Member community spotlight: Burnham

Mayor Robert Polk has been the village president of Burnham since 2005 and was the first African American man elected to a village government post there when he became a trustee in 2001. In 2012, he was honored by the Chicago Defender as one of its 50 “Men of Excellence” for contributions and giving back to the community and being a popular role model.

Rich in natural assets, Burnham is home to the Burnham Prairie Nature Preserve, Burnham Woods Golf Course, Burnham Woods, Powderhorn Marsh and Prairie and Powder Horn Lake. The Little Calumet and Grand Calumet Rivers flow through it. Burnham was named for Telford Burnham who drew its plat; not, as is widely assumed, by Chicago city planner and architect Daniel Burnham. The village has a population of 4,206 and is located just south of the Hegewisch neighborhood in Chicago. It borders Hammond, Indiana to the east, Dolton to the west and Calumet City to the south.