BRADLEY, ILLINOIS

'Bradley' (formerly North Kankakee) is a village in Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 12,784 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Combined Statistical Area and part of the informal "Chicagoland."

Contents

Geography

History

Demographics

Places of local interest

Northfield Square Mall

External links

Geography

Bradley is located at (41.146332, -87.859123).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 9.8 km² (3.8 mi²). Of this area - 9.8 km² (3.8 mi²) - 0.26% is water.

History

In 1891, North Kankakee was established when the David Bradley Plow Works established a factory, and in recognition of this, in 1895, the town changed its name to Bradley City (later Bradley). Bradley was mostly a blue collar town with the Koehler Furniture factory and the Roper Corporation factory (part of it was in the building that David Bradley once occupied) being the major employers. In the 1980s, as with the rest of the Midwest, these factories closed, and after their closures, parts of those factories burned to the ground. However, by the end of the decade, things changed. In 1989, a new shopping center called Bradley Square was built with Wal-Mart as the first tenant, and more shops followed. The brightest spot in the village's history came on August 1, 1990, when Northfield Square Mall opened. Bradley was poised to attract business. Since that time, the village has been growing, at the expense of its neighbor to the south, Kankakee.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 12,784 people, 5,041 households, and 3,382 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,305.8/km² (3,381.3/mi²). There were 5,272 housing units at an average density of 538.5/km² (1,394.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 95.62% White, 1.23% African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.68% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.20% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race was 3.61% of the population.
There were 5,041 households out of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.3% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.9% were non-families. 26.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the village the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $41,757, and the median income for a family was $47,984. Males had a median income of $38,224 versus $24,493 for females. The per capita income for the village was $19,035. About 3.6% of families and 6.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.2% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of that age 65 or over.

Places of local interest

Northfield Square Mall

'Northfield Square Mall' is a mall in Bradley. The mailing address is located in Bourbonnais, Illinois. This mall serves the area of Kankakee County, which includes Bourbonnais, Bradley, and Kankakee. Northfield Square Mall opened on August 1, 1990.
Its four anchor stores are Carson Pirie Scott - Men, Children and Home (79,670 sq. ft.), Carson Pirie Scott - Women (62,353 sq. ft.), JCPenney (62,541 sq. ft.) and Sears (107,118 sq. ft.).
This mall also includes a food court and a 10 screen Cinemark movie theater (Or better known as Cinemark Movies 10), which plays first-run movies. There is a GameStop, Ruby Tuesday, and a new arcade which includes games such as Dance Dance Revolution, House of the Dead, House of the Dead 2, and houses an assortment of crane machines and prize machines.

External links

★ Village website