A Message from Mayor Ron Serpico
Entering Melrose Park, one seems to return to a simpler time when neighbors talked over the fence, moms watched out for each other’s children, churches were central to family life, and people volunteered in various community organizations.
With a population of nearly 24,000 people, Melrose Park is a village of such diversity that it has come to represent the ideal of the American Melting Pot. Walking down our streets, you can hear a rich variety of languages being spoken, you can smell savory ethnic dishes simmering on stoves, and you can see the deep cultural and ancestral pride that people have taken in their neatly maintained homes.
In 2007, Melrose Park will celebrate its 125th anniversary. Celebrations and festivals have become synonymous with Melrose Park. In fact, the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, which has been celebrated every July for over 100 years, is the longest running festival in the Chicago area. In addition to this historical feast, our annual Hispanofest draws nearly 125,000 people. This Labor Day weekend we will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Taste of Melrose Park, which has been ranked by the Illinois Festival Association as the second best food festival in all of Illinois.
When real estate agents say, “location, location, location,” they are talking about Melrose Park. We are centrally located in Cook County and are 25 minutes or less from O’Hare Field, Midway Airport, downtown Chicago, and from excellent shopping centers. The I-94 Tollway forms our western border, while the I-88 Tollway and the Eisenhower Expressway are only minutes away. Melrose Park is one of the few villages to have two respected hospitals, Gottlieb and Westlake, located within its village limits.
Melrose Park, thanks to its many businesses, is able to offer its residents some of the lowest water rates and real estate property tax rates in all of the Chicago suburbs. Our crime rate is one of the lowest in the western Cook County suburban area and our average home sale price has soared over the past ten years.
Speaking of businesses, Melrose Park’s nickname is, “Corporate King of the Suburbs.” Over the years, Alberto-Culver, Wilson Sporting Goods, Benjamin Moore Paint, Jewel-Osco, Home Juice, Zenith, Ford, International Harvester, Navistar and so many others have made and still make Melrose Park their home.
Instead of visiting us on our web site, why don’t you visit Melrose Park and experience a community that takes you back to a time when life was less complicated and a lot nicer. If you have any questions, call 708 343-4000. Hope you pay us a visit real soon.
Sincerely,
Ronald M. Serpico
Mayor of Melrose Park
