Livingston County, Illinois

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Livingston County, Illinois
Livingston County Courthouse
Location in the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois's location in the U.S.
Founded	1837
Named for	Edward Livingston
Seat	Pontiac
Largest city	Streator
Area
• Total	1,046 sq mi (2,709 km2)
• Land	1,044 sq mi (2,704 km2)
• Water	1.6 sq mi (4 km2), 0.2%
Population
• (2010)	38,950
• Density	37/sq mi (14/km2)
Congressional district	16th
Time zone	Central: UTC−6/−5
Website	www.livingstoncounty-il.org/wordpress/

Livingston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 38,950.^[1] Its county seat is Pontiac.^[2]

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.

Contents

• 
  1 History
  


• 
  2 Geography
  
  • 
    2.1 Climate and weather
    
  
  
  • 
    2.2 Major highways
    
  
  
  • 
    2.3 Adjacent counties
    
  
  


• 
  3 Demographics
  


• 
  4 Communities
  
  • 
    4.1 Cities
    
  
  
  • 
    4.2 Town
    
  
  
  • 
    4.3 Villages
    
  
  
  • 
    4.4 Townships
    
  
  


• 
  5 Government and infrastructure
  
  • 
    5.1 Politics
    
  
  


• 
  6 Notable residents
  


• 
  7 See also
  


• 
  8 Notes
  


• 
  9 References
  


• 
  10 Further reading
  

History

Livingston was established on February 27, 1837. It was formed from parts of McLean, LaSalle, and Iroquois counties, and named after Edward Livingston,^[3] 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.

• 
  

  

  
  

  
  

  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 1,046 square miles (2,710 km²), of which 1,044 square miles (2,700 km²) is land and 1.6 square miles (4.1 km²) (0.2%) is water.^[4] It is the fourth-largest county in Illinois by land area.

Climate and weather

Pontiac, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     1.6     30 14     1.4     36 18     2.8     48 29     3.4     62 39     3.8     73 50     4.1     82 60     4.1     85 64     3.6     83 62     3     77 54     2.7     65 42     3     49 31     2.5     35 20 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel[5]
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     41     −1 −10     37     2 −8     72     9 −2     87     17 4     97     23 10     104     28 16     103     29 18     90     28 17     77     25 12     68     18 6     77     9 −1     64     2 −7 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Pontiac have ranged from a low of 14 °F (−10.0 °C) in January to a high of 85 °F (29.4 °C) in July, although a record low of −24 °F (−31.1 °C) was recorded in January 1927 and a record high of 108 °F (42.2 °C) was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.44 inches (36.6 mm) in February to 4.11 inches (104.4 mm) in June.^[5]

Major highways

• 
  Interstate 55
  


• 
  U.S. Highway 24
  


• 
  Illinois Route 17
  


• 
  Illinois Route 23
  


• 
  Illinois Route 47
  


• 
  Illinois Route 116
  

Adjacent counties

• 
  Grundy County - north


• 
  Kankakee County - northeast


• 
  Ford County - southeast


• 
  McLean County - southwest


• 
  Woodford County - west


• 
  LaSalle County - northwest

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1840	759		—
1850	1,552		104.5%
1860	11,637		649.8%
1870	31,471		170.4%
1880	38,450		22.2%
1890	38,455		0.0%
1900	42,035		9.3%
1910	40,465		−3.7%
1920	39,070		−3.4%
1930	39,092		0.1%
1940	38,838		−0.6%
1950	37,809		−2.6%
1960	40,341		6.7%
1970	40,690		0.9%
1980	41,381		1.7%
1990	39,301		−5.0%
2000	39,678		1.0%
2010	38,950		−1.8%
Est. 2016	36,526	[6]	−6.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[7] 1790-1960[8] 1900-1990[9] 1990-2000[10] 2010-2013[1]

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 38,950 people, 14,613 households, and 9,741 families residing in the county.^[11] The population density was 37.3 inhabitants per square mile (14.4/km²). There were 15,895 housing units at an average density of 15.2 per square mile (5.9/km²).^[4] 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.^[11] 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.^[12]

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.^[11]

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.^[13]

Communities

Cities

• Fairbury


• Pontiac


• Streator

Town

• Chatsworth

Villages

• Campus


• Cornell


• Cullom


• Dwight


• Emington


• Flanagan


• Forrest


• Long Point


• Odell


• Reddick


• Saunemin


• Strawn

Townships

Livingston County is divided into thirty townships:

• Amity


• Avoca


• Belle Prairie


• Broughton


• Charlotte


• Chatsworth


• Dwight


• Eppards Point


• Esmen


• Fayette


• Forrest


• Germanville


• Indian Grove


• Long Point


• Nebraska


• Nevada


• Newtown


• Odell


• Owego


• Pike


• Pleasant Ridge


• Pontiac


• Reading


• Rooks Creek


• Round Grove


• Saunemin


• Sullivan


• Sunbury


• Union


• Waldo

Government and infrastructure

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

Pontiac Correctional Center is located in Pontiac.^[14] 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.^[15]Dwight Correctional Center is within Nevada Township in an unincorporated area in the county.^[16][17]

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

Politics

Presidential Elections Results^[18]

Year	Republican	Democratic	Third Parties
2016	66.5% 10,208	26.2% 4,023	7.2% 1,111
2012	64.7% 9,753	33.3% 5,020	2.0% 304
2008	58.7% 9,191	39.5% 6,189	1.8% 289
2004	64.3% 10,316	35.1% 5,632	0.6% 91
2000	59.6% 9,187	37.8% 5,829	2.6% 405
1996	51.8% 7,653	38.2% 5,641	10.1% 1,494
1992	46.8% 8,004	35.1% 6,007	18.1% 3,087
1988	67.0% 10,324	32.5% 5,009	0.5% 72
1984	72.7% 12,291	27.0% 4,567	0.4% 61
1980	68.6% 11,544	24.4% 4,111	7.0% 1,168
1976	64.6% 10,097	33.1% 5,174	2.4% 369
1972	72.1% 13,217	27.9% 5,110	0.1% 12
1968	65.9% 11,963	28.8% 5,234	5.3% 963
1964	54.7% 10,239	45.3% 8,476
1960	66.4% 13,139	33.6% 6,642	0.0% 2
1956	72.8% 13,939	27.2% 5,197	0.0% 7
1952	71.5% 14,095	28.5% 5,612	0.1% 20
1948	66.3% 11,184	33.3% 5,618	0.4% 74
1944	66.4% 12,436	33.3% 6,231	0.3% 52
1940	64.1% 13,909	35.6% 7,722	0.3% 55
1936	53.1% 10,801	45.2% 9,190	1.7% 343
1932	45.2% 8,403	53.9% 10,024	0.9% 162
1928	65.7% 11,161	33.8% 5,737	0.6% 94
1924	64.5% 9,695	19.4% 2,911	16.1% 2,419
1920	74.8% 10,382	22.4% 3,101	2.8% 391
1916	58.6% 9,801	38.7% 6,462	2.7% 451
1912	26.4% 2,444	36.0% 3,334	37.6% 3,480[a]
1908	55.8% 5,358	39.4% 3,778	4.8% 460
1904	63.6% 6,018	29.4% 2,785	7.0% 662
1900	56.9% 5,805	39.4% 4,024	3.7% 378
1896	56.0% 5,436	41.9% 4,068	2.1% 208
1892	46.6% 3,980	46.3% 3,960	7.1% 605

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 Southern-leaning conservative Barry Goldwater has won more than forty percent of the county’s vote.

Notable residents

• 
  Donald Attig, businessman and adventurer.


• 
  Moira Harris, actress and wife of Gary Sinise.^[19]


• 
  William Harris, first President of the Illinois Senate.^[20][21]


• 
  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.^[22]


• 
  Skottie Young, comic book artist known for the Oz series. He was born and raised in Fairbury.^[23]

See also

• 
  Illinois portal
  

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Livingston County, Illinois

Notes

1. 
   ^ There were only 3,230 votes for the leading “other” candidate, Progressive Theodore Roosevelt, plus 152 for the Prohibition Party's Eugene Chafin, 71 for Socialist Eugene V. Debs, and 27 for Socialist Labor candidate Arthur Reimer.
   

References

1. 
   ^ ^ab "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved July 6, 2014. 
   


2. 
   ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
   


3. 
   ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 188. 
   


4. 
   ^ ^ab "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2015-07-12. 
   


5. 
   ^ ^ab "Monthly Averages for Pontiac, Illinois". The Weather Channel. Retrieved 2011-01-27. 
   


6. 
   ^ "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved June 9, 2017. 
   


7. 
   ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 6, 2014. 
   


8. 
   ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved July 6, 2014. 
   


9. 
   ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 6, 2014. 
   


10. 
    ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 6, 2014. 
    


11. 
    ^ ^abc "DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2015-07-12. 
    


12. 
    ^ "DP02 SELECTED SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE UNITED STATES – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2015-07-12. 
    


13. 
    ^ "DP03 SELECTED ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2015-07-12. 
    


14. 
    ^ "Pontiac Correctional Center." Illinois Department of Corrections. Retrieved on September 1, 2010.
    


15. 
    ^ "DOC Report Online Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine.." Illinois Department of Corrections. Retrieved on September 1, 2010.
    


16. 
    ^ "Dwight village, Illinois^{[permanent dead link]}." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on September 1, 2010.
    


17. 
    ^ "Dwight Correctional Center." Illinois Department of Corrections. Retrieved on September 1, 2001.
    


18. 
    ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. 
    


19. 
    ^ Rhoads, Mark (October 7, 2006). "Illinois Hall of Fame: Gary Sinese". Illinois Review. Dennis LaComb. Retrieved May 28, 2017. 
    


20. 
    ^ 'William C. Harris-obituary,' Chicago Tribune, January 2, 2005
    


21. 
    ^ 'Illinois Blue Book 1975-1976,' Biographical Sketch of William C. Harris, pg. 146
    


22. 
    ^ "Townsend, Dr. Francis". Virginia Commonwealth University. Retrieved May 28, 2017. 
    


23. 
    ^ Kromphardt, Barb (April 26, 2011). "The Wonderful World of Young". Shaw Media (United States): Bureau County Republican. Princeton, Illinois. Retrieved May 28, 2017. 
    

Further reading

• 
  The History of Livingston County, Illinois: Containing a History of the County — Its Cities, Counties, Etc.; A Directory of Its Taxpayers; War Record of Its Volunteers in the Late Rebellion; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men; General and Local Statistics; Map of Livingston County; History of Illinois, Illustrated; History of the Northwest, Illustrated; Constitution of the United States; Miscellaneous Matters; Etc., Etc. Chicago: William LeBaron, Jr. and Co., 1878.

Places adjacent to Livingston County, Illinois
LaSalle County Grundy County Kankakee County Woodford County Livingston County, Illinois McLean County Ford County

v t e Municipalities and communities of Livingston County, Illinois, United States
County seat: Pontiac
Cities	Fairbury Pontiac Streator‡
Town	Chatsworth
Villages	Campus Cornell Cullom Dwight‡ Emington Flanagan Forrest Long Point Odell Reddick‡ Saunemin Strawn
Townships	Amity Avoca Belle Prairie Broughton Charlotte Chatsworth Dwight Eppards Point Esmen Fayette Forrest Germanville Indian Grove Long Point Nebraska Nevada Newtown Odell Owego Pike Pleasant Ridge Pontiac Reading Rooks Creek Round Grove Saunemin Sullivan Sunbury Union Waldo
Unincorporated communities	Ancona Blackstone Blair Budd Cayuga Cereal Champlin Charlotte Eylar Graymont Griswold Lodemia Loretta Manville McDowell Missal Munster Nevada Ocoya Reading Risk Rowe Rugby Scovel Smithdale South Streator Sunbury Swygert Vermilion City Wing
Ghost town	Cardiff
Footnotes	‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

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Coordinates: 40°53′N 88°34′W / 40.89°N 88.56°W / 40.89; -88.56