Kane County, Illinois

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.

File:Kane County Illinois 1836.png|Kane County from the time of its creation to 1837, when DeKalb County was split off File:Kane County Illinois 1837.png|Kane County between 1837 and 1841 File:Kane County Illinois 1841.png|Kane County in 1841, reduced to its present size

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county's area was 524 sqmi, of which 520 sqmi is land and 4.1 sqmi (0.8%) is water. Its largest cities are along the Fox River.

Climate

|Geneva, Illinois |10|29|1.62 |16|35|1.52 |26|46|2.57 |36|59|3.88 |46|71|3.91 |56|81|4.34 |61|84|4.39 |58|82|4.38 |50|75|3.50 |38|63|2.71 |28|47|3.17 |16|34|2.40

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Geneva have ranged from a low of 10 °F in January to a high of 84 °F in July, although a record low of -26 °F was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of 111 °F was recorded in July 1936. The average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.52 in in February to 4.39 in in July.

Parks and recreation

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

Forest preserves

Notable forest preserves include:

• Fabyan Windmill
• Hampshire Forest Preserve
• Raceway Woods

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2019

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 516,522, the median age was 38.3 years, 24.7% of residents were under the age of 18, and 14.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.0 males overall and 95.9 males for every 100 females age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 60.0% White, 5.3% Black or African American, 1.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 4.2% Asian,

96.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 4.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 180,374 households in the county, of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 55.4% were married-couple households, 15.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 21.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 188,510 housing units, of which 4.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 73.7% were owner-occupied and 26.3% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.2%.

Racial and ethnic composition

2010 census

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 PD/sqmi. There were 182,047 housing units at an average density of 350.1 /sqmi. 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

Main article: List of county roads in Kane County, Illinois

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.

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

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).

Notable people

• Geneva, Illinois§Notable people
• Batavia, Illinois§Notable people
• St. Charles, Illinois§Notable people
• List of people from Elgin, Illinois
• List of people from Aurora, Illinois
• Carpentersville, Illinois§Notable residents
• East Dundee, Illinois§Notable residents
• Hampshire, Illinois§Notable people
• Kaneville, Illinois§Notable natives
• Montgomery, Illinois§Notable people
• Sugar Grove, Illinois§Notable people
• West Dundee, Illinois§Notable resident

References

;General

References

1. (March 2025). "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020–2024". U.S. Department of Commerce.
2. {{Cite GNIS. 424246. Kane County
3. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau.
4. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
5. Gannett, Henry. (1905). "The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States". Govt. Print. Off..
6. "Monthly Averages for Geneva, Illinois". The Weather Channel.
7. "Forest Preserves". Forest Preserve District of Kane County.
8. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates Tables". United States Census Bureau.
9. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau.
10. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library.
11. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau.
12. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau.
13. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)".
14. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)".
15. (2023). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)".
16. "1980 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Illinois- Table 14 - Persons by Race and Table 16 (p. 18-28) - Total Persons and Spanish Origin Persons by Type of Spanish Origin and Race (p. 29-39)".
17. "1990 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Illinois - Table 6 - Race and Hispanic Orogin".
18. "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Kane County, Illinois".
19. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Kane County, Illinois".
20. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Kane County, Illinois".
21. included in the Asian category in the 1980 Census
22. included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census
23. not an option in the 1980 Census
24. not an option in the 1990 Census
25. "DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data". [[United States Census Bureau]].
26. "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 – County". [[United States Census Bureau]].
27. "DP03 SELECTED ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS – 2006–2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". [[United States Census Bureau]].
28. "Pages - Board Members".
29. "2020 General Election Contest Results - Kane County Elections".
30. "2022 General Election Contest Results - Kane County Elections".
31. Kane County Clerk. (April 22, 2022). "Judicial Subcircuts Created by P.A. 97-0585".
32. (July 12, 2022). "2022 Cook PVI: District Map and List".
33. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".