Arlington Heights is a village in Cook County, Illinois and a northwestern suburb of Chicago, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the village has a total population of 76,031. A 2003 recount gave the village a population of 76,422, the largest for a village in Illinois.

Arlington Heights is known for Arlington Park Race Track, home of the Arlington Million, a Breeders' Cup qualifying event; also hosted the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2002. It is also home to the Arlington Heights Memorial Library, which has one of the largest collections in the state, as well as the Metropolis Performing Arts Theatre and John Hersey High School.

A decision of the Arlington Heights Village Board to reject a rezoning request in 1971 was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, in Village of Arlington Heights v. Metropolitan Housing Development Corp., 429 U.S. 252 (1977). A religious order, the Clerics of St. Viator, had sought to rezone their land that was classified for single-family housing so that low and moderate income multi-family developments could be built. After the request was denied, the developer and three black individuals filed suit in federal court, claiming that the decision was racially motivated in violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Supreme Court rejected the challenge, because although racial minorities were disproportionately harmed by the decision, the record did not show any discriminatory intent on the part of the village.

Arlington Heights has experienced a recent boom in development of condominiums, restaurants and other businesses in the Central Business District or downtown area of Arlington Heights. Arlington Heights restaurants in downtown Arlington Heights have experienced the greatest success as a category of new businesses in the Central Business District. Although land and space is now limited in Arlington Heights; business development, community development and community design are key concerns of the Arlington Heights Chamber of Commerce with over 800 individual members and about 500 business members. The Village of Arlington Heights is also instrumental in business development, residential development and community development.

New construction of residential and commercial developments are hot topics in the local news. In the residential category, issues of noise, neighborhood style and character, drainage, and crowding of lots are issues that face residents, developers and village planners. Many houses are torn down or almost completely torn down to make way for new construction. In the commercial category, issues of noise, traffic, parking, retail and residential mix and financing are major issues. In February 2006, Arlington Heights Public School District 25 voted against extension of a tax increment financing (TIF) district, believing that the school district would not recoup funds lost from frozen property taxes. The failure of the TIF district to extend its deadline at the end of 2006, means a possible slowdown in commercial development in of the area within boundaries of the railroad tracks along Northwest Highway, Arlington Heights Road, Sigwalt Street and Chestnut Avenue in downtown Arlington Heights.