La Grange (/lə ˈɡreɪndʒ/ lə GRAYNJ; often spelled LaGrange) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States.

[7] The area around La Grange was first settled in the 1830s, when Chicago residents moved out to the west due to the rapid population increase in the city in the decade since its incorporation.

It was founded by Franklin Dwight Cossitt, who was born in Granby, Connecticut, and raised in Tennessee, and moved to Chicago in 1862 where he built a successful wholesale grocery business.

In 1870, Cossitt purchased several hundred acres of farmland in Lyons Township, along the Chicago-Dixon Road, known today as Ogden Avenue (U.S. Highway 34).

When the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad came to town, La Grange was a milk stop called Hazel Glen.

Telephones were first set up by Dr. George Fox in the 1880s for quick communication between his home office and a drug store, enabling him to order prescriptions to be delivered by buggy in a moment's notice.

[10] Two major railroad tracks run through the village, including the Burlington Northern Santa Fe, and the CSX/Indiana Harbor Belt lines.

Originally, the locomotives were also built there, but in more recent years final assembly has moved to EMD's other facility in Muncie, Indiana.

The downtown area, centered along and around La Grange Road (US 45) and the BNSF Railway line, became somewhat run-down during the 1980s, but saw a revival in the mid-to-late 1990s, with many new businesses opening, including many restaurants.

Art fairs, historic housewalks, carnivals, and farmer's markets are also common, mostly taking place in the downtown area.

An annual event known as the Pet Parade has been conducted every year since 1947 and attracts thousands of people from the La Grange area.

There is even a "bootleg" house, one he designed on the side, contrary to his employment agreement, when he was supposed to be working exclusively for architect Louis Sullivan.

The Park District of La Grange maintains 78.5 acres of parkland at 11 locations, and offers over 1,500 recreation programs annually for its more than 16,000 residents.

A seven-member board of trustees, elected as provided by state law, serves four-year overlapping terms.

The village has six operating departments: administration, finance, police, fire, community development and public works.

The northern half of the village (roughly any students north of 47th Street) is part of La Grange School District 102.

Kindergarten students in District 102 may also attend Barnsdale Road School in La Grange Park, Illinois.

The southern half of the village (roughly any students south of 47th Street) is part of La Grange School District 105.

When it was open, Lyons Township Junior College was nicknamed Tick-Tock Tech, due to its location near the clock tower.

La Grange currently has three tracks belonging to the BNSF Railway that run through the north end of the village, with passenger rail service provided by Metra and Amtrak.

Metra's BNSF Line provides frequent commuter service between Aurora and Chicago, with two stations in La Grange.

Express service to Downtown Chicago (Union Station) from La Grange Road takes approx.

During non-rush hours, a freight train may run along the line as frequently as once every ten minutes on average.

The Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad, running north–south through the east end of the village, also has extremely heavy freight traffic.