Arlington Heights is a village located in Cook County, Illinois and a northwestern suburb of Chicago. 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.

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 Metropolis Performing Arts Theatre and highly regarded John Hersey High School. Soccer player Brian McBride lives in and grew up in this town.

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.