Of the 102 counties of the state of

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 ...

, 84 are organized into civil townships, usually referred to as simply "townships" in state law. Illinois has 1,428 such townships. The legal name of each township is the form "___ Township" or "Town of ____". State law specifies that no two townships in Illinois shall have the same name, and that, if the

Illinois Secretary of State The Secretary of State of Illinois is one of the six elected executive state offices of the government of Illinois, and one of the 47 secretaries of states in the United States. The Illinois Secretary of State keeps the state records, laws, libr ...

compares the township abstracts and finds a duplicate, the county that last adopted the name shall instead adopt a different name at the next

county board A county board is a common form of county legislature, particular of counties in the United States. Related forms of county government include: * Board of Supervisors — a form of county legislature in some U.S. states * County commission, ...

meeting. Nonetheless, many township names remain duplicates in Illinois.

Other forms

Cook County is organized into townships except for the city of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

: in 1902, voters in Chicago chose to abolish the eight townships in the city. There are 17 counties with no township government: Alexander,

Calhoun John C. Calhoun (1782–1850) was the 7th vice president of the United States. Calhoun can also refer to: Surname * Calhoun (surname) Inhabited places in the United States *Calhoun, Georgia *Calhoun, Illinois *Calhoun, Kansas *Calhoun, Kentucky ...

Edwards Edwards may refer to: People * Edwards (surname) * Edwards family, a prominent family from Chile * Edwards Barham (1937-2014), a former member of the Louisiana State Senate * Edwards Pierrepont (1817–1892), an American attorney, jurist, and ora ...

, Hardin,

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

, Massac,

Menard Menard may refer to: Places Canada *Menard River, a tributary of the Wawagosic River in Quebec, Canada United States * Menard County, Illinois ** Menard, Illinois * Menard County, Texas ** Menard, Texas * Menard–Hodges site, archaeological s ...

, Monroe,

Morgan Morgan may refer to: People and fictional characters * Morgan (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Morgan le Fay, a powerful witch in Arthurian legend * Morgan (surname), a surname of Welsh origin * Morgan (singer), ...

, Perry,

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, Pulaski,

Randolph Randolph may refer to: Places In the United States * Randolph, Alabama, an unincorporated community * Randolph, Arizona, a populated place * Randolph, California, a village merged into the city of Brea * Randolph, Illinois, an unincorporated commun ...

Scott Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Saska ...

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

, Wabash, and Williamson. Each of those counties is instead divided into

precincts Precinct may refer to: * An electoral precinct * A police precinct * A religious precinct * A shopping precinct or shopping mall ** A Pedestrian zone Places * A neighborhood, in Australia * A unit of public housing in Singapore * A former elec ...

Organization and naming

The operation of townships in Illinois is established primarily by the . Each county has the option to adopt or discontinue the township form of government. Each township name is chosen by "in accordance with the express wish of the inhabitants"; but if "there is not a degree of unanimity as to the name", then the name may be chosen by the commissioners that are dividing the county into townships. In addition, if the

is petitioned by a majority of the township's voters, the board may change the township's name. Each township is governed by an elected board, which consists of a "supervisor" plus four "trustees". There are special provisions for automatic creation of a township in any city or village where township organization has been chosen for the county but some of the municipality's territory does not yet have an organized township; for consolidating the territory of a city across multiple townships into a single township for the city at the voters' request; and for creating an optional "coterminous" township that follow the borders of a city in most circumstances and allows the

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

to act as the township board.

Powers

enumerates general services that townships are allowed to spend money on: * Public safety (including law enforcement, fire protection, and building code enforcement). * Environmental protection (including sewage disposal, sanitation, and pollution abatement). * Public transportation (including transit systems, paratransit systems, and streets and roads). * Health. * Recreation. * Libraries. * Social services for the poor and aged. * Development and retention of business, industrial, manufacturing, and tourist facilities within the township. Other parts of authorize townships to provide cemeteries, comfort stations, community buildings, hospitals, monuments, open spaces, parks, facilities for the

developmentally disabled Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions, comprising mental or physical impairments that arise before adulthood. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, espe ...

, and disposal of brush and leaves. After approval by a referendum, a township may also provide

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

and sewer services and general waste collection.

Townships

Coterminous townships

Several townships in Illinois are coterminous, each having boundaries identical to an

incorporated municipality A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally owne ...

. Also called "townships within a city" or a "coterminous municipality," conterminous townships are governed by the state'
Township Code
and granted additional privileges and powers. Those privileges and powers include the ability to combine township offices and city offices except that of township supervisor whose role then becomes supervisor of general assistance, the ability for the city council to exercise all of the powers of the township board, and the ability to unilaterally annex small portion of adjacent township territory. Some townships are ''functionally'' coterminous, in which a city completely encompasses their boundaries, but also includes additional territory of adjacent townships. Examples of functionally coterminous municipalities include Granite City Township, Madison County; City of Peoria Township, Peoria County; and Capital Township, Sangamon County. These townships retain coterminous status as it relates to the function and structure of their local government - for instance, Capital Township's roads are maintained by the Springfield Department of Public Works as opposed to a township highway commission. However, unlike physically conterminous municipalities, functional coterminous municipalities can not unilaterally annex small portions of adjacent township territory, and must follow the regular annexation process laid out in th
Illinois Municipal Code
, coterminous townships included: * Alton Township, Madison County ( Alton, Illinois) * Berwyn Township, Cook County ( Berwyn, Illinois) * Champaign City Township, Champaign County (

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropo ...

) * Bloomington City Township, McLean County (

Bloomington, Illinois Bloomington is a city and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area. Bloomington ...

) * Cicero Township, Cook County (

Cicero, Illinois Cicero (originally known as Hawthorne) is a suburb of Chicago and an Incorporated town#Illinois, incorporated town in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was ...

) * Cunningham Township, Champaign County (

Urbana, Illinois Urbana ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. As of the 2010 United States Census, Urbana is the List of municipalities in Illinois, 38th-most pop ...

) * East St. Louis Township, St. Clair County ( East St. Louis, Illinois) * Freeport Township, Stephenson County ( Freeport, Illinois) * Galesburg Township, Knox County (

Galesburg, Illinois Galesburg is a city in Knox County, Illinois, United States. The city is northwest of Peoria. At the 2010 census, its population was 32,195. It is the county seat of Knox County and the principal city of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical ...

) * Godfrey City Township, Madison County (

Godfrey, Illinois Godfrey is a village in Madison County, Illinois, United States. The population was 17,982 at the 2010 census. Godfrey is located within the Riverbend portion of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. Geography Godfrey is located at (38.948097 ...

) * Macomb City Township, McDonough County ( Macomb, Illinois) * Oak Park Township, Cook County (

Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, adjacent to Chicago. It is the 29th-most populous municipality in Illinois with a population of 54,583 as of the 2020 U.S. Census estimate. Oak Park was first settled in 1835 and later incorporated in ...

) * Quincy Township, Adams County (

Quincy, Illinois Quincy ( ), known as Illinois's "Gem City", is a city in and the county seat of Adams County, Illinois, United States, located on the Mississippi River. The 2020 census counted a population of 39,463 in the city itself, down from 40,633 in 2010. ...

) * River Forest Township, Cook County ( River Forest, Illinois) * Warsaw Township, Hancock County (

Warsaw, Illinois Warsaw is a city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,607 at the 2010 census, a decline from 1,793 in 2000. The city is notable for its historic downtown and the Warsaw Brewery, which operated for more than 100 years be ...

) * Zion Township, Lake County ( Zion, Illinois)

Former townships

* Belleville Township, St. Clair County — Dissolved at the end of May 2017, under a new , with the approval of ordinances by the township in January 2016 and its co-terminous municipality, the City of Belleville, in May 2016. * Evanston Township, Cook County — formed as Ridgeville Township in 1850; boundaries changed and renamed Evanston Township in 1857; dissolved in May 2017 and functions transferred to City of Evanston * Hyde Park Township, Cook County — created in 1861; annexed into Chicago in 1889 * Jefferson Township, Cook County — created in 1850; annexed into Chicago in 1889 * Lake Township, Cook County — created in 1850; annexed into Chicago in 1889 * Lake View Township, Cook County — formed from part of Ridgeville Township in 1857;annexed into Chicago in 1889 * Milam Township, Macon County — merged into neighboring Mount Zion Township, Macon County in 2009. *

North Chicago North Chicago is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of the Chicago metropolitan area. The population was 30,759 at the 2020 census making it the 2nd largest city by population in the county, after Waukegan. North Chica ...

, South Chicago, and West Chicago Townships, Cook County, formed in the 1840s within Chicago, abolished 1902 * Ridgeville Township, Cook County — ''see Evanston Township in this list'' * Rocky Run Township, Hancock County * Salisbury Township, Sangamon County — In 1989, Salisbury Township was extinguished and its territory annexed to Fancy Creek and Gardner townships. * South Fillmore Township, Montgomery County * Wilcox Township, Hancock County

References

External links

Census 2000 Gazetteer

National Association of Towns and Townships

Township Officials of Illinois
{{U.S. civil townships * Townships