NBC aired an hour-long documentary about Matteson entitled "Why Can't We Live Together?" on June 27, 1997, with the story being picked up by major national and local newspapers including The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, The Washington Post, and The Chicago Tribune. The village's attempt at integration was not successful: between 2000 and 2010, Matteson's Black population increased by roughly 85%, while 1,200 whites left the community, primarily for overwhelmingly white tract housing developments in exurbs like Manhattan. Most of the incoming Blacks were upper-middle-class and fleeing worsening conditions in inner-city neighborhoods on Chicago's South Side. As a result, despite the efflux of white residents, average household incomes increased in several census tracts in Matteson during this time. Geography According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Matteson has a total area of 9.32 square miles (24.14 km2), of which 9.29 square miles (24.06 km2) (or 99.64%) is land and 0.03 square miles (0.08 km2) (or 0.36%) is water. The village's topography is mostly flat. Matteson is located in Chicago's Southland area. It is bordered by Park Forest and Olympia Fields to the east, Country Club Hills and Tinley Park to the north, Frankfort to the west, and Richton Park to the south. Demographics Racial and ethnic composition 2020 census As of the 2020 census, Matteson had a population of 19,073. The median age was 42.8 years. 21.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.4% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 82.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 76.7 males age 18 and over. 100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas. There were 7,029 households in Matteson, including 4,454 families. Of all households, 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 41.2% were married-couple households, 14.0% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present, and 40.4% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. There were 7,457 housing units, of which 5.7% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.2%. Income and poverty The median income for a household in the village was $84,611, and the median income for a family was $111,754. Males had a median income of $62,165 versus $40,552 for females. The per capita income for the village was $38,867. About 7.5% of families and 13.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.5% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over. Economy Matteson was home to Lincoln Mall, which was located at Cicero Avenue and US Highway 30. Once one of the Chicago Southland's major regional shopping centers, Lincoln Mall experienced a protracted decline beginning in the 1990s and closed on January 7, 2015. Demolition of the mall site commenced in May 2017. There are currently plans to redevelop the mall property into a mixed-use complex. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration operates its Midwestern Region Service Center in this area and Valspar operates a paint manufacturing facility in Matteson. Government Matteson is in Illinois's 2nd congressional district. Matteson's sister city is Pune, India. Transportation The Matteson station, which opened in 1863, and the 211th Street station both serve Matteson. Metra commuter rail trains on the Metra Electric District travel north to Millennium station and south to University Park station. Pace provides bus service on Route 357 connecting Matteson to destinations across the Southland. US 30 (Lincoln Highway) The village's major east–west thoroughfare I-57 The village's major north–south thoroughfare IL 50 (Cicero Avenue) the village's second north–south thoroughfare IL 43 (Harlem Avenue) On the western corner of the village. Education Matteson is home to three school districts. Matteson School District 159 and Matteson School District 162 serve separate portions of Matteson for grades PK-8. All of Matteson is within the Rich Township High School District 227. Matteson School District 162 Elementary Arcadia Illinois Indiana Matteson Richton Square Sauk Middle O.W. Huth Matteson School District 159 Middle Colin Powell Elementary Marya Yates Sieden Prairie Woodgate Rich Township High School, the only public high school operated by the high school district, serves Matteson. Previously Matteson was divided between the attendance boundaries of Rich Central High School and Rich South High School. Residents of the village may also attend Southland College Preparatory Charter High School. The Matteson Area Public Library District serves the community. Its current library opened in 1993. An addition with 7,500 square feet (700 m2) of space opened in 2015, bringing the total space to 30,300 square feet (2,810 m2). Notable people Jon Asamoah, former NFL player, recently played for the Atlanta Falcons during the 2014–2015 season. Dreezy, Rapper, lived on and off in Matteson. Kendall Gill, former professional basketball player, grew up in Matteson. Robin Kelly, Congresswoman for Illinois’ 2nd congressional district, lives in Matteson. Sir Michael Rocks, Rapper Tyler Ulis, Professional basketball player Gerald Walker, Rapper, grew up in Matteson. Charles Brewster Wheeler, U.S. Army brigadier general, born in Matteson References External links Village of Matteson official website