Six new suburbs created in past decade
Not only are more people living in the suburbs now, there are more suburbs to live in, according to the U.S. Census Bureau data released last week.
Since the 2000 census, the villages of Big Rock, Campton Hills, Homer Glen, Kaneville, Millbrook and Plattville incorporated.
Five of the six new suburbs popped up on the fringes of Will and Kane counties, where most of the suburban growth occurred.
Half of the new suburbs — Kaneville, Big Rock and Millbrook — are near Aurora, which the census now ranks as the state's second-largest city with nearly 200,000 residents.
Plattville is west of Joliet, and Homer Glen is southwest of Orland Park.
Campton Hills, which incorporated in 2007, is near Elgin and St. Charles, and 30 miles west of O'Hare International Airport.
“There are a lot of challenges with being a new suburb ... but there are a lot of benefits,” said Campton Hills Village President Patsy Smith.
The struggles include legal challenges from people who oppose incorporation, getting the village's revenue stream up and running, and starting everything from scratch.
“You have no ordinances, no village code, no police department,” she said.
On the up side, Smith said residents now get to control development within their boundaries, divert the taxes residents pay to help their area, and have their own police department, which provides a higher level of service than they had before.
“It also gives us the authority to put ordinances in place to try and protect our water resources and natural resources,” Smith said.