Genoa is a city in the north-east corner of

DeKalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johan DeKalb: * DeKalb County, Alabama * DeKalb County, Georgia * DeKalb County, Illinois * DeKalb County, Indiana * DeKalb County, Missouri ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, United States. It is located on the historic Galena-Chicago stagecoach route. At the 2020 census the city had a population of 5,298, up from 5,193 in 2010.

History

Genoa was settled as early as 1835 by Thomas Madison, an

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

soldier from

Ashtabula County, Ohio Ashtabula County ( ) is the northeasternmost county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,574. The county seat is Jefferson. The county was created in 1808 and later organized in 1811. The name Ashtabula deriv ...

. He named Genoa after a town of the same name in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Genoa was incorporated as a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in 1876 and as a city on September 9, 1911.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Genoa has a total area of , of which (or 97.93%) is land and (or 2.07%) is water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 5,298 people, 1,919 households, and 1,251 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,993 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 78.84%

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, 0.91%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.42% Native American, 0.72%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 6.70% from

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, and 12.42% from two or more races.

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Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 18.89% of the population. There were 1,919 households, out of which 50.03% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.50% were married couples living together, 6.72% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.81% were non-families. 28.87% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.76% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.30 and the average family size was 2.65. The city's age distribution consisted of 18.9% under the age of 18, 11.9% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $72,795, and the median income for a family was $78,625. Males had a median income of $49,523 versus $28,125 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $31,563. About 6.8% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 8.0% of those under age 18 and 2.1% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Genoa is governed by a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

and eight-member

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. The city is divided into four

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, with two

aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members them ...

representing each ward. The mayor and aldermen serve four-year terms. The terms of the City Council are staggered such that one alderman from each ward is elected every two years.

City Council Members

''Term expiration indicated in parentheses'' * Mayor: Jonathon Brust (2025) * Ward 1: Christopher Pulley (2025) * Ward 1: Pam Wesner (2023) * Ward 2: Melissa Freund (2025) * Ward 2: James Stevenson (2023) * Ward 3: Charles(Chuck)Cravatta (2023) * Ward 3: Courtney Winter (2025) * Ward 4: Brent Holcomb (2023) * Ward 4: Katie Lang (2025) A

City Clerk A clerk is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in many others, the clerk is appointed to their post. In the UK, a Tow ...

is also elected

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

and serves a four-year term. The current city clerk is Kendra Braheny, whose term began in 2021.

Education

Genoa is part of the Genoa-Kingston (GK) School District with nearby village Kingston. The district has four Public Schools: Kingston Elementary School (Grades K-2), Genoa Elementary School (Grades 3-5), Genoa-Kingston Middle School (Grades 6-8) and Genoa-Kingston High School (Grades 9-12). The school district's mascot is a “Cog”, and the school sports teams are the G-K Cogs (Acronym for Community of Genoa Schools) with the colors being royal blue and orange.

Sports

Girls athletics include basketball, cheer leading, cross country, dance team, golf, soccer, softball, track and field, and volleyball. Boys athletics include football, baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, track and field, and wrestling. The town has three state championships to its name: the football team in 1977, the girls track team in 1989, and the girls volleyball team in 2022. Genoa-Kingston High School competes in the

Big Northern Conference The Big Northern Conference (BNC) is an organization of ten high schools in northern Illinois. These high schools are members of the Illinois High School Association. The high schools of the Big Northern Conference are located in the following ...

(BNC), while Genoa-Kingston Middle School competes in the Mid-Northern Conference (MNC).

Notable Person

* Edward D. Shurtleff, Illinois state legislator and jurist, was born in Genoa.'Illinois Blue Book 1909,' Biographical Sketch of Edward D. Shurtleff, pg. 202

References

External links

City website

{{authority control Cities in DeKalb County, Illinois Populated places established in 1835 Cities in Illinois