Administrative divisions of Illinois

{{see also|Government of Cook County, Illinois|List of counties in Illinois}}

The basic subdivisions of Illinois are the 102 counties.{{sfn|Census|2007|p=89}} Cook County is the only home rule county.{{sfn|Gove|1996|p=156}}

{{see also|List of Illinois townships|List of precincts in Illinois}}

Of the 102 counties, 85 are divided into townships.{{sfn|Census|2007|p=89}}{{sfn|Census|2007|p=89}} The remaining 17 counties are divided into 261 precincts, instead of townships.{{cite web| url =http://www.ilsos.gov/isa/localgovnameindexsrch.jsp| title = Name Index to Illinois Local Governments| author = Illinois Regional Archives Depository System| work = Illinois State Archives| publisher = Illinois Secretary of State|access-date=11 November 2013}} In addition, all governmental functions were removed from townships in Chicago by a mayoral proclamation in 1902.{{Cite book | title = Township: Diffusion and Persistence of Grassroots Government in Illinois, 1850-2000 | author-first = Michael D. | author-last = Sublett | publisher = Peter Lang | year = 2004| url = https://books.google.com/books/about/Township.html?id=nIf8OdoGShIC&pg=PA112 | page = 112 | isbn = 9780820470559 }}

For several cities in Illinois, including Springfield and Cicero, the township and municipal governments are carried out by the same governing body.

{{see also|Government of Chicago|List of municipalities in Illinois}}

Municipal governments are the cities, villages, and incorporated towns.{{sfn|Census|2007|p=89}} The minimum size for incorporation as a city is 2,500, and the minimum size for incorporation as a village varies by the county population.{{sfn|Census|2007|p=89}} Municipalities having a population above 25,000 automatically have home rule status, whereas smaller municipalities have the option via referendums.{{sfn|Census|2007|p=89}}

{{see also|List of school districts in Illinois}}

Illinois has several types of school districts:{{sfn|Census|2007|p=89}}

• Chicago Public Schools
• Common school districts
• Community college districts (the Illinois Community College System)
• Community high school districts
• Community unit school districts
• Non-high school districts
• Special charter school districts
• Township high school districts

Elected boards of education and boards of trustees (in the case of community college districts) govern these districts, except for the Chicago Public Schools and the City Colleges of Chicago, for which the boards are appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the Chicago City Council, and the special charter districts, which may have elected or appointed boards.{{sfn|Census|2007|p=89}} The Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) is the administrative agency with responsibility for overseeing all higher education in Illinois. With regards to the Illinois Community College System, the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) is the state coordinating board for community colleges.

Area vocational centers and special education cooperatives may be formed by joint agreement between two or more school districts.{{sfn|Census|2007|p=89}} A board consisting of representatives of each participating school district governs each entity of these two types.{{sfn|Census|2007|p=89}} Educational service regions replaced the former county school units administered by county superintendents.{{sfn|Census|2007|p=89}} Each region originally served one county but now may serve multiple counties because of minimum population requirements.{{sfn|Census|2007|p=89}} Each region is headed by a regional superintendent of schools and is also governed by a regional board of trustees; the latter deal primarily with district boundary changes.{{sfn|Census|2007|p=89}} Township land commissioners manage school lands and funds in certain counties.{{sfn|Census|2007|p=89}} Educational service centers are established by the state board of education and function primarily to coordinate and provide special and ordinary services to affiliated school districts.{{sfn|Census|2007|p=90}} These service centers are governed by boards consisting of members appointed by the regional superintendent.{{sfn|Census|2007|p=90}}

{{Main|Special districts in Illinois}}

Special purpose districts in Illinois are forms of local government that are responsible for a narrow set of responsibilities. Illinois has the most special purpose districts of any U.S. state. The exact number depends on how one defines a “special purpose district.” The United States Census Bureau has determined that Illinois has 3,227 special purpose governments as of June 30, 2012.{{cite report|editor-last=Owens|editor-first=Stephen D.|date=September 2013|title=2012 Census of Governments: Individual State Descriptions|chapter-url=https://www2.census.gov/govs/cog/2012isd.pdf|publisher=United States Census Bureau|location=Suitland, Maryland|chapter=Illinois|pages=80–89|access-date=June 2, 2017}} The Office of the Illinois Comptroller, which uses a broader definition that includes special districts without budget autonomy, determined the state has 4,755 as of December 2015.

{{Portal|Chicago|Illinois}}

• List of census-designated places in Illinois
• List of unincorporated communities in Illinois

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• {{citation|title=Individual State Descriptions: 2007|series=2007 Census of Governments|date=November 2012|publisher=United States Census Bureau|url=http://www2.census.gov/govs/cog/isd_book.pdf|ref={{harvid|Census|2007}}}}
• {{cite book|title=Illinois Politics and Government: The Expanding Metropolitan Frontier|first=Samuel Kimball|last=Gove|year=1996|series=Politics and Governments of the American States|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|isbn=0-8032-7014-3|lccn=95-46017|url=https://archive.org/details/illinoispolitics0000gove|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/illinoispolitics0000gove/page/156 156]}}

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{{Administrative divisions of the United States by state}}

{{Illinois}}

{{United States topic

|title = Local government in the United States by political division

|prefix = Local government in

}}

Illinois