La Grange Memorial Hospital is about to launch a $79 million project that will add 185,000 square feet to the facility’s total space. Here are some other facts of life in the towns:
1. Most of the 40 permits Western Springs has issued this year for unattached single-family houses were for teardown construction.
2. At the end of La Grange’s annual Race Unity Rally, participants exchange flowers of different colors with people different from themselves so they can learn about diverse cultures.
3. The La Grange Crossing area, which includes a Borders, Pier 1 Imports and Caribou Coffee, has helped rejuvenate the downtown, which lost many businesses in the 1980s.
4. Out of 48 firefighters in the Western Springs Fire Department, 39 are volunteer, also known as paid-on-call. The town, which is mostly residential, has kept its largely volunteer department for reasons of tradition and practicality.
