# Kane County, Illinois

Kane County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 516,522, making it the fifth-most populous county in Illinois. Its county seat is Geneva, and its largest city is Aurora. Kane County is one of the collar counties of the metropolitan statistical area designated "Chicago–Naperville–Elgin, IL–IN–WI" by the US census.

## History

Kane County was formed out of LaSalle County in 1836. The county was named in honor of Elias Kane, a United States senator and the first secretary of state of Illinois.
* Kane County from the time of its creation to 1837, when DeKalb County was split off
* Kane County between 1837 and 1841
* Kane County in 1841, reduced to its present size

## Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county's area was 524 square miles (1,360 km$^2$), of which 520 square miles (1,300 km$^2$) is land and 4.1 square miles (11 km$^2$) (0.8%) is water. Its largest cities are along the Fox River.

### Climate

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Geneva have ranged from a low of 10 °F (−12 °C) in January to a high of 84 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −26 °F (−32 °C) was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of 111 °F (44 °C) was recorded in July 1936. The average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.52 inches (39 mm) in February to 4.39 inches (112 mm) in July.

### Adjacent counties

* McHenry County (north)
* Cook County (east)
* DuPage County (east)
* Will County (southeast)
* Kendall County (south)
* DeKalb County (west)

## Parks and recreation

* Fox River Trail
* Great Western Trail
* Illinois Prairie Path
* James "Pate" Philip State Park

### Forest preserves

Kane County has an extensive forest preserve program, with numerous nature preserves, historic sites, and trails.
* Almon Underwood Prairie
* Andersen Woods
* Arlene Shoemaker
* Aurora West
* Barnes
* Big Rock Forest Preserve & Campground
* Binnie Forest Preserve
* Blackberry Maples
* Bliss Woods
* Bolcum Road Wetlands
* Bowes Creek Greenway Forest Preserve
* Bowes Creek Woods Forest Preserve
* Braeburn Marsh
* Brewster Creek Forest Preserve
* Brunner Family
* Buffalo Park Forest Preserve
* Burlington Prairie
* Burnidge Forest Preserve/Paul Wolff Campground
* Camp Tomo Chi-Chi Knolls
* Campton
* Cardinal Creek
* Culver
* Deer Valley Golf Course
* Dick Young
* Eagles Forest Preserve
* Edgewater Greenway Forest Preserve
* Elburn Forest Preserve
* Elgin Shores
* Fabyan
* Ferson Creek
* Fitchie Creek
* Fox River Bluff East & Fox River Bluff West
* Fox River Forested Fen Forest Preserve
* Fox River Shores
* Freeman Kame – Meagher
* Glenwood Park Forest Preserve
* Grunwald Farms
* Gunnar Anderson
* Hampshire Forest Preserve
* Hampshire South Forest Preserve
* Hannaford Woods/Nickels Farm
* Helm Woods
* Hoscheit Woods Forest Preserve
* Hughes Creek Golf Club
* Jack E. Cook Park & Forest Preserve
* Jelkes Creek
* Johnson's Mound
* Jon J. Duerr
* Kenyon Farm
* Lake Run Forest Preserve
* LeRoy Oakes
* Les Arends
* Lone Grove Forest Preserve
* McLean Fen Forest Preserve
* Meissner Prairie – Corron
* Mill Creek
* Muirhead Springs
* New Haven Park
* Oakhurst
* Otter Creek
* Pingree Grove Forest Preserve
* Poplar Creek
* Prairie Green
* Raceway Woods
* Raymond Street
* Regole
* Rutland Forest Preserve
* Sauer Family Prairie Kame
* Schweitzer Woods
* Settler's Hill
* Sleepy Hollow Ravine
* Tekakwitha Woods
* Tyler Creek Forest Preserve
* Virgil Forest Preserve
* Voyageur's Landing
* Willoughby Farms

## Demographics

Kane County, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race. :
| Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000 | Pop 2010 | Pop 2020 | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
| White alone (NH) | 273,390 | 304,051 | 282,307 | 67.65% | 59.01% | 54.66% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 22,477 | 27,819 | 26,239 | 5.56% | 5.40% | 5.08% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 536 | 591 | 514 | 0.13% | 0.11% | 0.10% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 7,142 | 17,505 | 21,191 | 1.77% | 3.40% | 4.10% |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 57 | 130 | 115 | 0.01% | 0.03% | 0.02% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 338 | 522 | 1,521 | 0.08% | 0.10% | 0.29% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 4,255 | 6,261 | 15,040 | 1.05% | 1.22% | 2.91% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 95,924 | 158,390 | 169,595 | 23.74% | 30.74% | 32.83% |
| Total | 404,119 | 515,269 | 516,522 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the 2010 census, there were 515,269 people, 170,479 households, and 128,323 families residing in the county. The population density was 990.8 inhabitants per square mile (382.6/km$^2$). There were 182,047 housing units at an average density of 350.1 per square mile (135.2/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the county was 74.6% white, 5.7% black or African American, 3.5% Asian, 0.6% American Indian, 13.0% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 30.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 24.3% were German, 13.0% were Irish, 7.9% were Polish, 7.4% were Italian, 7.1% were English, and 2.4% were American.
Of the 170,479 households, 42.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.2% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 24.7% were non-families, and 19.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.98 and the average family size was 3.45. The median age was 34.5 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $67,767 and the median income for a family was $77,998. Males had a median income of $53,833 versus $39,206 for females. The per capita income for the county was $29,480. About 7.0% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.5% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

## Education

* Aurora University
* Elgin Community College
* Judson University
* Waubonsee Community College

## Infrastructure
### Health care

There are several hospitals serving the county:
* Advocate Sherman Hospital, Elgin
* Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital, Geneva
* Presence Mercy Medical Center, Aurora
* Presence Saint Joseph Hospital, Elgin
* Rush-Copley Medical Center, Aurora

### Transportation
#### Transit

* Metra
* BNSF Line
* Milwaukee District West Line
* Union Pacific West Line
* Pace
* Pace I-90 Express

#### Airport

* Aurora Municipal Airport

#### Major highways

Kane county has an extensive county highway system that includes federal, state and county maintained routes. During the years that the county was represented by Dennis Hastert it received many federal earmarks for highway improvements to respond to population growth. In addition, the county has entered into an agreement with the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority to operate a limited access toll bridge on the Longmeadow Parkway that is not connected to any other tollway.
* Interstate 88
* Interstate 90
* U.S. Highway 20
* U.S. Highway 30
* U.S. Highway 34
* Illinois Route 19
* Illinois Route 25
* Illinois Route 31
* Illinois Route 38
* Illinois Route 47
* Illinois Route 56
* Illinois Route 58
* Illinois Route 62
* Illinois Route 64
* Illinois Route 68
* Illinois Route 72
* Illinois Route 110
* Army Trail Road
* Randall Road
* Longmeadow Parkway
* Kane County Route 37
* Lake Cook Road

## Communities
### Cities

* Aurora (mostly)
* Batavia (mostly)
* Elgin (mostly)
* Geneva
* St. Charles (mostly)

### Villages

* Algonquin (part)
* Barrington Hills (part)
* Bartlett (part)
* Big Rock
* Burlington
* Campton Hills
* Carpentersville
* East Dundee (mostly)
* Elburn
* Gilberts
* Hampshire
* Hoffman Estates (part)
* Huntley (part)
* Kaneville
* Lily Lake
* Maple Park (part)
* Montgomery (mostly)
* North Aurora
* Pingree Grove
* Sleepy Hollow
* South Elgin
* Sugar Grove
* Virgil
* Wayne (part)
* West Dundee

### Census-designated place

* Prestbury

### Other unincorporated communities

* Allens Corners
* Almora
* Bald Mound
* Bowes
* Five Island Park
* Freeman
* La Fox
* Mooseheart
* North Plato
* Nottingham Woods
* Plato Center
* Rainbow Hills
* Starks
* Thornwood
* Udina
* Valley View
* Wasco (former)

### Townships

* Aurora Township
* Batavia Township
* Big Rock Township
* Blackberry Township
* Burlington Township
* Campton Township
* Dundee Township
* Elgin Township
* Geneva Township
* Hampshire Township
* Kaneville Township
* Plato Township
* Rutland Township
* St. Charles Township
* Sugar Grove Township
* Virgil Township

## Government
### Kane County Board

Kane County services are overseen by a 24 member Board which is elected every two years. The Board's chair is elected every four years. The Board sets the County's budget. Corrine Michelle Pierog is the current County Board Chair. There are currently 16 Democrats and 8 Republicans on the Board.
In addition to the Board chair, there are nine county officeholders elected countywide every four years. These positions are the Auditor, Circuit Clerk, County Clerk, Coroner, Recorder, Regional Office of Education Superintendent, Sheriff, State's Attorney, and Treasurer.

### Current elected officials

Kane County Board Members, 2022-2024 :
| District | Board Member | City/town |
| Chair | Corinne Pierog | Batavia |
| 1 | Myrna Molina | Aurora |
| 2 | Dale Berman | North Aurora |
| 3 | Anita Lewis | Aurora |
| 4 | Mavis Bates | Aurora |
| 5 | Bill Lenert | Sugar Grove |
| 6 | Ron Ford | Aurora |
| 7 | Monica Silva | Aurora |
| 8 | Michelle Gumz | Aurora |
| 9 | Gary Daughtery | Gilberts |
| 10 | Bill Tarver | Batavia |
| 11 | Leslie Juby | Geneva |
| 12 | Bill Roth | St. Charles |
| 13 | Michael Linder | St. Charles |
| 14 | Mark Davoust | St. Charles |
| 15 | David Young | Elgin |
| 16 | Michael Kenyon | South Elgin |
| 17 | Deborah Allan | Elgin |
| 18 | Rick Williams | Geneva |
| 19 | Mohammad "Mo" Iqbal | Elgin |
| 20 | Cherryl Fritz Strathmann | Elgin |
| 21 | Clifford Surges | Gilberts |
| 22 | Verner (Vern) Tepe | Elgin |
| 23 | Chris Kious | Algonquin |
| 24 | Jarett Sanchez | Carpentersville |
Countywide Officeholders, 2022-2024 :
| Office | Name | Party | Serving Until |
| Kane County Clerk | John "Jack" A. Cunningham | Republican | 2026 |
| Sheriff | Ron Hain | Democratic | 2026 |
| Treasurer | Chris Lauzen | Republican | 2026 |
| Board Chair | Corinne M. Pierog | Democratic | 2024 |
| Circuit Clerk | Theresa Barreiro | Democratic | 2024 |
| Auditor | Penny Wegman | Democratic | 2024 |
| Coroner | L. Robert Russell | Republican | 2024 |
| Recorder | Sandy Wegman | Republican | 2024 |
| State's Attorney | Jamie Mosser | Democratic | 2024 |

### 16th Circuit

Kane County is coterminous with the 16th Judicial Circuit. The 16th Judicial Circuit is divided into four subcircuits. The first subcircuit consists of the majority of Aurora Township. The second subcircuit consists of most of Elgin and Dundee townships. The fourth subcircuit consists the tri-cities area of Batavia, Geneva, and Saint Charles. The third subcircuit consists of all territory not included in the other three subcircuits, which corresponds to an area of roughly the western two thirds of the county.

## Politics

As one of the Yankee-settled and prosperous suburban "collar counties", Kane County was a stronghold of the Free Soil Party in its first few elections, being one of nine Illinois counties to give a plurality to Martin van Buren in 1848. Kane County then unsurprisingly became solidly Republican for the century and a half following that party's formation. It voted for the GOP presidential nominee in every election between 1856 and 2004 except that of 1912 when the Republican Party was mortally divided and Progressive candidate Theodore Roosevelt carried the county with a majority of the vote over conservative incumbent William Howard Taft.
The gradual shift of the GOP towards white Southern Evangelicals, however, has led the generally moderate electorate of Kane and the other "collar counties" to trend towards the Democratic Party. In 2008, Senator Barack Obama became the first Democrat to carry Kane County since Franklin Pierce in 1852, and the first ever to win an absolute majority of the county's vote (the previous two Democratic winners, Pierce and James K. Polk in 1844 had both gained only pluralities due to strong Free Soil votes). Obama won a plurality in 2012, and Hillary Clinton improved upon Obama's showing to become the second Democrat to win a majority in 2016. In 2020, Joe Biden had the best performance ever by a Democrat in the county, even besting Obama's 2008 victory.
Kane County is represented in the United States House of Representatives by Democrats Bill Foster (11th District), Raja Krishnamoorthi (8th District), and Lauren Underwood (14th District).
United States presidential election results for Kane County, Illinois :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 99,260 | 44.18% | 120,077 | 53.45% | 5,323 | 2.37% |
| 2020 | 96,775 | 41.74% | 130,166 | 56.14% | 4,935 | 2.13% |
| 2016 | 82,734 | 41.43% | 103,665 | 51.91% | 13,288 | 6.65% |
| 2012 | 88,335 | 48.61% | 90,332 | 49.71% | 3,058 | 1.68% |
| 2008 | 83,963 | 43.42% | 106,756 | 55.21% | 2,644 | 1.37% |
| 2004 | 92,065 | 55.03% | 73,813 | 44.12% | 1,419 | 0.85% |
| 2000 | 76,996 | 54.45% | 60,127 | 42.52% | 4,282 | 3.03% |
| 1996 | 54,375 | 47.41% | 47,902 | 41.77% | 12,416 | 10.83% |
| 1992 | 55,684 | 43.52% | 44,568 | 34.84% | 27,686 | 21.64% |
| 1988 | 66,283 | 64.10% | 36,366 | 35.17% | 763 | 0.74% |
| 1984 | 72,655 | 69.09% | 31,875 | 30.31% | 629 | 0.60% |
| 1980 | 64,106 | 61.77% | 29,015 | 27.96% | 10,663 | 10.27% |
| 1976 | 59,275 | 62.15% | 34,057 | 35.71% | 2,042 | 2.14% |
| 1972 | 64,546 | 69.87% | 27,525 | 29.80% | 306 | 0.33% |
| 1968 | 54,144 | 61.94% | 26,609 | 30.44% | 6,667 | 7.63% |
| 1964 | 46,391 | 53.27% | 40,703 | 46.73% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 55,389 | 63.84% | 31,279 | 36.05% | 93 | 0.11% |
| 1956 | 56,009 | 72.82% | 20,848 | 27.10% | 59 | 0.08% |
| 1952 | 50,801 | 67.78% | 24,058 | 32.10% | 96 | 0.13% |
| 1948 | 39,284 | 64.41% | 21,176 | 34.72% | 532 | 0.87% |
| 1944 | 38,689 | 62.16% | 23,362 | 37.54% | 185 | 0.30% |
| 1940 | 41,949 | 61.77% | 25,676 | 37.81% | 289 | 0.43% |
| 1936 | 33,491 | 52.55% | 28,187 | 44.23% | 2,051 | 3.22% |
| 1932 | 32,934 | 56.15% | 24,638 | 42.00% | 1,084 | 1.85% |
| 1928 | 38,236 | 69.94% | 16,184 | 29.60% | 253 | 0.46% |
| 1924 | 32,717 | 76.34% | 3,517 | 8.21% | 6,624 | 15.46% |
| 1920 | 26,832 | 82.82% | 4,323 | 13.34% | 1,243 | 3.84% |
| 1916 | 23,868 | 67.71% | 9,875 | 28.01% | 1,506 | 4.27% |
| 1912 | 2,415 | 12.67% | 4,394 | 23.05% | 12,257 | 64.29% |
| 1908 | 12,840 | 70.29% | 4,316 | 23.63% | 1,111 | 6.08% |
| 1904 | 12,638 | 75.64% | 2,799 | 16.75% | 1,271 | 7.61% |
| 1900 | 12,031 | 67.55% | 5,259 | 29.53% | 521 | 2.93% |
| 1896 | 12,133 | 69.94% | 4,852 | 27.97% | 362 | 2.09% |
| 1892 | 7,977 | 53.80% | 5,778 | 38.97% | 1,072 | 7.23% |