Hazel Crest is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States.

Hazel Crest was first settled in 1870 in a farming community known as South Harvey.

[3] McClintock built a depot for a local milk train and subsequently opened transportation opportunities to Chicago and beyond.

In 1900, the name was changed to Hazel Crest to reflect the large numbers of hazelnut bushes that grew on a rise of land just south of town.

[4] At the time, the southern border was 175th Street and the western edge of the village was Kedzie Avenue.

Later on, the city would see the construction of a Community Church in 1894, then a 1984 adaptation of an elementary school building which has now become the Martin J. Kauchak Municipal Center, named for President Kauchak who served the village for twenty years (1973-1993).

The village is bordered by Markham to the north, Harvey to the northeast, East Hazel Crest to the east, Homewood to the southeast, Flossmoor to the south and Country Club Hills to the west.

To the east, in Hazel Crest proper, are portions of the Canadian National / Illinois Central intermodal facility.

Major arteries Pace bus routes[12] Provides rush hour feeder service from Country Club Hills to the Flossmoor Metra Station.

In addition, through Pace (transit), Hazel Crest offers Dial-A-Ride services, provided primarily to elderly and disabled residents for low fares.

The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), projects that by 2030, Hazel Crest will have 15,786 residents and 3,570 jobs compared to the 2000 U.S. Census estimate of 14,816 and 2,933 respectively.

Major employers in the village include: Two of the companies listed above are located within the Palmer Lake Corporate Business Park at 175th Street and Governors Highway.

Hazel Crest has a multitude of dwellings in the form of single-family homes, apartments, townhomes and condominiums.

Advocate South Suburban Hospital is a 284-bed, acute care facility with nearly 400 doctors on staff.

In 1971, the hospital opened at its current location at 17800 Kedzie Avenue, north of the village's Chateaux/Versailles neighborhood.

Hazel Crest is part of the Grande Prairie Public Library District, which also includes the neighboring city of Country Club Hills.

The Library District is governed by a seven-member Board of Trustees, elected at-large between Country Club Hills and Hazel Crest.

Parks in the village are operated by the Hazel Crest Park District, which is coterminous with the village boundaries but maintains separate governance and a five-member Board of Commissioners elected at-large during consolidated elections.