Elmwood Park, IL

Elmwood Park is a Cook County village just west of Chicago, with a dense inner-suburban feel and strong ties to the city. It incorporated in 1914 in part to avoid annexation by Chicago, which says a lot about its separate local identity. Public schools are operated by Elmwood Park Community Unit School District 401, and the village has its own civic services, restaurants, homes, and neighborhood corridors. Elmwood Park feels urban, compact, and independent despite being wrapped into the Chicago metro.