UIC News Release
May as well give UIC a little plug, since I work there:
Study Finds McHenry, Will Counties Lead Nation in Homeownership

Two of Chicago's collar counties -- McHenry and Will -- lead the nation in homeownership rates, according to a report by University of Illinois at Chicago researchers. Owner-occupied units make up 85 and 84 percent, respectively, of housing in these counties, compared to a national average of 69 percent. The other three collar counties -- Lake, Kane and DuPage -- ranked 19, 21 and 29 among 230 counties nationally for which data were available. Cook County, the metropolitan core, ranked at only 188, with 61 percent owner-occupied units. Other large urban counties had similar rankings. Such widespread homeownership in outlying areas implies that sprawl is caused by low land prices and growing prosperity rather than by highway expansion, according to Siim Soot, director emeritus of UIC's Urban Transportation Center, and Joseph DiJohn, director of the Metropolitan Transportation Support Initiative at the center.