Livingston County, Illinois

{{Infobox U.S. county

| county = Livingston County

| state = Illinois

| seal =

| founded = 1837

| seat wl = Pontiac

| largest city wl = Pontiac

| area_total_sq_mi = 1046

| area_land_sq_mi = 1044

| area_water_sq_mi = 1.6

| area percentage = 0.2

| census yr = 2020

| pop = 35815

| pop_est_as_of = 2023

| population_est = 35664 {{loss}}

| density_sq_mi = auto

| time zone = Central

| footnotes =

| web = http://www.livingstoncounty-il.org/wordpress/

| ex image = Pontiac IL Livingston County Courthouse5.JPG

| ex image cap = Livingston County Courthouse

| district = 2nd

| district2 = 16th

| named for = Edward Livingston }}

Livingston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 35,815.{{cite web|title=US 2020 Census|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=livingston%20county,%20illinois&y=2020&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P1|publisher=United States Census Bureau}} Its county seat is Pontiac.{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|access-date=June 7, 2011|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties}} Livingston County comprises the Pontiac, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is combined with the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan statistical area as the Bloomington-Pontiac, IL Combined Statistical Area in upper portion of Central Illinois.

History

Livingston was established on February 27, 1837. It was formed from parts of McLean, LaSalle, and Iroquois counties, and named after Edward Livingston,{{cite book|last=Gannett|first=Henry|title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ|year=1905|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n132 188]}} a prominent politician who was mayor of New York City and represented New York in the United States House of Representatives and Louisiana in both houses of Congress. He later served as Andrew Jackson's Secretary of State and as Minister to France. Although he had no connections to Illinois, the General Assembly found him accomplished enough to name a county after him.

File:Livingston County Illinois 1837.png|Livingston County at the time of its creation in 1837

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of {{convert|1046|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|1044|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|1.6|sqmi}} (0.2%) is water. It is the fourth-largest county in Illinois by land area.

=Climate and weather=

{{climate chart

|Pontiac, Illinois

|14|30|1.63

|18|36|1.44

|29|48|2.82

|39|62|3.41

|50|73|3.83

|60|82|4.11

|64|85|4.07

|62|83|3.56

|54|77|3.04

|42|65|2.67

|31|49|3.02

|20|35|2.51

|float=right

|units=imperial

|clear=both

|source=The Weather Channel{{cite web

|url=http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USIL0960

|title=Monthly Averages for Pontiac, Illinois

|access-date=January 27, 2011

|publisher=The Weather Channel

}}}}

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Pontiac have ranged from a low of {{convert|14|°F|1}} in January to a high of {{convert|85|°F|1}} in July, although a record low of {{convert|-24|°F|1}} was recorded in January 1927 and a record high of {{convert|108|°F|1}} was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from {{convert|1.44|in|mm|1}} in February to {{convert|4.11|in|mm|1}} in June.

=Transit=

=Major highways=

{{jct|state=IL|I|55}}
{{jct|state=IL|US|24}}
{{jct|state=IL|IL|17}}
{{jct|state=IL|IL|18}}
{{jct|state=IL|IL|23}}
{{jct|state=IL|IL|47}}
{{jct|state=IL|IL|116}}
{{jct|state=IL|IL|170}}

=Adjacent counties=

LaSalle County - northwest
Grundy County - north
Kankakee County - northeast
Ford County - southeast
McLean County - southwest
Woodford County - west

Demographics

{{US Census population

|1840= 759

|1850= 1552

|1860= 11637

|1870= 31471

|1880= 38450

|1890= 38455

|1900= 42035

|1910= 40465

|1920= 39070

|1930= 39092

|1940= 38838

|1950= 37809

|1960= 40341

|1970= 40690

|1980= 41381

|1990= 39301

|2000= 39678

|2010= 38950

|2020= 35815

|estyear=2023

|estimate=35320

|estref={{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.html|title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 2, 2024}}

|align-fn=center

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=U.S. Decennial Census|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=July 6, 2014}}
1790-1960{{cite web|url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu|title=Historical Census Browser|publisher=University of Virginia Library|access-date=July 6, 2014}} 1900-1990{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/il190090.txt|title=Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=July 6, 2014}}
1990-2000{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327165705/http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-date=March 27, 2010 |url-status=live|title=Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=July 6, 2014}} 2010-2013

}}

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 38,950 people, 14,613 households, and 9,741 families residing in the county.{{cite web

|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/DPDP1/0500000US17105

|title=DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data

|access-date=July 12, 2015

|publisher=United States Census Bureau

|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213022855/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/DPDP1/0500000US17105

|archive-date=February 13, 2020

|url-status=dead

}} The population density was {{convert|37.3|PD/sqmi}}. There were 15,895 housing units at an average density of {{convert|15.2|/sqmi}}.{{cite web

|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/GCTPH1.CY10/0500000US17105

|access-date=July 12, 2015

|title=Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County

|publisher=United States Census Bureau

|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212203159/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/GCTPH1.CY10/0500000US17105

|archive-date=February 12, 2020

|url-status=dead

}} The racial makeup of the county was 91.8% white, 4.9% black or African American, 0.5% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 1.3% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.9% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 36.6% were German, 17.2% were Irish, 11.2% were American, 10.7% were English, and 5.1% were Italian.{{cite web

|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP02/0500000US17105

|title=DP02 Selected Social Characteristics in the United States – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates

|access-date=July 12, 2015

|publisher=United States Census Bureau

|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213030506/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP02/0500000US17105

|archive-date=February 13, 2020

|url-status=dead

}}

Of the 14,613 households, 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.3% were non-families, and 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.98. The median age was 40.8 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $50,500 and the median income for a family was $60,933. Males had a median income of $44,639 versus $32,234 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,259. About 9.1% of families and 11.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.4% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.{{cite web

|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP03/0500000US17105

|title=DP03 Selected Economic Characteristics – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates

|access-date=July 12, 2015

|publisher=United States Census Bureau

|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213030120/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP03/0500000US17105

|archive-date=February 13, 2020

|url-status=dead

}}

Communities

=Cities=

=Town=

Chatsworth

=Villages=

=Townships=

Livingston County is divided into thirty townships:

=Unincorporated communities=

Government and infrastructure

The Illinois Department of Corrections operates two prisons in the county.

Pontiac Correctional Center is located in Pontiac."[http://www.idoc.state.il.us/subsections/facilities/information.asp?instchoice=pon Pontiac Correctional Center]." Illinois Department of Corrections. Retrieved on September 1, 2010. Pontiac houses the male death row. Prior to the January 11, 2003, commutation of death row sentences, male death row inmates were housed in Pontiac, Menard, and Tamms correctional centers."[http://www.idoc.state.il.us/subsections/news/doc_report/archive/doc_report_online_03_07_03.shtml DOC Report Online] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718225214/http://www.idoc.state.il.us/subsections/news/doc_report/archive/doc_report_online_03_07_03.shtml |date=2011-07-18 }}." Illinois Department of Corrections. Retrieved on September 1, 2010. Dwight Correctional Center is within Nevada Township in an unincorporated area in the county."[http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/MapItDrawServlet?geo_id=16000US1721358&_bucket_id=50&tree_id=420&context=saff&_lang=en&_sse=on Dwight village, Illinois]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on September 1, 2010."[http://www.idoc.state.il.us/subsections/facilities/information.asp?instchoice=dwi Dwight Correctional Center]." Illinois Department of Corrections. Retrieved on September 1, 2001.

The Dwight Correctional Center is currently unoccupied and was closed in 2013.

=Politics=

Although it was solidly Democratic before 1856, Livingston has since always been a powerfully Republican county. The solitary Democrat to win a majority of the county's vote since the Civil War has been Franklin D. Roosevelt in his 1932 landslide triumph over Herbert Hoover. Apart from that and the 1912 election when Woodrow Wilson won against a mortally divided Republican Party, Livingston has always voted Republican since that party was founded in 1856. Since 1940, only Lyndon Johnson in his 1964 landslide victory over the conservative Barry Goldwater has won more than forty percent of the county's vote.

{{PresHead|place=Livingston County, Illinois|source={{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|first=David|last=Leip|website=uselectionatlas.org}}}}

Notable residents

Donald Attig, businessman and adventurer.
Libbie Beach Brown (1858-1924), philanthropist and temperance activist{{cite book |last1=Willard |first1=Frances Elizabeth |author1-link=Frances Willard |last2=Livermore |first2=Mary Ashton Rice |author2-link=Mary Livermore |title=A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life |year=1893 |publisher=Charles Wells Moulton |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Woman_of_the_Century/Libbie_Beach_Hoel |page=383 |chapter=HOEL, Mrs. Libbie Beach }} {{Source-attribution}}
Calistus Bruer, Illinois state representative and farmer'Illinois Blue Book 199-1950,' Biographical Sketch of Calistus Bruer, pg. 164-165
M. C. Eignus, Illinois state representative'Official Directory of the Forty-Second General Assembly of Illinois-1901,' Talbot & Hamman, Springfield, Illinois: 1865, Biographical Sketch of M. C. Eignus, pg. 65
Moira Harris, actress and wife of Gary Sinise.{{cite web|url=http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2006/10/illinois_hall_o_6.html|title=Illinois Hall of Fame: Gary Sinese|last=Rhoads|first=Mark|date=October 7, 2006|website=Illinois Review|publisher=Dennis LaComb|access-date=May 28, 2017}}
William Harris, first President of the Illinois Senate.'William C. Harris-obituary,' Chicago Tribune, January 2, 2005'Illinois Blue Book 1975-1976,' Biographical Sketch of William C. Harris, pg. 146
Irene Hunt, Newbery Medal-winning author.
Francis Townsend, physician and political activist whose advocacy for an old age revolving pension influenced the creation of the U.S. Social Security program.{{cite web|url=http://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/eras/great-depression/townsend-dr-francis/|title=Townsend, Dr. Francis|date=January 21, 2011 |publisher=Virginia Commonwealth University|access-date=May 28, 2017}}
Skottie Young, comic book artist known for the Oz series. He was born and raised in Fairbury.{{cite web|url=http://www.bcrnews.com/2011/08/08/the-wonderful-world-of-young/atiu1pb/?page=382|title=The Wonderful World of Young|last=Kromphardt|first=Barb|date=April 26, 2011|newspaper=Shaw Media (United States): Bureau County Republican|location=Princeton, Illinois|access-date=May 28, 2017|archive-date=December 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213230722/http://www.bcrnews.com/2011/08/08/the-wonderful-world-of-young/atiu1pb/?page=382|url-status=dead}}

Livingston County, Illinois

History

Geography

=Climate and weather=

=Transit=

=Major highways=

=Adjacent counties=

Demographics

Communities

=Cities=

=Town=

=Villages=

=Townships=

=Unincorporated communities=

Government and infrastructure

=Politics=

Notable residents

See also

References

Further reading