Homes for sale in
Crestwood.

Crestwood was incorporated in 1928 and grew through the mid-twentieth century as a small residential village in Worth and Bremen townships in southern Cook County. For much of its modern history the village was defined politically by long-serving mayor Chester Stranczek and, later, his son Robert Stranczek. Under their leadership Crestwood became nationally known among small-government advocates for running a lean, low-cost municipal operation and for an unusual practice: rebating to residents a portion of their property and other municipal tax payments. The program returned tens of millions of dollars to taxpayers over the years and made Crestwood a frequently cited example of cheap local government.

That reputation was overtaken by a serious public-health scandal. In April 2009 the Chicago Tribune published an investigation reporting that a village well used to supply drinking water had been contaminated with chemicals, including compounds linked to dry-cleaning solvents. Village officials were accused of secretly using the contaminated well for years and concealing it from regulators. The matter generated class-action and wrongful-death lawsuits and federal investigations, and a former water supervisor was later convicted of lying to regulators. The legal costs tied to the water case ended Crestwood's signature tax-rebate program in 2009.