Emergency Biohazard Cleanup Near Downtown Evanston, IL

Evanston is a Cook County city on the shore of Lake Michigan, 12 miles north of downtown Chicago.

Evanston counted 78,110 residents in the 2020 census, living in about 31,700 households.

Only about 56% of Evanston's homes are owner-occupied, a low rate that reflects the large number of renters in a university city.

Northwestern University was founded in 1851 and opened on November 5, 1855, before Evanston itself existed; the university's founders platted the town and had it renamed Evanston.

The city of Evanston was founded by Methodist business leaders in 1857 and incorporated in 1863.

Northwestern is Evanston's largest employer, with roughly 9,500 employees.

Ryan Field, home of the Northwestern Wildcats football team, seats 47,130 fans and opened in 1926 as Dyche Stadium.

Evanston maintains six public swimming beaches along its Lake Michigan shoreline.

Temperance shaped Evanston from the start: when the city incorporated in 1863, its first ordinance banned alcohol sales within four miles of the university, and Evanston stayed dry until 1972.

Frances Willard, national president of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union from 1879, ran the movement from her Evanston home, 'Rest Cottage,' built in 1865; the WCTU moved its national headquarters to Evanston in 1900, and the house is now a National Historic Landmark museum.