Cahokia Heights is a
city
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
in
St. Clair County, Illinois
St. Clair County is the ninth most populous county in Illinois. Located directly east of St. Louis, the county is part of the Metro East region of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area in southern Illinois. As of the 2020 United States ...
, United States. It was founded on May 6, 2021, by the merger of the
village
A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
s of
Cahokia
Cahokia Mounds ( 11 MS 2) is the site of a Native American city (which existed 1050–1350 CE) directly across the Mississippi River from present-day St. Louis. The state archaeology park lies in south-western Illinois between East St. L ...
and
Alorton and the city of
Centreville
Centreville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, D.C., the nation's capital. It had a population of 73,518, making it the most-populous community in Fairfax County as of t ...
.
Curtis McCall Sr. has served as the city's first mayor since 2021.
History
The formation of Cahokia Heights was part of a campaign and four-phase plan called "Better Together".
Curtis McCall Sr.,
Centreville Township Supervisor, led the consolidation efforts. His son Curtis McCall Jr. was mayor (village president) of Cahokia at the time;
the mayor (village president) of Alorton, and clerk, cashier was JoAnne Reed;
and the mayor of Centreville was Marius "Mark" Jackson; all were proponents of the merger.
In the first phase of the plan
was a March 2020 referendum to merge Alorton and Centreville, into a city named Alcentra, which passed by about 76% in each. The second phase of the plan
was another referendum, held in November 2020, for Alorton, Cahokia, Centreville to merge into a city named Cahokia Heights.
The referendum merging the 3 municipalities was approved, 61% to 37%, in the November 3, 2020, election.
The third and fourth phases were advertised as dissolving
Centreville Township and the Commonfields of Cahokia district.
The referendum to dissolve the Commonfields of Cahokia Public Water District passed with 82% approval in the April 2021 election. In the same election, voters of Cahokia Heights passed referendums to grant
home rule
Home rule is the government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governan ...
to the city, to extend the Cahokia Public Library District across the city, and elect McCall Sr. as mayor.
Geography
Climate
The climate is classified as
continental
Continental may refer to:
Places
* Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US
* Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US
Arts and entertainment
* ''Continental'' (album), an album by Saint Etienne
* Continen ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''Dfa''), bordering on
subtropical
The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...
(Köppen ''Cfa'').
Adjacent communities
Demographics
The
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
began surveying Cahokia Heights in the 2023
American Community Survey
The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...
listing a population of 17,173.
Education
Cahokia Unit School District 187 operates public schools, while some areas are served by
East St. Louis School District 189.
Transportation
Cahokia Heights is home to the
St. Louis Downtown Airport, a
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...
facility.
Metro operates the #2 bus route to
East St. Louis, Illinois
East St. Louis, also known as ESTL, is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. It is directly across the Mississippi River from downtown St. Louis, Missouri, and the Gateway Arch National Park. East St. Louis is in the Metro East ...
, where connections can be made to the MetroLink light rail to
St. Louis
St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
.
References
{{Authority control
Cities in St. Clair County, Illinois
2021 establishments in Illinois
Cities in Illinois
Populated places established in 2021