Richton Park, Illinois

The Southland College Preparatory Charter High School (SCPHS; also known as Southland College Prep, Southland College Prep High School, or simply Southland) is a College Preparatory Charter High School in Richton Park, Illinois. The school serves the communities of Richton Park, Country Club Hills, Matteson, Olympia Fields, and Park Forest.

Rich Township High School Fine Arts Campus, formerly known as, Rich South High School (RSHS) is a public four-year high school located in Richton Park, Illinois, a southern suburb of Chicago, in the United States. Rich Township's campus serves the cities of Matteson, Park Forest, Richton Park, Olympia Fields and University Park. It is a part of Rich Township District 227.

Richton Park is the penultimate station along the main branch of the Metra Electric line, in Richton Park, Illinois. It is located on Sauk Trail, east of Governor's Highway, and is 29.3 miles (47.2 km) away from the northern terminus at Millennium Station. In Metra's zone-based fare system, Richton Park is in zone F. As of 2018, Richton Park is the 47th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 1,059 weekday boardings. The station has two tracks and one island platform, with one of the tracks ending at the station. Richton Park was originally built by the Illinois Central Railroad in 1946, in order to be in close proximity to the south end of the "IC Electric" coach storage yard. It served as the terminus of the line until 1977, when the Illinois Regional Transportation Authority funded the construction of University Park station. Today, Richton Park station is a far more modern-looking structure. Parking is available on Sauk Trail between Governor's Highway and Richton Square Road, on Richton Road, Mill Drive, and along Tower Road.

Lincoln Mall was a shopping mall located at the corner of U.S. Route 30 and Cicero Avenue in Matteson, Illinois, a south suburb of Chicago.

University Park is a station on Metra's Metra Electric District line located in University Park, Illinois. University Park is the southern terminus of the Metra Electric main line and is 31.5 miles (50.7 km) away from the northern terminus at Millennium Station. The station is located on South Governor's Highway near West Stuenkel Road. In Metra's zone-based fare system, University Park is in zone G. As of 2018, University Park is the 64th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 808 weekday boardings.University Park station is located at grade level. The station consists of one island platform which serves two tracks; Canadian National tracks (ex-Illinois Central) parallel the Metra Electric tracks. The station has an unstaffed waiting room with a ticket vending machine. Parking is available at the station. University Park opened in 1977; Metra Electric service (then part of the Illinois Central Railroad) previously had terminated at Richton Park, the first stop after University Park.

Matteson is one of two commuter rail stations along the Main Branch of the Metra Electric line which serve Matteson, Illinois. It is located at 215th and Main Streets, and is 28.2 miles (45.4 km) away from the northern terminus at Millennium Station. In Metra's zone-based fare system, Matteson station is in zone F. As of 2018, Matteson is the 86th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 591 weekday boardings.Matteson station was the terminus of the IC Electric line until 1946, when it was extended to Richton Park, in order to bring the cars closer to the south end of the "IC Electric" coach storage yard. Originally built in 1863, and rebuilt in 1912, it was the southernmost station to be built before the line was electrified in 1926. Matteson is built on elevated tracks near the embankment of a bridge over Front Street. This bridge also carries the Amtrak line that runs parallel to it, carrying the City of New Orleans, Illini, and Saluki trains. Parking is available on both sides of the tracks on the south side of Front Street and a parallel bicycle path. The west side parking lot is along Main Street between the Front Street and Main Street bridges, while the larger east side parking lot is within the Village of Matteson but is actually operated by the Village of Park Forest and located on the corner of North Street, Homan Avenue, and Front Street. A pedestrian tunnel which runs beneath the tracks, is also elevated and has staircases on each end connects the two parking lots. No bus connections are available at this station, but the Old Plank Road Trail offers a human-powered right-of-way going east and west. There is evidence of another island platform to the east of the current platform. This served the IC long-distance trains on a non-electrified double track line—the same tracks used by Amtrak today.

Matteson () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,073 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of Chicago.Matteson is located in Chicago's Southland area. The village is home to multiple warehouse facilities, a large commercial corridor, and housed the now-demolished Lincoln Mall. There are currently plans to redevelop the mall property into a mixed-use complex. The village is served by two stations on the Metra Electric District's main line; Matteson station and 211th Street station.

Rich Township is one of 29 townships in Cook County, Illinois, United States located south of Chicago. As of the 2020 census, its population was 76,138. Richton Park serves as the governmental seat for the township.

Governors State University (Governors State, GSU, GovState, or GOVST) is a public university in University Park, Illinois. The 750 acres (3.0 km2) campus is located 30 miles (48 km) south of Chicago, Illinois. GSU was founded in 1969. It is a public university offering degree programs at the undergraduate, master's, and doctoral levels. GSU has four colleges: the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Business, the College of Education, and the College of Health and Human Services.

211th Street (Lincoln Highway) is a commuter rail station along the Main Branch of the Metra Electric line in Olympia Fields, Illinois. It is located at 211th Street between Olympian Way and Olympian Circle, and is 27.6 miles (44.4 km) away from the northern terminus at Millennium Station. In Metra's zone-based fare system, 211th Street station is in zone F. As of 2018, the station is the 95th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 527 weekday boardings. This station actually straddles three cities. The northern part of the platform and northern parking lot lies in Olympia Fields, the eastern parking lot in Park Forest, and the western parking lot and bus station in Matteson. The station is named after both of the names for US 30 in Park Forest; Lincoln Highway, and 211th Street. The only other station to be given two street names in one is 147th Street (Sibley Boulevard). 211th Street is built on elevated tracks near the embankment of a bridge over US 30. This bridge also carries the Amtrak line that runs parallel to it, carrying the City of New Orleans, Illini, and Saluki trains. Parking is available on westbound US 30 between the railroad bridge and Olympian Way, and along eastbound US 30 on the southeast corner of the bridge, which is accessible from Homan Avenue via Indiana Street in Park Forest.

Thorn Creek Woods Nature Center and Preserve is located in Will County, Illinois, near the municipality of Park Forest, Illinois. It is part of the Forest Preserve District of Will County. The entranceway to Thorn Creek Woods Nature Preserve is located at 247 Monee Road, approximately 0.25-mile (400 m) north of Stunkel Road, in Park Forest. The preserve is open 8:00 a.m. - dusk daily; the Nature Center is open 12:00 - 4:00 p.m. Friday- Sunday. At 830 acres (3.4 km2), Thorn Creek Nature Preserve lies at the headwaters of Thorn Creek and consists of bottomlands, ravines, and white-oak forests interspersed with marsh and meadows. The actual nature center is located inside of an old church right off Monee Road. It is two stories and contains a nature library and nature exhibits. The trail starts behind the church and heads east into the woods. The topography varies. The trail starts off on high land before dropping down into the Thorn Creek River Valley. It then crosses the creek and goes up and out of the valley, again. The terrain is pretty rugged, especially near the river and its tributaries, because they have cut many gorges and ravines.

Rich Township High School STEM Campus, formerly Rich Central High School, is a public four-year high school in the south suburbs of Chicago, located in Olympia Fields, Illinois. The Campus serves portions of Chicago Heights, Country Club Hills, Matteson, Olympia Fields, Park Forest, Richton Park, and Tinley Park. The school serves sections of elementary school districts 162, 161, 160, and 159. It is a part of Rich Township District 227, along with Rich Township Fine Arts Campus.