Peoria County, IL

Peoria County is located in the U.S. state of Illinois. The 2020 United States Census listed its population at 181,830. Its county seat is Peoria. Peoria County is part of the Peoria, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Peoria County was formed in 1825 out of Fulton County. It was named for the Peoria, an Illiniwek people who lived there. It included most of the western valley of the Illinois River up to the Chicago river portage.

Gallery timeline

File:Peoria County Illinois 1825.png, Peoria County at creation, with unorganized territory attached to it.White, Jesse. ''Origin and Evolution of Illinois Counties.'' State of Illinois, March 2010.

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File:Peoria County Illinois 1826.png, Peoria County 1826–1827. The newly created Mercer and Warren Counties were temporarily attached to Peoria.
File:Peoria County Illinois 1827.png, Peoria County 1827–1830. The creation of Tazewell County left Peoria with only a small tract of unorganized territory east of the Illinois River, whose border was not defined.
File:Peoria County Illinois 1830.png, In 1830, Warren County organized a government.
File:Peoria County Illinois 1831.png, In 1831, Peoria County's present borders were established and Mercer County was attached to Warren.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.8%) is water. The county is drained by Spoon River, Kickapoo Creek, Elbow Creek, and Copperas Creek.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Peoria have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1884 and a record high of was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in May.

Adjacent counties

* Knox County – northwest
* Stark County – north
* Marshall County – northeast
* Woodford County – east
* Tazewell County – south
* Fulton County – southwest

Transportation

Transit

* Greater Peoria Mass Transit District
* List of intercity bus stops in Illinois

Major highways

* Interstate 74 in Illinois
* Interstate 474
* U.S. Route 24 in Illinois
* U.S. Route 150 in Illinois
* Illinois Route 6
* Illinois Route 8
* Illinois Route 9
* Illinois Route 29
* Illinois Route 40
* Illinois Route 78
* Illinois Route 90
* Illinois Route 91
* Illinois Route 116
* Illinois Route 336 (Soon)

Defunct highways

* Illinois Route 174
* Illinois Route 175

Airports

* General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport (PIA), formerly Greater Peoria Regional Airport
* Mount Hawley Auxiliary Airport (3MY) – Peoria, Illinois

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 181,830 people, including 73,253 households. The population density was . There were 83,034 housing units at an average density of .

The racial makeup of the county was 73.5% white alone, 18.8% black or African American alone, 4.1% Asian alone, 0.4% American Indian alone, .1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, 3.1% listed two or more races, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, and 69.4% listed white with no Hispanic or Latino. In terms of ancestry, per the 2010 US Census, 28.3% were German, 14.8% were Irish, 10.4% were English, and 5.5% were American.

Of the 75,793 households, 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.1% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.7% were non-families, and 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.00. The median age was 36.8 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $49,747 and the median income for a family was $63,163. Males had a median income of $51,246 versus $32,881 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,157. About 10.3% of families and 14.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.8% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.

Points of interest

* Glasford crater
* Jubilee College State Park
* WMBD World's Most Beautiful Drive (Grandview Drive/Prospect)
* Forest Park Nature Center
* Peoria Heights Tower Park
* Rock Island Trail

Communities

Cities

* Chillicothe
* Elmwood
* Farmington (mostly in Fulton County)
* Pekin (mostly in Tazewell County)
* Peoria (seat)
* West Peoria

Villages

* Bartonville
* Bellevue
* Brimfield
* Dunlap
* Glasford
* Hanna City
* Kingston Mines
* Mapleton
* Norwood
* Peoria Heights (partly in Woodford County and Tazewell County)
* Princeville

Census-designated places

* Lake Camelot
* Mossville
* Rome
* Smithville
* Trivoli

Unincorporated communities

* Akron
* Alta
* Edelstein
* Eden
* Edwards
* Elmore
* Kickapoo
* Lake of the Woods
* Laura
* Mossville
* Trivoli

Townships

* Akron
* Brimfield
* Chillicothe
* Elmwood
* Hallock
* Hollis
* Jubilee
* Kickapoo
* Limestone
* Logan
* Medina
* Millbrook
* Peoria City
* Princeville
* Radnor
* Richwoods
* Rosefield
* Timber
* Trivoli
* West Peoria

School districts

Notable residents

People from Peoria County other than in the city of Peoria:
* Chris Brackett, host of ''Arrow Affliction'' on The Sportsman Channel
* Mike Dunne, pitcher for several Major League Baseball teams
* Mary Emma Holmes (1839-1937), reformer, suffragist, and educator
* Bill Krieg, Major League Baseball player
* Lance (Henry) LeGault, TV and movie actor: Colonel Roderick Decker on '' The A-Team''
* Zach McAllister, Major League Baseball player: Cleveland Indians pitcher
* Johnston McCulley, pulp fiction author: creator of Zorro
* Richard Pryor, Actor, Comedian
* David Ogden Stiers, actor, Major Charles Emerson Winchester III on ''M*A*S*H''
* Josh Taylor, TV actor: Chris Kostichek on the soap opera ''Days of Our Lives''
* Jim Thome, first baseman for several Major League Baseball teams

Government

Peoria County is governed by an 18-member County Board which meets on the second Thursday of each month. Each member represents a district with roughly 10,000 residents.

The County also elects an Auditor, Circuit Clerk, Coroner, County Clerk, Sheriff, State's Attorney, Regional Superintendent (Education), and Treasurer to four-year terms.

Politics

Prior to 1992, Peoria County, like most of central Illinois, was powerfully Republican. Usually, it only voted for Democratic Party presidential candidates when they won nationally by a landslide. It began trending away from the GOP in the mid-1980s, as evidenced when Ronald Reagan only carried it with 55 percent of the vote in 1984 even as he was winning reelection in a landslide nationally.

From 1992 onward, the county has backed the Democratic candidate in every presidential election, though never by a margin greater than 10 percent aside from 2008 when Illinoisan Barack Obama won it by nearly 14 points. This relative closeness in results was most evident in 2004 when the county backed John Kerry over George W. Bush by only 70 votes.

In Congress, Peoria County is represented by Democrat Cheri Bustos of Illinois's 17th congressional district and Republican Darin LaHood of the Illinois's 18th congressional district.

In the Illinois Senate, Peoria County is represented by Republican Win Stoller of the 37th Legislative District and Democrat Dave Koehler of the 46th Legislative District. In the Illinois House of Representatives, Peoria County is represented by Republican Ryan Spain of the 73rd Representative District, Republican Mark Luft of the 91st Representative District and Democrat Jehan Gordon-Booth of the 92nd Representative District.

See also

* National Register of Historic Places listings in Peoria County, Illinois

References

External links

{{Coord, 40.79, -89.76, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-IL_source:UScensus1990

Illinois counties
Illinois placenames of Native American origin
1825 establishments in Illinois
Populated places established in 1825
Peoria metropolitan area, Illinois