Peoria County

History

Peoria County was formed in 1825 out of Fulton County. It was named for the Peoria, an Illiniwek people who lived there. It included most of the western valley of the Illinois River up to the Chicago river portage.

Geography

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 631 square miles (1,630 km2), of which 619 square miles (1,600 km2) is land and 11 square miles (28 km2) (1.8%) is water. The county is drained by Spoon River, Kickapoo Creek, Elbow Creek, and Copperas Creek.

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Peoria have ranged from a low of 14 °F (−10 °C) in January to a high of 86 °F (30 °C) in July, although a record low of −27 °F (−33 °C) was recorded in January 1884 and a record high of 113 °F (45 °C) was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.50 inches (38 mm) in January to 4.17 inches (106 mm) in May.

Transportation

Transit

Greater Peoria Mass Transit District

Defunct highways

Illinois Route 174

Illinois Route 175

Airports

General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport (PIA), formerly Greater Peoria Regional Airport

Mount Hawley Auxiliary Airport (3MY) – Peoria, Illinois

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 181,830. The median age was 38.5 years; 23.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 92.2 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 67.4% White, 18.7% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 4.3% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 2.8% from some other race, and 6.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 5.5% of the population.

83.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 16.9% lived in rural areas.

There were 75,808 households in the county, of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 40.9% were married-couple households, 21.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 31.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 85,074 housing units, of which 10.9% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 63.3% were owner-occupied and 36.7% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 12.5%.

2010 census

In terms of ancestry, per the 2010 US Census, 28.3% were German, 14.8% were Irish, 10.4% were English, and 5.5% were American.

Of the 75,793 households, 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.1% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.7% were non-families, and 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.00. The median age was 36.8 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $49,747 and the median income for a family was $63,163. Males had a median income of $51,246 versus $32,881 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,157. About 10.3% of families and 14.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.8% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.

Points of interest

Glasford crater

Jubilee College State Park

WMBD World's Most Beautiful Drive (Grandview Drive/Prospect)

Forest Park Nature Center

Peoria Heights Tower Park

Rock Island Trail

Communities

Cities

Chillicothe

Elmwood

Peoria (seat)

West Peoria

Census-designated places

Lake Camelot

Mossville

Rome

Smithville

Trivoli

Townships

The cities of Peoria and West Peoria are considered independent from all of the townships within this county.

Notable residents

People from Peoria County other than in the city of Peoria:

Chris Brackett, host of Arrow Affliction on The Sportsman Channel

Mike Dunne, pitcher for several Major League Baseball teams

Mary Emma Holmes (1839-1937), reformer, suffragist, and educator

Bill Krieg, Major League Baseball player

Lance (Henry) LeGault, TV and movie actor: Colonel Roderick Decker on The A-Team

Zach McAllister, Major League Baseball player: Cleveland Indians pitcher

Johnston McCulley, pulp fiction author: creator of Zorro

Richard Pryor, Actor, Comedian

David Ogden Stiers, actor, Major Charles Emerson Winchester III on M*A*S*H

Josh Taylor, TV actor: Chris Kostichek on the soap opera Days of Our Lives

Jim Thome, first baseman for several Major League Baseball teams

Government

Peoria County is governed by an 18-member County Board which meets on the second Thursday of each month. Each member represents a district with roughly 10,000 residents.

The County also elects a Circuit Clerk, Coroner, County Clerk, Sheriff, State's Attorney, Regional Superintendent (of Education), and Treasurer to four-year terms. The elected Auditor position was eliminated by public referendum in 2022.

Politics

Prior to 1992, Peoria County, like most of central Illinois, was overwhelmingly Republican. Usually, it only voted for Democratic Party presidential candidates when they won nationally by a landslide. It began trending away from the GOP in the mid-1980s, as evidenced when Ronald Reagan only carried it with 55 percent of the vote in 1984 even as he was winning reelection in a landslide nationally.

From 1992 onward, the county has backed the Democratic candidate in every presidential election, though never by a margin greater than 10 percent aside from 2008 when Illinoisan Barack Obama won it by nearly 14 points. This relative closeness in results was most evident in 2004 when the county backed John Kerry over George W. Bush by only 70 votes.

In Congress, Peoria County is represented by Democrat Eric Sorensen of Illinois's 17th congressional district and Republican Darin LaHood of the Illinois's 18th congressional district.

In the Illinois Senate, Peoria County is represented by Republican Win Stoller of the 37th Legislative District and Democrat Dave Koehler of the 46th Legislative District. In the Illinois House of Representatives, Peoria County is represented by Republican Ryan Spain of the 73rd Representative District, Republican Travis Weaver of the 91st Representative District and Democrat Jehan Gordon-Booth of the 92nd Representative District.

Education

K-12 school districts include:

Brimfield Community Unit School District 309

Dunlap Community Unit School District 323

Elmwood Community Unit School District 322

Farmington Central Community Unit School District 265

Illini Bluffs Community Unit School District 327

Illinois Valley Central Unit School District 321

Peoria School District 150

Peoria Heights Community Unit School District 325

Princeville Community Unit School District 326

Stark County Community Unit School District 100

Williamsfield Community Unit School District 210

Secondary school districts include:

Limestone Community High School District 310

Elementary school districts include:

Bartonville School District 66

Hollis Consolidated School District 328

Limestone Walters Community Consolidated School District 316

Monroe School District 70