[4] The community itself was originally named Dunkley's Grove after the settler Hezekiah Dunklee,[5] and was renamed after a town in England[5] or Addison, New York.

[9] The town began to suburbanize in the 1960s when developers started to build homes on what was farmland.

The Addison Industrial District was the proposed location for the reconstruction of Comiskey Park in the late 1980s before this was voted down.

[11] The Village of Addison lies on Salt Creek, a tributary of the Des Plaines River.

Other elected officials include village trustees Sam Nasti, Tom Hundley, Bill Lynch, Cathy Kluczny, Dawn O'Brien, and Jay DelRosario, and village clerk Lucille Zucchero.

In the Illinois Senate, Addison is represented by Don Harmon (D-Oak Park)[22] and Seth Lewis (R-Bartlett).

St. Philip the Apostle, a private Catholic school and parish, is located in Addison and serves students from pre-kindergarten through 8th grade.

DeVry University and Chamberlain College of Nursing also call Addison home.