Machesney Park, Illinois

Machesney Park is a village located in Winnebago County, Illinois, United States. The population was 23,499 at the 2010 census, up from 20,759 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Rockford, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography
Machesney Park is located at °N, °W (42.354989, -89.040827).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 12.4 square miles (32.1 km²), of which, 12.0 square miles (31.1 km²) of it is land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km²) of it (3.07%) is water.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,759 people, 7,756 households, and 5,879 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,728.8 people per square mile (667.4/km²). There were 7,948 housing units at an average density of 661.9 per square mile (255.5/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 95.40% White, 1.37% African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.97% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.81% from other races, and 1.16% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.81% of the population.

There were 7,756 households out of which 35.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.2% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.2% were non-families. 19.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the village the population was spread out with 26.5% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.0 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $48,315, and the median income for a family was $53,788. Males had a median income of $38,619 versus $23,279 for females. The per capita income for the village was $19,685. About 3.2% of families and 5.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.7% of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over.

History
The name Machesney Park has its roots in Machesney Airport, which was located on the main street North Second where the Machesney Mall stands today, which was founded in 1927 by Fred Machesney, a Barnstorming aviator. (Note: The Machesney Elementary School across from where the airport was also got named after Fred Machesney's airport) The airfield was Rockford's main airport until the 1950s, when the Greater Rockford airport came on line. In 1928 a famous flight from Rockford to Sweden took off from the field. The attempt failed as the two pilots crashed in Greenland, later being safely rescued. Machesney Field was used by the Army Air Corps during World War II as a stop by fighter aircraft being ferried to the Soviet Union.

This area of unincorporated Winnebago county saw growth pick up after World War II. This led to the formation of North Park, a public water district and volunteer firefighting company, and the unofficial name for the area.

Located next to the Machesney Airport, and located on IL route 251, was a Hires Root Beer stand. It stood out for two reasons; it was shaped like a giant barrel of root beer, and this shape was silhouetted against the flat horizon of the adjacent airport. Machesney Airport closed in 1974, and soon thereafter did the root beer stand. The last known whereabouts of the famous root beer stand...the west side of Hwy.251, north of the mall, under the large powerlines, in the woods where cattle feed.

Several years later the Machesney Park Mall was built on the former airport land. The Mall featured an antique aircraft hanging in the center court. The airplane was to respect Fred Machesney. The first stores to open in the mall were Prange Way and Pranges. The two stores were kitty-corner to each other and they built an indoor walkway that you could walk between the stores. You could then watch the work that was going on in the mall before it completely opened. 

Machesney Park became a village in 1981, after being approved in a referendum. Tom Strickland is the current village president.

Education
The Village is home of Harlem High School, with is part of the Harlem School District 122. The Harlem District serves the communities of Loves Park, Machesney Park, and southern Roscoe.

2009 Elections
The 2009 village president election was a major upset. Eight year incumbent Linda Vaughn (D) was defeated by long-time resident and political rival Tom Strickland (D) in a primary race most people believed Vaughn would win. Strickland then went on to the general election where he defeated Republican challenger Joe Terrell by a 59 to 41 margin. This is the first village president election in Machesney Park history where the Democrat received less than 70 percent of the vote.

Strickland and Terrell also faced each other in the 2005 race for Village President. Strickland, then a Republican, received the Republican nomination by a margin of forty (40) ballots. Defeated by incumbent Democrat Linda Vaughn in the general election, Strickland received a mere 29 percent of the vote.

Tom Strickland was sworn in as village president on May 4, 2009.