Magazine: Mt. Prospect is a great place to raise kids
With great schools, affordable housing and a winning football team, Mount Prospect shot into the national spotlight this week after being named the most affordable place to raise kids in the U.S. by http://www.businessweek.com/" target="new">BusinessWeek.
In this week's issue, the magazine outlined the top towns across the country in its second annual Best Places in America to Raise Kids issue.
"A lot of places near the top were in Cook County," said Prashant Gopal, who wrote the story for BusinessWeek. "But this one scored the best."
The three most important factors were school performance, affordability and safety, Gopal said.
Also taken into account were cost of living, air quality, job growth, racial diversity and access to local parks, ball fields, zoos, recreation centers, museums and theaters.
Other Cook County suburbs -- Des Plaines, Palatine, Schaumburg, Skokie and Oak Park -- scored highly, but Mount Prospect came out on top, Gopal said.
Mount Prospect is planning to celebrate its title, by organizing a rally on Wednesday, Nov. 19 at Prospect High School, 801 W. Kensington Road.
The time of the rally has yet to be determined.
"We are thrilled with this distinction," said Mount Prospect Mayor Irvana Wilks in a statement. "Mount Prospect and its leaders work hard to make our village appealing to families and anyone looking for a hometown."
Working with OnBoard Informatics, a Manhattan-based real estate analysis company, BusinessWeek came up with a list of each state's most affordable places to raise kids.
Towns with fewer than 50,000 residents were not considered. Also, towns with median household incomes of less than $40,000 and more than $100,000 were eliminated.
Other winning towns in other states were Phoenix, Columbus, Ohio and Ann Arbor, Mich.
BusinessWeek noted in its article that Prospect High School's football team had won three state championships.
Also, the school's marching band, Marching Knights, won its 26th straight grand champion title at the annual state marching band festival.
Last month, the school ranked 12th among all state high schools, according to state test scores.
"Having the privilege to work with students, parents and staff at Prospect High School, I'm not at all surprised that BusinessWeek identified Mount Prospect as the best place in the country in which to raise children," said Prospect High School Principal Kurt Laakso.
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