Lombard, Illinois

Lombard
Village
Lilacia Park
Flag Seal
Nickname:  The Lilac Village
Location of Lombard in DuPage County, Illinois.
Coordinates: 41°52′34″N 88°00′50″W / 41.87611°N 88.01389°W / 41.87611; -88.01389[3]
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	DuPage
Townships	York, Bloomingdale, Milton, Addison
Incorporated	1869
Government
• Type	Council–manager
• Village President	Anthony Puccio
Area [1]
• Total	10.41 sq mi (26.95 km2)
• Land	10.22 sq mi (26.47 km2)
• Water	0.19 sq mi (0.48 km2)
Elevation [3]	728 ft (222 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	44,476
• Density	4,351.7/sq mi (1,680.19/km2)
Demonym	Lombardian[2]
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (Central)
ZIP code	60148
Area code(s)	630 and 331
FIPS code	17-44407
GNIS feature ID	2398468[3]
Website	www.villageoflombard.org

Lombard is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of Chicago. The population was 44,476 at the 2020 census.

Lombard was originally named "Babcock's Grove", after the Babcock brothers, early settlers along the DuPage River. It was renamed for a real estate developer who mapped out plans for the settlement in 1868.^[4]

Sheldon and Harriet Peck moved from Onondaga, New York, to this area in 1837 to farm 80 acres (320,000 m²) of land. In addition, Peck was an artist and primitive portrait painter who traveled to clients across northeastern Illinois. The Peck house also served as the area's first school and has been restored by the Lombard Historical Society.^[5] In 2011, the Peck House was inducted into the National Park Service's Network to Freedom^[6]—a list of verified Underground Railroad locations.^[7]

The 1848 arrival of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad provided local farmers and merchants rail access to Chicago, and commercial buildings soon sprang up around the train station. Lombard was officially incorporated in 1869, named after Chicago banker and real estate developer Josia Lewis Lombard.^[4]

On April 6, 1891, Ellen A. Martin led a group of women to the voting place at the general store. She demanded that the three male election judges allow the women to vote. The judges were so surprised that one of them had a "spasm," one leaned against the wall for support, and the other fell backwards into a barrel of flour.^[8] They acquiesced to Ellen, but fundamentally did not want to let the women vote, so a county judge was asked to decide. He agreed that the women were right. Ellen Martin then became the first woman in Illinois to vote, and one of the first in the entire U.S. In 1916 Illinois women could vote in national elections, but the 19th Amendment (the Women's Suffrage Amendment) was not passed until 1920.^[9]

In 2008, Lombard declared April 6 to be "Ellen Martin Day" in commemoration of Ms. Martin's historic victory for women's suffrage.^[10]

William LeRoy built a home in the Italianate style on Lombard's Main Street in 1881. LeRoy specialized in making artificial limbs for civil war veterans and lived in this house until 1900.^[11] The house would eventually become the home of Harold Gray's parents and the studio of Harold Gray, the originator of Little Orphan Annie cartoon strip. Harold Gray used the home's study to work on the Annie cartoons, and some features of the house are drawn into some of his cartoons, such as the grand staircase and the outer deck. Gray lived at 215 S. Stewart Ave in Lombard at this time.^[12] Later, he remarried and moved to the east coast. Harold Gray was a charter member of Lombard Masonic Lodge #1098, A.F. & A.M. in 1923.

In 1927, the estate of Colonel William Plum, a local resident, was bequeathed to the village. The Plum property included his home, which became the site of the original Helen M. Plum Memorial Library (decommissioned in 2023), and a large garden containing 200 varieties of lilac bushes. This garden became a public park, Lilacia Park.

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Lombard has a total area of 10.41 square miles (26.96 km²), of which 10.22 square miles (26.47 km²) (or 98.21%) is land and 0.19 square miles (0.49 km²) (or 1.79%) is water.^[13]

As of the 2020 census, Lombard had a population of 44,476, with 18,032 households and 10,914 families residing in the village.^[18][19] The population density was 4,274.07 inhabitants per square mile (1,650.23/km²). There were 19,150 housing units at an average density of 1,840.28 per square mile (710.54/km²).^[18]

The median age was 40.1 years. 20.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 92.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.9 males age 18 and over.^[18]

100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.^[20]

There were 18,032 households in Lombard, of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 49.2% were married-couple households, 18.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 27.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.^[18]

There were 19,150 housing units, of which 5.8% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.1%.^[18]

The median income for a household in the village was $86,167, and the median income for a family was $100,420. Males had a median income of $58,398 versus $40,411 for females. The per capita income for the village was $41,154. About 3.5% of families and 5.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.5% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.

Lombard’s economy is anchored by retail, manufacturing, hospitality, and professional services. The village’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for fiscal year 2024 reported a 9.79% increase in total equalized assessed valuation (EAV), with $5.06 million in new construction and $339,414 in annexations added to the tax base.^[22] The capital program included streetscape improvements to St. Charles Road and the opening of Prairie Place Park under an intergovernmental agreement with the Lombard Park District.^[22]

As of 2024, the ten largest employers in Lombard were:^[22]

The 2024 report cited an unemployment rate of approximately 4.2%, in line with the DuPage County average and below the statewide rate. Lombard continues to see reinvestment and redevelopment along the Yorktown Center corridor, including new residential and mixed-use projects such as Lilac Station, Yorktown Reserve, and the Summit at Yorktown.^[22]

Since 1930, Lombard has hosted an annual Lilac Festival and parade in May.^[23] "Lilac Time in Lombard," is a 16-day festival ending in mid-May. It starts with the Lilac Queen coronation and her court. Many lilac themed events take place, including a formal ball, concerts, wine and beer tasting in the park, a Mothers' Day Brunch, an arts and crafts fair, and tours of the park. The grand finale is Lombard's Lilac Festival Parade.^[24] The first Lilac Princess in 1930 was Adeline Fleege.^[25]

Lombard is a non-home-rule municipality with a council–manager form of government. The Village President and six trustees are elected to four-year terms.^[26]

Lombard's high schools belong to Glenbard Township High School District 87.^[27] They are shared with the neighboring town of Glen Ellyn, thus the creation of the portmanteau word "Glenbard". Lombard's elementary and middle schools (K-8) belong to Lombard School District 44^[28] or DuPage School District 45.^[29]

Glenbard East High School is located in Lombard.

Private schools include Montini Catholic High School and the College Preparatory School of America (CPSA).^[30]

Lombard is served by Metra's Union Pacific West Line, which runs from the Ogilvie Transportation Center out to Elburn, Illinois over the old Chicago and Northwestern Railway trackage. Lombard's also served by I-88 / Illinois 110 and I-355 as well as Illinois Routes 38, 53, 56, and 64.

Formerly, it was also served by trains of the Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad (with commuter stops at Stewart Ave, Main St, Brewster Ave and Westmore/Meyers Road) and the Chicago Great Western Railway. These former railroads have been preserved as multiple use recreational trails (Illinois Prairie Path and Great Western Trail).

Pace provides bus service on multiple routes connecting Lombard to Naperville, Cicero, and other destinations. The Yorktown Center serves as a hub for bus routes in the area.^[31]

• Winifred Bonfils, newspaper journalist and columnist
• Dallas Frueh, racing driver
• Russ Gamester, racing driver
• Harold Gray, cartoonist and creator of Little Orphan Annie
• Tom Higgenson, founder of Plain White T's, grew up in Lombard
• Ted Kaczynski, American terrorist, also known as the Unabomber
• James Marcello, reputed Mafia leader
• Ellen Annette Martin, first woman to vote in Illinois in 1891
• Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, actor
• Sheldon Peck, folk artist and abolitionist
• Jill Pizzotti, collegiate basketball coach
• Mary Doria Russell, author of five novels
• Rick Santelli, CNBC commentator
• Bob Schacht, racing driver
• Daniel M. Tani, NASA astronaut
• Charles Tilly, scholar
• Doug Walker, film critic and comedian
• Timothy Zahn, science-fiction author

• Sacred Heart Church (Lombard, Illinois)

• Budd, Lillian (1977). Footsteps on the Tall Grass Prairie: A History of Lombard, Illinois. Lombard, Ill.: Lombard Historical Society. OCLC 3742261.
• Fruehe, Margot (1985). "Lombard". In Thompson, Richard A (ed.). DuPage Roots. Wheaton, Ill.: DuPage County Historical Society. OCLC 11964167.
• Knoblauch, Marion (1948). DuPage County: A Descriptive and Historical Guide, 1831-1839. American guide series. Federal Writers' Project (Ill.). Edwards Bros. hdl:2027/mdp.39015059490584. OCLC 296635972.

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Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Lombard.

• Official Website