Dolton () is a village in Thornton Township,

Cook County, Illinois Cook County is the List of counties in Illinois, most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the List of the most populous counties in the United States, second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, C ...

, United States. The population was 21,426 at the 2020 census. Dolton is located just west of the expressway

Interstate 94 Interstate 94 (I-94) is an east–west Interstate Highway connecting the Great Lakes and northern Great Plains regions of the United States. Its western terminus is just east of Billings, Montana, at a junction with I-90; its eastern ter ...

and immediately south of the city limits of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. It is bordered by Chicago to the north, Riverdale and Harvey to the west,

South Holland South Holland ( ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.8 million as of January 2023 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely populated areas. ...

to the south, and

Calumet City Calumet City ( ) is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 36,033 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. History Calumet City (commonly referred to locally as "Cal City") was founded in 1893 ...

to the east.

History

A post office has been in operation in Dolton since 1854. The village was named for a family of early settlers. The villages of Dolton and nearby Riverdale were effectively one community until each incorporated separately in 1892.

Geography

In 2021, Dolton was an area of , of which (or 97.50%) is land and (or 2.50%) is water.

Surrounding areas

: Riverdale

: Harvey

: Harvey Unincorporated Thornton Township :

Demographics

In the 2020 census there were 21,426 people, 7,985 households, and 5,361 families in the village. The population density was . There were 8,768 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 90.69%

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 ...

, 3.25%

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 ...

, 0.17% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.01%

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 ...

, 2.62% from other races, and 3.04% 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 4.37% of the population. There were 7,985 households. 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them. 25.45% were married couples living together. 35.94% had a female householder with no husband present. 32.86% were non-families. 29.42% of all households were made up of individuals. 12.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.44. The average family size was 2.78. The village's age distribution consisted of 24.8% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 21.8% from 25 to 44, 27% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.5 males. The median income for a household in the village was $50,237. The median income for a family was $57,634. Males had a median income of $33,939 versus $33,354 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 $22,135. About 15.4% of families and 22.1% 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 42.8% of those under age 18 and 13.2% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Dolton Public Library opened in 1954. First located inside the Village Hall, it contained 5,000 books and magazines. The library moved to a new facility in 1967 and featured a collection of 35,000 books.

Parks and recreation

Dolton features over of recreational properties, and 11 parks. A recreational center contains a gymnasium and fitness room.

Government

Most of the village is part of the Dolton Park District, with a small portion served by the Calumet Memorial Park District. The entire village is part of the Dolton Public Library District and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District.Cook County Clerks Office

Mayors

Allegations of misspending and harassment

In November 2023, WGN News published a two-part series alleging widespread misspending and harassment of political opponents by the mayor, Tiffany Henyard. On February 20, 2024, it was reported that the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

had launched a probe into alleged misconduct by Mayor Henyard.

Education

The entire village is part of South Suburban Community College District 510.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Pace provides bus service on multiple routes connecting Dolton to destinations across the Southland. Metra's planned SouthEast Service will have a station in Dolton. The corridor previously had commuter train service that was operated by the

Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad The Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad was the owner of Dearborn Station in Chicago and the trackage leading to it. It was owned equally by five of the railroads using it to reach the terminal, and kept those companies from needing their ow ...

from 1904 to 1964.

Notable people

* Ronnie Baker Brooks, musician * Susan Carlson, broadcast journalist and news anchor *

Kevin Duckworth Kevin Jerome Duckworth (April 1, 1964 – August 25, 2008) was an American professional basketball player who played as center in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A native of Illinois, he played college basketball for the Eastern Ill ...

, professional basketball player *

Nelsan Ellis Nelsan Ellis (November 30, 1977 – July 8, 2017) was an American actor. He achieved critical acclaim for his portrayal of Lafayette Reynolds in the HBO television series '' True Blood'' (2008–2014), for which he won a Satellite Award f ...

, actor who played Lafayette Reynolds in ''

True Blood ''True Blood'' is an American fantasy Horror fiction, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball (screenwriter), Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', a series of novels ...

'' * Reggie Hayward, professional football player * Andrew Holmes, activist and politician * Perry Johnson, businessman *

Jane Lynch Jane Marie Lynch (born July 14, 1960) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. Known for playing starring and recurring roles in comedic television, her accolades include one Golden Globe, five Primetime Emmys and two Screen Actors Gui ...

, entertainer *

Derek Needham Derek Ryan Needham (born October 20, 1990) is an American-born naturalized Montenegrin professional basketball player for Beşiktaş Emlakjet of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). Standing at , he plays the point guard position. Needham played col ...

, professional basketball player *

Robert Prevost Pope Leo XIV (born Robert Francis Prevost, September 14, 1955) has been head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State since May 2025. He is the first pope to have been born in the United States and North America, the fir ...

, later known as

Pope Leo XIV Pope Leo XIV (born Robert Francis Prevost, September 14, 1955) has been head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State since May 2025. He is the first pope to have been born in the United States and North America, the fir ...

, 267th

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

of the Catholic Church; grew up in Dolton *

Richard Roeper Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American writer. He is a former columnist and film critic for the '' Chicago Sun-Times'', where he wrote for 39 years dating back to 1986 until his departure in 2025. He co-hosted the television s ...

, film critic; grew up in Dolton * William Shaw, Illinois state legislator and mayor of Dolton * R. Bruce Waddell, politician

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1893 establishments in Illinois Majority-minority cities and towns in Cook County, Illinois Populated places established in 1893 Villages in Cook County, Illinois Chicago metropolitan area Villages in Illinois Pope Leo XIV