Stookey Township, St. Clair County, Illinois
As of the 2010 census, its population was 10,007 and it contained 4,394 housing units. Stookey Township is a township located in St. Clair County, Illinois. It is an unincorporated part of Belleville, Illinois located just west of downtown Belleville, for that reason it is often referred to by locals as Belleville West. Residential homes and small businesses occupy the region along with occasional shopping centers (Belleville Crossing). The township rides along Illinois Route 13 and converges with Illinois Route 15 and Illinois Route 159. The ZIP codes for the township is 62223 & 62260 . The telephone area code of the township is 618. Geography. According to the 2010 census, the township has a total area of , of which (or 99.24%) is land and (or 0.76%) is water. Transportation. One MetroLink light rail station, Memorial Station, and about two dozen MetroBus stops are located around the Township. The Illinois West-Central Railway also runs through the township in which supply and cargo freight trains run through at least a few times a day on the way to Chicago, IL, Saint Louis, MO, or East Saint Louis, IL. The closest airport to Stookey Township is the  Mid-America Airport, which is about 12 miles to the east of the township. The closest major international airport is Lambert-Saint Louis International Airport which is west of Saint Louis, MO and about 25 miles away. Demographics. 2017 Census. As of the 2017 Census, there were 9,496 people, 3,786 households At 2.5 persons per household. The median age is 43. The racial makeup was 81% White, 15% African American, 2% Hispanic, and 1% from two or more races. The population is 52% female. Belleville Crossing. Belleville Crossing is a shopping center and retail/business plaza that was constructed by  the Desco Group under the contractor Impact Strategies. The first stores opened in this plaza in October, 2007 as phase I which included Target, Home Depot, Pet Smart, OfficeMax, and Mattress Firm as the anchor occupants along with many other smaller shops occupying the plaza. Other phases continued soon after. These include Buffalo Wild Wings, Qdoba, and a Walgreens that opened early in 2009. A White Castle and a Wendy's opened in the Spring of 2009. Other smaller strip malls were completed by Fall/Winter 2009. St. Louis Bread Company opened a new location here, relocating from downtown Belleville , in December 2016; followed by Burger King September 2017; and Popeyes opened August 2018. A movie theater and possible Hampton Inn hotel were envisioned to be finished by Summer 2010 but construction has yet to start. While technically annexed by Belleville Township proper (City of Belleville), it is located in the heart of Stookey Township near the new Belleville West High School at the intersection of Illinois Route 15, and Frank Scott Parkway. Also many consumers that shop at this shopping center are from Stookey Township and surrounding areas. The shopping center also presently supplies the township and surrounding area  with over 600 retail related jobs both full and part-time. It is expected to bring 1500 to 1750 jobs to the region all together when the shopping center is completed by the end of 2010. Education. The main public high school that serves the area is Belleville West High School which was, in 2003, moved from its old location at 2600 West Main Street (now Lindenwood University's Belleville Campus) to its new location at 4063 Frank Scott Parkway West. Public utilities. Utility companies that work in the area are the Ameren IP Company (providing both electricity and natural  gas), the Illinois-American Water Company, Stookey Township Sewer and Belleville Sewage. Since Stookey Township isn't officially part of Belleville, it does not receive city trash service—several public and privately owned trash collection companies are available to choose from. Residents must contact a collection company to set up deals on trash collection. Citizens of Stookey also cannot get library cards or check out books at Belleville libraries. No libraries exist so far in Stookey Township. Stookey township citizens are protected by the Signal Hill and Villa Hills volunteer fire departments and the St. Clair County Sheriff, but  Belleville city police do not have jurisdiction in Stookey Township.