what are the most socially liberal suburbs of Chicago? (Naperville: house, elementary schools)

[summers19]

My husband and I and our two young sons are thinking about moving to the Chicago area. We are thinking about Evanston and Oak Park, as we've heard these are some of the more socially liberal suburbs of the city. I don't know if we'll be able to afford Evanston. Are there other liberal suburbs? We'd love to be as close to Lake Michigan as possible, but will consider suburbs west of Chicago if they're progressive enough. We also want a community that's walkable, bicycle friendly, and has a defined downtown area with locally-owned restaurants, coffee shops, and a library. We definitely don't need a mcmansion and would love a bungalow or older house with character. Good schools with a diverse student population is also on our list. We don't know where our work will be yet, so finding a suburb is more important to us at this point.
Any suggestions? Thanks for your time.

[ahava]

Most of the suburbs near the lake (the North Shore area) are very conservative and wealthy - probably not what you're looking for. Oak Park is good - I'd also suggest nearby La Grange. It has a great downtown area with many locally-owned restaurants and shops. They're currently building a new library downtown too. It's definitely walkable and bicycle-friendly. Downtown, schools, and Metra stations are all within walking/biking distance of pretty much anywhere in the town. The housing is a mix of older Victorians (lots of character) and bungalows with newer million-dollar mansions. Schools on the north side are better than the south side but all districts feed into Lyons Township High School, which the Chicago Tribune rated as one of the top 50 high schools in the Chicagoland area. The high school has a very diverse student population, the other schools districts are less so.

[Drover]

It might help to have a basis of comparison. Where are you coming from? There really is no equivalent to, say, Berkeley in the Chicago area. On the flipside, there is also no equivalent to, say, West Memphis Arkansas either. Chicago's idea of "progressive" is old-school blue-collar center-left populism allied with the left-of-center wealthy. West Coast Birkenstock-clad neo-hippies won't find much company here. Hamptons/Cape Cod/Manhattan liberals will feel more at home in our left-of-center communities, typically in the North Shore suburbs, and yes, Oak Park.

[oakparkdude]

My family recently relocated from Cambridge, MA to Oak Park. I find the degree of "liberalness" in Oak Park is pretty comparable to what I've experienced in the Boston area. Oak Park is known for being racially progressive, has a large gay/lesbian community, and plenty of lefty/crunchy granola types. The downtown area is compact, with a fair number of locally-owned stores (as well as the usual national chains). The public schools are top notch (and we have the property taxes to prove it!) Plenty of bungalows to be had (as well as all sorts of other styles of housing).

I think Evanston is fairly similar to Oak Park, plus it has the benefit of being home to Northwestern Univ, as well as proximity to the lake. On the other hand, Oak Park housing is probably cheaper than Evanston. In OP, SFH start in the high 300s (hard to find), a lot in the 400-500K range.

[ILguy]

Your choices are Oak Park and Evanston. Both are very similar, but when push comes to shove, I would say Oak Park is a bit more liberal and bit more reasonable - although not by much. Most of the suburbs are pretty conservative - especilly those in DuPage County. The majority of the suburbs are somewhat segregated especially in the south suburbs. I would stay away form the south suburbs, Wheaton, Naperville, and parts of the North Shore. Whereas there are pockets of liberalism to be found in the suburbs, the only real liberalism can be found in Chicago and the above two cities. I count myself as a liberal. I live in the city, but have lived in Evanston and visit Oak Park frequently. Diversity is valued in all three cities - of course I am sure there are some in these communites that are very conservative as well. DuPage suburbs are by far some of your most conservative towns in Illinois. Although outright discrimination does not exist in many, there is unspoken discrimination and conservative values (not all of which are bad by any means)

[summers19]

Thanks to all of you who responded to my email re: liberal suburbs. It's nice to know that there are other liberals out there to help in my quest for finding a decent, well-educated town in which to live. I was told by an acquaintance to stay away from Wheaton and Naperville because of the evangelists and religious-right . So it was good to see that others posted similar beliefs about those two cities.
I think we're leaning towards Oak Park and Evanston. I looked up La Grange on the web and it's pretty far from Chicago according to the map. But it's definitely worth a visit when we visit the area in February.
Thanks to all! If you have any more ideas, please post them or email me. I really do appreciate your time.

[SloopyJ]

If you're not from Chicago, you may not realize how good the suburban train system is. I would definitely second the LaGrange rec - not that I would call it "liberal", but having grown up there and being liberal myself, I never felt it was "conservative". The downtown is great, and it's about an 18-minute train ride into downtown Chicago.

[marlene915]

Evanston and LaGrange are about the same commute time to the city. Evanston has a much larger and commercial downtown and definitely seems more liberal. LaGrange is more convenient to airports and highways, and is a great town for families. Chicago Magazine recently rated several of "southern" LaGrange's schools among the best in Cook County.

[nowire77]

Originally Posted by summers19

My husband and I and our two young sons are thinking about moving to the Chicago area. We are thinking about Evanston and Oak Park, as we've heard these are some of the more socially liberal suburbs of the city. I don't know if we'll be able to afford Evanston. Are there other liberal suburbs? We'd love to be as close to Lake Michigan as possible, but will consider suburbs west of Chicago if they're progressive enough. We also want a community that's walkable, bicycle friendly, and has a defined downtown area with locally-owned restaurants, coffee shops, and a library. We definitely don't need a mcmansion and would love a bungalow or older house with character. Good schools with a diverse student population is also on our list. We don't know where our work will be yet, so finding a suburb is more important to us at this point.
Any suggestions? Thanks for your time.

Hi! It's 2017 and I have exactly the same question as yours! Probably your young sons are grownups now We have two boys; 4-year-old and 2-year-old. I work online and don't have a commute but my husband works at Purdue Northwest (Hammond, IN). We're looking EXACTLY for the same criteria that you mentioned in your post! ; to the extent that when I read your post I thought to myself: when did I post this?!

Where did you end up settling? How do you like it?

Any thoughts from other members for the same question in 2017? Many many thanks for your time and help!

[nowire77]

Originally Posted by ILguy

Your choices are Oak Park and Evanston. Both are very similar, but when push comes to shove, I would say Oak Park is a bit more liberal and bit more reasonable - although not by much. Most of the suburbs are pretty conservative - especilly those in DuPage County. The majority of the suburbs are somewhat segregated especially in the south suburbs. I would stay away form the south suburbs, Wheaton, Naperville, and parts of the North Shore. Whereas there are pockets of liberalism to be found in the suburbs, the only real liberalism can be found in Chicago and the above two cities. I count myself as a liberal. I live in the city, but have lived in Evanston and visit Oak Park frequently. Diversity is valued in all three cities - of course I am sure there are some in these communites that are very conservative as well. DuPage suburbs are by far some of your most conservative towns in Illinois. Although outright discrimination does not exist in many, there is unspoken discrimination and conservative values (not all of which are bad by any means)

ILguy, I have the exact question that you've responded some years ago! We love to live in the city and we have two little ones who will be soon ready for elementary schools. Which parts of the city would you recommend for a family with the same criteria that were mentioned in the 2007 post? Thank you!