# Peoria County, Illinois

Peoria County is located in the U.S. state of Illinois. The 2020 United States census listed its population at 181,830. Its county seat is Peoria. Peoria County is part of the Peoria metropolitan area.

## 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.

### Gallery timeline

* Peoria County at creation, with unorganized territory attached to it.
* Peoria County 1826–1827. The newly created Mercer and Warren Counties were temporarily attached to Peoria.
* Peoria County 1827–1830. The creation of Tazewell County left Peoria with only a small tract of unorganized territory east of the Illinois River, whose border was not defined.
* In 1830, Warren County organized a government.
* In 1831, Peoria County's present borders were established and Mercer County was attached to Warren.

## Geography

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 631 square miles (1,630 km$^2$), of which 619 square miles (1,600 km$^2$) is land and 11 square miles (28 km$^2$) (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.

### Adjacent counties

* Knox County – northwest
* Stark County – north
* Marshall County – northeast
* Woodford County – east
* Tazewell County – south
* Fulton County – southwest

## Transportation
### Transit

* Greater Peoria Mass Transit District
* Burlington Trailways
* Peoria Charter Coach Company
* List of intercity bus stops in Illinois

### Major highways

* Interstate 74
* Interstate 474
* U.S. Route 24
* U.S. Route 150
* Illinois Route 6
* Illinois Route 8
* Illinois Route 9
* Illinois Route 29
* Illinois Route 40
* Illinois Route 78
* Illinois Route 90
* Illinois Route 91
* Illinois Route 116

### 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

As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 181,830 people, including 73,253 households. The population density was 301.2 inhabitants per square mile (116.3/km$^2$). There were 83,034 housing units at an average density of 134.1 per square mile (51.8/km$^2$).
The racial makeup of the county was 73.5% white alone, 18.8% black or African American alone, 4.1% Asian alone, 0.4% American Indian alone, .1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, 3.1% listed two or more races, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, and 69.4% were white and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. 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
* Farmington
* Pekin
* Peoria (seat)
* West Peoria

### Villages

* Bartonville
* Bellevue
* Brimfield
* Dunlap
* Glasford
* Hanna City
* Kingston Mines
* Mapleton
* Norwood
* Peoria Heights
* Princeville

### Census-designated places

* Lake Camelot
* Mossville
* Rome
* Smithville
* Trivoli

### Unincorporated communities

* Edelstein
* Edwards
* Kickapoo
* Laura
* Mossville

### Townships

The cities of Peoria and West Peoria are considered independent from all of the townships within this county.
* Akron
* Brimfield
* Chillicothe
* Elmwood
* Hallock
* Hollis
* Jubilee
* Kickapoo
* Limestone
* Logan
* Medina
* Millbrook
* Princeville
* Radnor
* Richwoods
* Rosefield
* Timber
* Trivoli
* West Peoria (former, now defunct and part of West Peoria)

### School districts
## 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.
| District | Board Member | Residence | In office since | Party |
| 1 | Sharon K. Williams | Peoria | 2012 | Democratic |
| 2 | Camille Coates | Peoria | 2022 | Democratic |
| 3 | Betty Duncan | Peoria | 2020 | Democratic |
| 4 | Brandy Bryant | Peoria | 2019 | Democratic |
| 5 | James C. Dillon (Chair) | West Peoria | 2006 | Democratic |
| 6 | Dr. Eden Blair | Peoria | 2019 | Democratic |
| 7 | Phillip Salzer | Peoria | unknown | Democratic |
| 8 | Nathan Hoerr | Peoria | 2022 | Republican |
| 9 | Danny Phelan | Peoria Heights | 2022 | Democratic |
| 10 | Rob Reneau | Peoria | 2018 | Democratic |
| 11 | Linda E. Daley | Peoria | 2019 | Republican |
| 12 | Daniel Kelch | Edwards | 2022 | Republican |
| 13 | Terry Ruthland | Chillicothe | 2022 | Republican |
| 14 | Brian Elsasser | Princeville | 1998 | Republican |
| 15 | Steven B. Rieker | Peoria | 2016 | Republican |
| 16 | Matt Windish | Brimfield | 2018 | Republican |
| 17 | Jennifer Groves Allison | Peoria | 2019 | Democratic |
| 18 | Paul Rosenbohm | Peoria | 2010 | Republican |
The County also elects an Auditor, Circuit Clerk, Coroner, County Clerk, Sheriff, State's Attorney, Regional Superintendent (Education), and Treasurer to four-year terms.
| Office | Current Holder | In office since | Party |
| Auditor | Jessica Thomas | 2018 | Democratic |
| Circuit Clerk | Bobby Spears | 2002 | Democratic |
| Coroner | Jamie Harwood | 2016 | Democratic |
| County Clerk | Rachael Parker | 2019 | Democratic |
| Sheriff | Chris Watkins | 2022 | Republican |
| State's Attorney | Jodi Hoos | 2019 | Democratic |
| Regional Superintendent | Elizabeth Crider | 2014 | Democratic |
| Treasurer | Nicole Bjerke | 2017 | Republican |

## Politics

United States presidential election results for Peoria County, Illinois :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 36,896 | 46.28% | 40,564 | 50.88% | 2,262 | 2.84% |
| 2020 | 38,252 | 45.55% | 43,578 | 51.90% | 2,143 | 2.55% |
| 2016 | 35,633 | 45.05% | 38,060 | 48.12% | 5,409 | 6.84% |
| 2012 | 36,774 | 46.90% | 40,209 | 51.28% | 1,428 | 1.82% |
| 2008 | 34,579 | 42.32% | 45,906 | 56.19% | 1,219 | 1.49% |
| 2004 | 41,051 | 49.60% | 41,121 | 49.68% | 599 | 0.72% |
| 2000 | 36,398 | 47.39% | 38,604 | 50.26% | 1,810 | 2.36% |
| 1996 | 30,990 | 41.82% | 37,383 | 50.45% | 5,729 | 7.73% |
| 1992 | 30,718 | 37.77% | 38,099 | 46.85% | 12,511 | 15.38% |
| 1988 | 37,605 | 51.35% | 35,253 | 48.14% | 372 | 0.51% |
| 1984 | 45,607 | 55.02% | 36,830 | 44.43% | 462 | 0.56% |
| 1980 | 47,815 | 57.26% | 28,276 | 33.86% | 7,419 | 8.88% |
| 1976 | 46,526 | 56.65% | 34,606 | 42.14% | 991 | 1.21% |
| 1972 | 50,324 | 64.49% | 27,264 | 34.94% | 444 | 0.57% |
| 1968 | 37,021 | 49.96% | 30,937 | 41.75% | 6,147 | 8.29% |
| 1964 | 33,327 | 41.30% | 47,360 | 58.70% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 45,529 | 53.77% | 39,061 | 46.13% | 86 | 0.10% |
| 1956 | 50,888 | 62.72% | 30,145 | 37.15% | 108 | 0.13% |
| 1952 | 49,245 | 59.09% | 33,955 | 40.74% | 139 | 0.17% |
| 1948 | 35,018 | 52.78% | 31,026 | 46.76% | 308 | 0.46% |
| 1944 | 34,171 | 50.81% | 32,837 | 48.83% | 243 | 0.36% |
| 1940 | 34,911 | 45.21% | 42,009 | 54.40% | 301 | 0.39% |
| 1936 | 25,425 | 33.96% | 48,063 | 64.20% | 1,377 | 1.84% |
| 1932 | 25,166 | 39.50% | 37,605 | 59.02% | 945 | 1.48% |
| 1928 | 31,024 | 56.50% | 23,150 | 42.16% | 739 | 1.35% |
| 1924 | 25,243 | 58.55% | 6,343 | 14.71% | 11,526 | 26.74% |
| 1920 | 24,541 | 66.00% | 9,453 | 25.42% | 3,188 | 8.57% |
| 1916 | 18,615 | 48.38% | 18,718 | 48.65% | 1,145 | 2.98% |
| 1912 | 9,229 | 41.91% | 8,364 | 37.98% | 4,427 | 20.10% |
| 1908 | 10,828 | 52.47% | 8,898 | 43.12% | 909 | 4.41% |
| 1904 | 11,868 | 62.02% | 5,697 | 29.77% | 1,570 | 8.20% |
| 1900 | 10,700 | 51.82% | 9,433 | 45.69% | 514 | 2.49% |
| 1896 | 10,486 | 52.70% | 9,068 | 45.57% | 344 | 1.73% |
| 1892 | 7,266 | 45.63% | 8,053 | 50.57% | 605 | 3.80% |
Prior to 1992, Peoria County, like most of central Illinois, was powerfully 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
* Norwood Elementary School District 63
* Oak Grove School District 68
* Pleasant Hill School District 69
* Pleasant Valley School District 62