In the late 1950s, developer Jay Stream began to live out his dream of establishing a model community on a number of acres of farmland north of Wheaton. Jay Stream envisioned his Village to be made up of a mix of residential homes and light industrial businesses to help defray the tax burden for homeowners. In 1959, the Village was incorporated and named after Jay Stream's 14 year old daughter, Carol Stream, who had recently been involved in a serious automobile accident. Fortunately, Carol Stream recovered from the accident and has been able to see the Village, named after her, grow and prosper. Carol Stream now resides in Arizona but continues to visit her namesake.

The Village of Carol Stream remains the only Illinois community named after a living person. Ever since its incorporation, the Village of Carol Stream has grown and prospered, while continuing to bring a steady growth of industry to the Village, just as Jay Stream had envisioned. Also consistent with Jay Stream's vision is the well-planned orderly growth of the Village; with the east and southeastern portions of the Village developing into the economic base and the central and western portions of the Village comprised primarily of residential housing. Carol Stream boasts nearly 1,000 businesses and industries and over 15,000 dwelling units with a total 2000 population of 43,730. In addition, Carol Stream residents enjoy no municipal property tax