Biohazard Cleanup Near North Burnham Burnham, IL

Burnham is a village in Cook County in Chicago's far south suburbs, bordered by Chicago to the north, Calumet City to the south and west, and Hammond, Indiana, to the east.

Burnham was named for Telford Burnham, who drew its original plat, and it incorporated on February 8, 1907.

Burnham had a population of 4,046 at the 2020 census, slightly below its 2010 peak of 4,206.

Burnham has 1,475 households packed into just 1.94 square miles, giving it a population density of more than 2,000 people per square mile.

Burnham is one of the few Illinois suburbs that uses a Chicago ZIP code - 60633, the same code as Chicago's Hegewisch neighborhood next door.

Burnham exists in two separate sections: a western part around Torrence Avenue, which crosses a bridge into Chicago, and an eastern part around Burnham Avenue ending at Brainard Avenue by Hegewisch.

Burnham is so small and so close to Chicago that it is frequently the subject of debates over whether Chicago should simply annex it.

Burnham includes part of Powderhorn Lake and its adjacent nature preserve, a unit of the Forest Preserves of Cook County, along the Little Calumet River corridor.

Burnham's early history was dominated by Mayor John 'Johnny' Patton, who served from 1908 to 1948 and was the youngest mayor in Illinois when first elected.

Burnham's population is about 60% Black and about 26% Hispanic or Latino, making it one of the more diverse small villages in Cook County's Southland.