Zion, Illinois
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Zion is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 United States census, the population was 24,655.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
History
The city was founded in 1900 by John Alexander Dowie, a Scots-Australian evangelical minister and faith healer who had migrated to the United States in 1888. By 1890, he had settled in Chicago, where he built a faith healing business that included a mail order component, and he had also attracted thousands of followers.
He bought land Template:Convert north of Chicago to found Zion, where he personally owned all of the land and most businesses. The city was named after Mount Zion in Jerusalem.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Dowie also founded the Zion Tabernacle of the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church, which was the only church in town. The structure was built in the early 1900s and was burned down in 1937, following several decades of tumultuous rule by Dowie's successor, Wilbur Glenn Voliva.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Geography
According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Zion has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert (or 99.99%) is land and Template:Convert (or 0.01%) is water.<ref name="gaz2021">Template:Cite web</ref>
Major streets
Sheridan Road
21st Street/Bethlehem Avenue
Green Bay Road- Galilee Avenue
- 9th Street
- Shiloh Boulevard
- 23rd Street
- 29th Street
- 33rd Street
- Lewis Avenue
- Wadsworth Road
Illinois Beach State Park
Zion is the closest municipality to South Beach within Illinois Beach State Park. The North Beach is in Winthrop Harbor. The beach was originally part of Camp Logan, developed in 1892 as a rifle range by the Illinois National Guard. In World War I and World War II, it served as a rifle range for the Great Lakes Naval Training Station. The range remained in operation until 1973, when it was transferred to the Illinois Department of Conservation.
In 1950, the Illinois Dunes Preservation Society was established to maintain the natural qualities of the beach. With the help of the Illinois Department of Conservation, the area south of Beach Road was established as the state's first natural preserve. The sections of the northern beach, between Beach Road and the Wisconsin state border, were acquired by the state between 1971 and 1982.<ref>State.il.us Template:Webarchive</ref>
The Illinois Beach Resort and Conference Center is located at the south beach. The North Point Marina, one of the largest in the Great Lakes region, is at the north beach. It is Illinois' largest marina.
On May 9, 2000, the area encompassing Illinois Beach State Park and North Point Marina was officially designated as the Cullerton Complex in honor of William J. Cullerton Sr., a war hero, avid environmentalist, and long-time friend of conservation.<ref>Template:Cite news
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Demographics
Template:US Census populationAs of the 2020 census<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> there were 24,655 people, 8,185 households, and 5,394 families residing in the city. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 9,295 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the city was 28.72% White, 31.17% African American, 1.93% Native American, 2.23% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 21.48% from other races, and 14.38% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 38.46% of the population.
There were 8,185 households, out of which 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.31% were married couples living together, 16.38% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.10% were non-families. 30.67% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.68% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.57 and the average family size was 2.84.
The city's age distribution consisted of 27.0% under the age of 18, 12.2% from 18 to 24, 25% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $56,819, and the median income for a family was $66,803. Males had a median income of $37,319 versus $29,416 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,345. About 12.5% of families and 14.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.3% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.
| Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>Template:Cite web</ref> | Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:Partial<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref> | % 2000 | % 2010 | Template:Partial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 12,120 | 8,787 | 5,808 | 53.00% | 35.99% | 23.56% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 6,051 | 7,391 | 7,484 | 26.46% | 30.27% | 30.35% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 58 | 53 | 55 | 0.25% | 0.22% | 0.22% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 408 | 546 | 534 | 1.78% | 2.24% | 2.17% |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 7 | 10 | 15 | 0.03% | 0.04% | 0.06% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 78 | 129 | 177 | 0.34% | 0.53% | 0.72% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 657 | 739 | 1,100 | 2.87% | 3.03% | 4.46% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 3,487 | 6,758 | 9,482 | 15.25% | 27.68% | 38.46% |
| Total | 22,866 | 24,413 | 24,655 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
Transportation
The city is served by Metra's Union Pacific North Line through Zion railway station on the east side. It connects the city to Chicago, Kenosha and intermediate communities. Pace bus line 571 provides internal transit service in Zion and connects the city to Waukegan.
Education
Elementary school districts covering sections of Zion include Zion Elementary School District 6 and Beach Park Community Consolidated School District 3, while the section of Zion in Winthrop Harbor School District 1 is parkland. All of Zion is in the Zion-Benton Township High School District 126.<ref>Template:Cite web - Text list</ref>
Sports
The 8,500-seat Fielders Stadium was planned to open in May 2010, and was to host home games for the Lake County Fielders, the North American League baseball team co-owned by the actor Kevin Costner. The Fielders' name is an homage to Costner's 1989 film Field of Dreams, with the logo showing a ballplayer standing in a field of corn.<ref>Template:Cite news
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Fielders Stadium has been subject to a court dispute between its owners and the city over a breach in contract, and was never completed before the Fielders folded.
Until the 1940s, Zion enshrined the Flat Earth doctrine in its religious code.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Controversy
The former city seal was the subject of a 1990 Federal Court case, because it featured a crown and scepter, a dove, a cross and the words "God Reigns". The founder of Zion and designer of the city seal, John Alexander Dowie, intended for these to be Christian symbols and added them "for the purpose of the extension of the Kingdom of God upon earth ... where God shall rule in every department of family, industry, commercial, educational, ecclesiastical and political life".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The court ruled the city could not use these religious symbols in its seals and emblems. While the Christian symbolism was removed, the phrase "In God We Trust" could be used on the new city seal since it was already acceptable religious language in the public arena.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Notable people
- Jorge Avila-Torrez, Serial killer
- Jarvis Brown, member of 1991 World Series champion Minnesota Twins<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Richard Bull, actor, "Nels Olson" on Little House on the Prairie
- Gary Coleman, actor, "Arnold Jackson" on Diff'rent Strokes
- Joe Daniels, drummer for Local H
- John Alexander Dowie, founder of Zion
- Paul Erickson, baseball player, mostly with Chicago Cubs
- John Hammond, senior adviser of the Orlando Magic and former general manager of the Milwaukee Bucks
- James Gordon Lindsay, pastor and founder of Christ for the Nations Institute
- Scott Lucas, lead singer, bassist and guitarist for Local H
- Billy McKinney, former NBA player; current head scout for the Milwaukee Bucks and mayor of Zion
- Juan Moreno, two-time Olympic silver medalist; assistant coach with the U.S. Olympic Team at the 2008 Olympics<ref>2008 U.S. Olympic Team Media GuideTemplate:Dead link.</ref>
- Russell Nype, star of Broadway's Call Me Madam and Hello, Dolly! and Tony Award winner
- Shoes, power pop band including Gary Klebe, Jeff Murphy, John Murphy
- Lenzelle Smith Jr. (born 1991), basketball player in the Israel Basketball Premier League
See also
References
Bibliography
External links
Template:Lake County, Illinois Template:Chicagoland Template:Authority control Template:Geographic Location