Thornton, Illinois

Thornton Quarry is one of the largest aggregate quarries in the world, located in Thornton, Illinois just south of Chicago. The quarry is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long, 0.5 miles (0.80 km) wide, and 450 feet (140 m) deep at its deepest point. Gallagher Asphalt Corporation has been operating on the grounds of the quarry since 1928. A dryland dike carries Interstate 80/Interstate 294/Tri-State Tollway over the quarry. As part of the Chicago Deep Tunnel project, both Thornton Quarry and McCook Quarry will serve as reservoirs to reduce the backflow of stormwater and sewage from Chicago area rivers into Lake Michigan. Thornton Transitional Reservoir contributes a 3.1-billion-US-gallon (12,000,000 m3) capacity to the system, and is expected to contribute 7.9 billion US gallons (30,000,000 m3) when the system is completed in 2014. It is estimated that the reservoir will help protect 500,000 people who live in the surrounding 14 suburbs it serves, and will save the city around $40 million worth of damages each year.The quarry contains Silurian reefs which formed when the Michigan Basin was covered in sea water more than 400 million years ago.

Thornton Township is one of 29 townships in Cook County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 169,326.Incorporated in 1850, it is located immediately south of the city of Chicago. It is the second most populous township in Illinois as of the 2010 census, after Rockford Township (pop. 178,527) in Winnebago County.The village of South Holland serves as the governmental seat of Thornton Township. The township is named after the village of Thornton, located in the south central portion of the township. Many parts of the township carry names inspired by the village's name, including the three high schools of Thornton Township District 205: Thornton Township High School in Harvey; Thornwood High School in South Holland; Thornridge High School in Dolton; Thornton Fractional South High School in Lansing; Thornton Fractional North High School in Calumet City and Thornton Fractional Center for Academics and Technology also in Calumet City. Supervisor Frank M. Zuccarelli was voted Supervisor of the Year in 2007 by the Township Officials of Illinois for his outstanding service to the residents of Thornton Township.

Thornwood High School is a public high school located in South Holland, Illinois, United States. It was built as part of Thornton Township High School District 205. It opened in 1971 to accommodate overcrowding at other District 205 schools, Thornridge High and Thornton Township High School.

Homewood Memorial Gardens is a privately-owned cemetery in unincorporated Cook County, Illinois. Many other unrelated cemeteries share variations of this name. This site may have formerly been called Oak Lawn Cemetery.

Glenwood is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 8,662 at the 2020 census.

Butterfield Creek is a 15.2-mile-long (24.5 km) tributary of Thorn Creek near Chicago, Illinois, United States. Via Thorn Creek, it is part of the Calumet River watershed flowing to Lake Michigan. It is at its widest around the towns of Homewood, Chicago Heights and Glenwood. The creek starts in a small marsh in Matteson and reaches its confluence with Thorn Creek in Glenwood. Butterfield Creek is severely degraded by a variety of pollutants including heavy metals, DDT, bacteria, and sediment which limits the stream's habitat potential. Several sewage treatment plants discharge into the stream. Riparian habitat is also severely disturbed by a combination of extreme discharges of stormwater and development. The stream has been the focus of many efforts to restore and protect water quality undertaken by a variety of governmental, non-governmental and private entities. Butterfield Creek flows through several country club golf courses in Olympia Fields, Flossmoor, and Homewood; management of these tracts has degraded in-stream and riparian conditions necessary for wildlife movement. The Butterfield Creek corridor continues to provide some habitat connectivity between upland headwaters and the complex of Cook County Forest Preserve District properties along Thorn Creek. The Town of Homewood has created a run/walk trail along portions of lower Butterfield Creek.

South Holland is a village and south suburb of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States, within Thornton Township. The population was 21,465 at the 2020 census.

South Suburban College is a public community college in South Holland, Illinois. It has a second campus in Oak Forest, Illinois.

East Hazel Crest is a village in Cook County, Illinois, in the United States. It is a south suburb of Chicago. As of the 2020 census, the village population was 1,297.

Seton Academy was a Catholic coeducational college-preparatory high school.

Thorn Creek is a 20.8-mile-long (33.5 km) tributary of the Little Calumet River that travels through Will and Cook counties in northeastern Illinois just south of Chicago. It starts in the high land of the Valparaiso Moraine before dropping 200 feet (60 m) to the lower elevations of the Little Calumet River valley. Along its path it has cut many deep ravines and valleys. It is usually quite narrow, though the width of the river varies. Under 26th Street in Chicago Heights, a dam built in 1928 forms Sauk Lake (which is very wide), but just north of the street it is just a few feet across. This dam creates an accumulation of several feet of silt in Sauk Lake and is being considered for Notching in 2016 by the Corps of Engineers. The intent is to 'improve stream habitat'. The impact upon Ground Water Recharge, mitigation of Thorn Creek's 'flashiness' and future recreational activities are also concerns of Water-Shed Stakeholders.

Phoenix is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,708 at the 2020 census. It is located approximately 19 miles (31 km) south of the Chicago Loop in the Chicago area.