Bourbonnais, Illinois

Bourbonnais is a village in Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 15,256 at the 2000 census, but it was estimated to have grown to 19,119 in 2009. It is part of the Kankakee–Bradley Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Chicago–Naperville–Michigan City, IL-IN-WI Combined Statistical Area.

History
The village is named after Francois Bourbonnais, Sr., a fur trapper, hunter and agent of the American Fur Company, who arrived in the area in 1830. It was known as Bourbonnais Grove until 1876, when it became the Village of Bourbonnais. The town was the site of a major train wreck in 1999, the Bourbonnais train accident.

In 1928 a child from a wealthy family was kidnapped for ransom and held at Sicilian gangster / bootlegger Andrew Cappellano's farm house near Bourbonnais by the Black Hand, later known as the Mafia. During the trial one witness lost his life and a dozen others were threatened by death, including a judge. The Black Hand defendants were found not guilty. Several years later the mother of the child, the one who went to the authorities died as a result of self poisoning. The incident, reported in the newspapers across the country, was known as the Ranieri kidnapping.

Geography
Bourbonnais is located at 41.165°N, -87.87861°W (41.165040, -87.878486). According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 4.6 square miles (12.0 km²).

Pronunciation
The original French pronunciation of Bourbonnais came to be Anglicized over time to. In 1974 a state representative from Bourbonnais introduced a resolution "correcting" the pronunciation of the town's name to burr-bə-, closer to the French.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 15,256 people, 5,341 households, and 3,818 families residing in the village. The population density was 3,302.1 people per square mile (1,275.0/km²). There were 5,505 housing units at an average density of 1,191.5 per square mile (460.1/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 90.21% White, 4.59% African American, 0.10% Native American, 2.39% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.69% from other races, and 1.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.26% of the population.

There were 5,341 households out of which 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.1% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.5% were non-families. 22.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the village the population was spread out with 25.5% under the age of 18, 15.5% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $49,329, and the median income for a family was $57,086. Males had a median income of $42,216 versus $26,796 for females. The per capita income for the village was $22,476. About 5.2% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.1% of those under age 18 and 3.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education
Bourbonnais shares a high school, Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School (BBCHS), with Bradley, Illinois. The high school's mascot is the "Boilermaker". The village is home to Olivet Nazarene University (ONU), where the Chicago Bears hold their training camp each summer.

Chicago Bears training camp
The Chicago Bears of the NFL have held its annual summer training camp at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais since 2002. The Bears moved their training camp to ONU from Platteville, Wisconsin.

Shopping
Recent store openings in Bourbonnais include Jewel-Osco, Kroger, Wal-Mart, Bed Bath & Beyond, Dick's Sporting Goods, Hobby Lobby, and Kohl's.