[3] Harvey is bordered by the villages of Dixmoor and Riverdale to the north; Dolton, Phoenix, and South Holland to the east; East Hazel Crest to the south; and Hazel Crest, Markham and Posen to the west.

It was closely modeled after the company town of Pullman, which eventually was annexed into the city of Chicago.

[4] The city had its greatest growth in the prosperous postwar years, when it was home to the Buda Engine Co., which was acquired by Allis-Chalmers in 1953.

By this time, it was beginning to suffer losses in jobs and population through restructuring of steel and similar industries.

[5] In the 2000s and 2010s, Mayor Eric Kellogg attempted to boost Harvey's economy, with little success.

[6] The city granted a developer $10 million in incentives to redevelop the Chicago Park Hotel, but he abandoned the project before completion, leaving the building gutted.

[15] From 2010 to 2013, it failed to fund its police and fire pensions, paying just $140 of $10.1 million required contributions.

[17] The Securities and Exchange Commission alleges that during this time, there was "a scheme to divert bond proceeds for improper purposes.

A panel of judges on the Illinois First District Appellate Court in Chicago determined that Harvey's mayor and city Council had improperly abused their discretionary powers for years.

According to the Cook County Record, "The case had landed in Cook County court in 2010, when the Board of Trustees of the City of Harvey Firefighters’ Pension Fund first filed suit against the city of Harvey, alleging chronic underfunding of the pension fund, which managed pension money for 67 retired firefighters, had left the fund teetering on the verge of insolvency.

Harvey is served by two stations along the Metra Electric University Park line to Chicago.