Crete, Illinois

Steger is a village in Cook County and Will County, Illinois, United States. It is 35 miles (56 km) south of Chicago and had a population of 9,584 at the 2020 census.

Crete Township is located in Will County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 23,774 and it contained 10,286 housing units. Washington Township was formed from a portion of Crete.

South Chicago Heights is a village and a south suburb in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,026 at the 2020 census.

Crete-Monee High School (CMHS) is a comprehensive public high school located in Crete, Illinois, a south suburb of Chicago, in the United States. Known colloquially as Crete, the high school houses students representing the surrounding communities of Crete, Monee, University Park, and portions of Park Forest. The student body as of 2020 was 66.0% black, 16.6% white, 13.3% Hispanic, 0.5% Asian, 0.1% American Indian, and 3.6% of two or more races. As of 2016 the 4-year graduation rate was 89%, a full three percentage points higher than the Illinois state average of 86%.

Bloom Trail High School is a public high school in Steger, Illinois, a south suburb of Chicago, in the United States. It is part of Bloom Township High School District 206. Originally the Bloom Township Freshman-Sophomore Division, in 1976 it became a four-year high school and was renamed Bloom Trail High School. Sports for both Bloom High School and Bloom Trail High School are combined since 1995. Football, volleyball, basketball, track, games/practices are held at Bloom Trail.

Thrall Car Manufacturing Company was a manufacturer of railroad freight cars in Chicago Heights, Illinois from 1917 to 2001. The company was sold to Trinity Industries in 2001.

WCFJ (1470 AM) was a radio station licensed to Chicago Heights, Illinois, United States. Its transmitter was located south of Crete, Illinois and served Chicago's south suburbs and South Side, as well as Northwest Indiana. The station's original call sign was WMPP.

WBMF is a Christian radio station licensed to Crete, Illinois, broadcasting on 88.1 MHz FM. WBMF is owned and operated by Family Worship Center Church, Inc. The station began broadcasting in 2002. It was originally owned by the American Family Association and was an affiliate of American Family Radio. In 2004, the station was sold to Family Worship Center Church, along with WAWF and WWGN, for $1 million.

Balmoral Park is an equestrian facility located just south of Crete, Illinois, United States. It operated from 1926 to 2015 as a horse racing track. It reopened in 2017 as a horse show facility under the same name.

Sauk Trail Woods are located within the Cook County Forest Preserves in Park Forest and Chicago Heights, Illinois. They are part of the Thorn Creek Trail System. They contain miles of paved bike trails and off-trail dirt paths. Sauk Trail Woods contains Sauk Lake and Thorn Creek. The topography is fairly hilly, featuring ravines and steep, eroded hillsides. The elevation is the highest on the outskirts of the preserve. Then, as one goes into the Thorn Creek River Valley, you descend steep hills and sandy bluffs. There is an abundance of ravines that have been cut by creeks flowing into the valley. Many of the ravines are surprisingly deep near the bottom of the valley. Most of the Sauk Trail Woods Preserve is covered by dense woods, however there are some open prairie areas. In the northwest section of the woods, there is a fairly large marsh, that is surrounded by thick pampas grass and shallow bogs. The woods are located on the Valparaiso Moraine, which accounts for the hilliness of the area. There are many parking lots with pavilions situated throughout the preserve.

Sauk Lake (also known as Sauk Trail Lake) is a small, freshwater lake located in Cook County, Illinois, between the municipalities of Park Forest, Illinois and Chicago Heights, Illinois. It is an enlarged portion of Thorn Creek created by a dam on the south side of 26th Street, which borders the lake to the north. It is surrounded by steep, sandy bluffs on the east and west sides. It lies within the Sauk Trail Woods Forest Preserve. Fish in this lake include yellow and black bullhead, bluegill, crappie, largemouth bass, channel catfish and common carp. Ice fishing is not allowed on the lake.

The Bloom Township High School District 206 is a public high school district that serves Bloom Township, Illinois, United States. The district consists of 3,558 students in grades 9-12 in two high schools and one alternative high school.