Coal City is a village in Grundy and

Will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

Counties in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. It is considered a fringe town of the

Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities. ...

. The population was 5,705 at the 2020 census.

History

Coal City was incorporated in 1870, named for

coal mines Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

in the vicinity that were built following the 1820 discovery of large coal reserves. During the 20th century, coal mining operations in the area declined, with the local economy being driven more by growth in manufacturing and the construction of nearby power plants, including

Dresden Nuclear Power Plant Dresden Generating Station (also known as Dresden Nuclear Power Plant or Dresden Nuclear Power Station) is the first privately financed nuclear power plant built in the United States. Dresden 1 was activated in 1960 and retired in 1978. Operatin ...

and Braidwood Nuclear Generating Station.

2013 tornado

A tornado passed through Coal City damaging a number of homes during the

tornado outbreak of November 17, 2013 On November 17, 2013, the deadliest and costliest November tornado outbreak in Illinois history took shape, becoming the fourth-largest for the state overall. With more than 30 tornadoes in Indiana, it was that state's largest tornado outbreak f ...

. The

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...

rated the tornado an EF2. The max wind speed was rated at 122 miles per hour, with a reported path length of 12.9 miles. 3 injuries would be recorded.

2015 tornado

A confirmed EF3 tornado passed through Coal City during the outbreak of storms and tornadoes on Monday, June 22, 2015. The tornado touched down near

Morris, Illinois Morris is a city in and the county seat of Grundy County, Illinois, Grundy County, Illinois, United States and part of the southwest Chicago metropolitan area. The population was 14,163 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A team of ...

, before entering Coal City, damaging and destroying a number of homes and businesses. According to the National Weather Service, winds reached 160 miles per hour as the tornado touched down, making it the most powerful tornado to hit the region since the Plainfield, IL tornado in August 1990.

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Coal City has a total area of , of which (or 98.11%) is land and (or 1.89%) is water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 5,705 people, 1,939 households, and 1,297 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 2,418 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 91.15%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.60%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.39% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.00%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.31% from other races, and 6.22% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 7.03% of the population. There were 1,939 households, out of which 39.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.03% were married couples living together, 9.85% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.11% were non-families. 28.21% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.33% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.99 and the average family size was 2.55. The village's age distribution consisted of 27.7% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 109.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.7 males. The median income for a household in the village was $75,108, and the median income for a family was $97,695. Males had a median income of $66,654 versus $40,755 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $36,011. About 3.9% of families and 6.1% 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 ...

, including 4.1% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Coal City is served by Unit School District 1. There are five schools and a unit office in the school district. The Coal City Early Childhood Center services grades PK through 1st. The Coal City Elementary School services grades 2 and 3. The Coal City Intermediate School serves grades 4 and 5. Coal City Middle School has grades 6–8.

Coal City High School Coal City High School is a four-year high school in north-central Illinois. At last count, the school had 650 students, and is a member of the Illinois High School Association and the Illinois Central Eight Conference. Coal City High School has ...

has grades 9–12. Coal City is the home of the

2010 IHSA State Champion Softball team. Coal City also won a state championship in football in 1993.

Transportation

It is served by

Interstate 55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The ...

. The

Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Railroad classes, Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight tra ...

formerly served Coal City at Coal City Station.

Notable people

* John R. Fronek, member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

and farmer; lived in Coal City *

William E. Somerville William E. Somerville (12 April 1869 – 25 September 1950) was a Scottish-American aircraft engineer. Early life William E. Sommervile's father was a mechanical engineer in Scotland. Sommerville studied as a marine engineer in Scotland. Somer ...

, early aviation engineer, businessman and mayor.

References in popular culture

The little town of Coal City was mentioned in the classic comedy ''

The Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers (formally, The Fabulous Blues Brothers’ Show Band and Revue) are an American blues and soul music, soul revue band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, who met and began collaborating as original cast ...

''. Elwood Blues (as played by

Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Aykroyd was a writer and an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" cast on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Nigh ...

) explains that his brother Jake (

John Belushi John Adam Belushi ( ; January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, singer and musician. He was one of seven ''Saturday Night Live'' cast members of the first season. He was arguably the most popular member of the ''Satur ...

) was in prison for holding up a gas station, and then says "He pulled that job to pay for the band's room service tab from that Kiwanis gig in Coal City." For years residents of Coal City wondered if Aykroyd really said "Coal City" or said "Cal City" (a nickname for Calumet City, a much bigger city in Illinois). However, when watching the DVD of Blues Brothers with

subtitles Subtitles are texts representing the contents of the audio in a film, television show, opera or other audiovisual media. Subtitles might provide a transcription or translation of spoken dialogue. Although naming conventions can vary, caption ...

on, the text says "Coal City." The

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and musician. Known for Steve Martin filmography, his work in comedy films, television, and #Discography, recording, he has received List of awards a ...

and

John Candy John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canadian actor and comedian who is best known for his work in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood films. Candy first rose to national prominence in the 1970s as a member of the Tor ...

comedy, '' Planes, Trains & Automobiles'', was partially filmed in Coal City and other nearby towns.

References

External links

Village of Coal City
{{Authority control * Villages in Grundy County, Illinois Villages in Will County, Illinois Villages in Illinois