Mission Statement
The Village of Homer Glen is committed to preserving, protecting, and enhancing our community's quality of life through responsible residential and economic development while utilizing sound fiscal management. We will strive to maintain open space, preserve our unique rural character, and safeguard our natural resources. The Village encourages community involvement in order to maintain and cultivate a balance of family, agriculture, business, environment, and cultural diversity for present and future generations.
Core Values
Rural
Atmosphere
Concern for Environment
Preserving the rural atmosphere and protecting the environment are essential to safeguarding the appearance and character of Homer Glen.
Homer Glen's rural atmosphere is characterized by open space, agricultural settings, and the presence of large lots with horses and other domestic farm animals.
Protecting the environment is important to the health and well being of Homer Glen citizens.
Safeguarding areas of significant natural value, promoting the re-establishment of native vegetation, protecting and managing water resources, and providing wildlife corridors are fundamental environmental protections.
Understanding the agricultural roots and historical background of our geographic area will enrich the community and further clarify the need for preserving our rural atmosphere.
Managed Growth Density
Commercial Base Development
Responsible residential and commercial development protects quality of life by limiting adverse effects such as school overcrowding, flooding, road congestion, poor water quality and other environmental problems.
The highest priority in land-use decisions should be to protect residents from adverse impacts of differing land use patterns.
The Village of Homer Glen and its citizens benefit from commercial development that is consistent with the Village's Comprehensive Plan.
Inclusion - A Sense of Community
Limit Intrusive Government
Involvement of residents ensures an effective, representative, responsive government.
Promoting and encouraging the participation of all community members ensures the concerns of all are represented and respected.
Homer Glen residents benefit from a safe, family-oriented community by maintaining and enhancing educational, recreational and cultural opportunities. Pursuing alternative methods for funding these objectives without burdening taxpayers is a priority.
Homer Glen officials are entrusted to provide balance and stability while operating the Village in the least restrictive manner feasible.
A fiscally accountable government is needed to protect the interests of Homer Glen taxpayers.
General Information
The Village of Homer Glen is located just 11 miles southwest of Chicago in Will County, Illinois. The Village was incorporated April 17, 2001, and soon afterward volunteers crafted the Village's first Mission Statement and Core Values.
Homer Glen is bisected by three major creeks that are home to a multitude of wildlife such as beavers, coyotes, deer, and woodchucks. The gently rolling terrain is dotted with prairie grasses, stands of trees, and cultivated fields. Two 18-hole golf courses help the Village attain its rolling vista. A sizeable number of residents have horses on their property.
The village is a unique blend of small farms, spacious developments, and open space located within Homer Township in Will County, Illinois. Founded in 1836, the Homer Township area is rich in history and was once known as "Yankee Settlement". Many of these early residents arrived by way of Lake Michigan, their vessels landing near Fort Dearborn. From there, they traveled on to Homer.
Within the 22.4 square mile corporate boundaries of Homer Glen are two square miles of Will County Forest Preserves. Messenger Woods Nature Preserve is one of Will County's oldest and most unusual forest preserves. Visitors to the preserve can enjoy one of the few remaining forests in northeastern Illinois that have not been altered by grazing, cutting, farming, or development. It features two pavilions. Spring Creek Greenway is the Forest Preserve District's only equestrian preserve, offering horse riders a 3.2-mile trail that winds through wooded areas and prairie. The trail can also be used by hikers and cross-country skiers. The trail takes visitors past Spring Creek which abounds with much wildlife including beaver, egrets, herons, muskrat, and fox.
Demographics
At 22.4 square miles, Homer Glen is Will County's fourth largest municipality. The Village encompassed about 19.9 square miles at the time of incorporation in 2001. With boundary agreements currently in place, the Village has the opportunity to increase to about 25 square miles.
The current population of 24,083 and 7,716 households is based on a special census conducted in late 2004. The previous population figure of 22,269 from the 2000 census was partially estimated because the Village did not exist until April 2001. Another special census is planned for the summer of 2008.
The average family household income in Homer Glen is $119,394 and the average age is just over 35 years old.
Approximately 39% of the residents have a college degree and another 26% have at least some college.
Over 96% of the houses are owner occupied, and over 60% of the houses are valued at over 200,000. The median home value in 2006 was $318,658. (See Economic Development for additional demographics.)
A Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission* 2030 forecast projects a population of 40,588, or a 54% increase.
*The Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC) is being merged into the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP).
Community Life
The Village is served by three excellent grade school districts, which feed into Lockport Township High School. Three Fire Protection Districts provide unparalleled service for the residents. The Homer Township Library actively searches out and receives grants to benefit all residents, from youth through seniors.
In 1988, the Homer Township residents approved a referendum to purchase open space for recreational, environmental and educational uses. The Township maintains a number of athletic fields, as well as neighborhood parks.
Volunteer athletic associations provide organized activities for football, cheerleading, baseball, and soccer. A new privately owned roller rink further enhances children's choices of indoor soccer and roller hockey. Recently, the local high school won the State football championship for the second year in a row, and a number of those football players were players in these athletic associations.
Homer Glen has an extensive network of resident volunteers who donate their time, effort and resources to the Village. Because the Village of Homer Glen does not levy a municipal property tax, volunteers are an integral part of maintaining additional services to the community.
Public Services
Following one of the core values of the Village ("A fiscally accountable government is needed to protect the interests of Homer Glen taxpayers") Homer Glen has taken the approach of contracting with a number of public and private entities to provide many of the traditional municipal services:
Police services are provided through a contract with Will County Sheriff's Department.
All public works functions, including maintenance of 109 miles of streets, bridge maintenance, snowplowing, stormwater drainage maintenance etc., are provided to the citizens of Homer Glen though a contract with the Homer Township Highway Department.
Fire and Emergency Services are provided by three separate Fire Protection Districts.
Water and Sanitary Sewer service is provided by Illinois American Water Company in those areas of the Village that can be served by water mains.
The Municipal Organization
Homer Glen is a non home-rule municipality governed by a Village President, commonly called Mayor, and by a Board of Trustees, all of whom are elected at large to overlapping four-year terms. The village manager position was created by ordinance. The village manager makes recommendations to the Village Board on measures he deems appropriate, prepares and proposes the annual budget, and keeps the Village fully informed on the Village's financial condition.
Comprehensive Plan
The Village has recently completed its first Comprehensive Plan. This blueprint will ensure that future growth, development and improvements are compatible with the character of the community. The Comprehensive Plan places importance on abundant open space, preservation of environmentally sensitive corridors, supporting tracts of agricultural land, and estate lifestyles in the western portion of the Village and blending commerce and residential lifestyles in the eastern portion of the Village.
Green Vision Program
In May 2002 the Village of Homer Glen was one of sixteen communities in Illinois to be awarded the Green Communities Demonstration Grant. The Green Communities Demonstration Grant Steering Committee was formed in Homer Glen and soon began Homer Glen's Green Vision Program. The two-year grant process emphasized and relied heavily on input from the stakeholders of the Homer Glen community. In 2005, the Homer Glen Board of Trustees formally adopted the Green Vision Statement and Goals for the Village of Homer Glen.
Economic Activity
The Village of Homer Glen is located in a rapidly growing area of Chicago's southwest suburbs. When Heartland Real Estate Business asked industry leaders in suburban Chicago to comment on the state of commercial real estate in their fields of expertise, Steve Frishman, a principal of Mid-America Real Estate, stated:
"With strong development continuing along the Randall Road corridor, the markets to keep an eye on in the near future are the burgeoning towns of Algonquin in the north, Huntley in the far northwest, and the south Chicago suburbs of Homer Glen, Plainfield, Frankfort and Mokena."
The challenge will be to blend commercial development with existing residential developments so that there is minimal impact on the residents. The Village is committed to providing commercial and retail development that is ultimately convenient for the residents and continue to retain its semi-rural atmosphere.
The I-355 Tollway South Extension, which was completed in November 2007, links I-55 south to I-80 on the western edge of the community. The Comprehensive Plan earmarked that area for upscale business parks. These business parks are expected to provide job opportunities and help build tax revenues.