Will County, Illinois

Will County is a county in the northeastern part of the state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 696,355, an increase of 2.8% from 677,560 in 2010, making it Illinois's fourth-most populous county.^[1] The county seat is Joliet.^[2] Will County is one of the five collar counties of the Chicago–Naperville–Elgin, IL–IN–WI Metropolitan Statistical Area. The portion of Will County around Joliet uses area codes 815 and 779, while 630 and 331 are for far northern Will County and 708 is for central and eastern Will County.

Will County
County
Flanders House in Plainfield (1840), Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 41°26′42″N 87°58′43″W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	January 12, 1836
Named for	Conrad Will
Seat	Joliet
Largest city	Joliet
Area
• Total	849 sq mi (2,200 km2)
• Land	837 sq mi (2,170 km2)
• Water	12 sq mi (30 km2)  1.5%
Population  (2020)
• Total	696,355
• Density	820/sq mi (320/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts	1st, 2nd, 11th, 14th
Website	willcounty.gov

History

Will County was formed on January 12, 1836, out of Cook and Iroquois Counties. It was named after Conrad Will, a politician and businessman involved in salt production in southern Illinois.^[3] Will was a member of the first Illinois Constitutional Convention and a member of the Illinois legislature until his death in 1835. Besides its present area, the county originally included the part of Kankakee County, Illinois, north of the Kankakee River. It lost that area when Kankakee County was organized in 1852. Since then its boundaries have not changed.

36 locations in Will County are on the National Register of Historic Places.

"WILL, a county in the E. N. E. part of Illinois, bordering on Indiana, has an area of 1,236 square miles (3,200 km²). It is intersected by the Kankakee and Des Plaines Rivers, branches of the Illinois. The surface is generally level, and destitute of timber, excepting small groves. The soil is very fertile, and much of it is under cultivation. The soil of the prairies is a deep, sandy loam, adapted to Indian corn and grass. In 1850 the county produced 527,903 bushels of Indian corn; 230,885 of wheat; 334,360 of oats; 32,043 tons of hay, and 319,054 pounds of butter. It contained 14 churches, 3 newspaper offices; 3472 pupils attending public schools, and 200 attending other schools. Quarries of building stone are worked near the county seat. The Des Plaines river furnishes water-power. The county is intersected by the Illinois and Michigan canal, by the Chicago branch of the Central railroad, the Chicago and Mississippi, and by the Chicago and Rock Island railroad. Named in honor of Conrad Will, for many years a member of the Illinois legislature. Capital, Joliet. Population 16,703."

— 1854 U.S. Gazetteer

• 
  Will County from its 1836 creation to 1852
• 
  Will County in 1853, reduced to its current borders by the creation of Kankakee County

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 849 square miles (2,200 km²), of which 837 square miles (2,170 km²) is land and 12 square miles (31 km²) (1.5%) is water.^[4]

The Kankakee River, Du Page River and the Des Plaines River run through the county and join on its western border. The Illinois and Michigan Canal and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal run through Will County.

A number of areas are preserved as parks (over 20,000 acres (81 km²) total) under the Forest Preserve District of Will County. The 17,000 acres (69 km²) Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie is a U.S. Forest Service park in the county on the grounds of the former Joliet Arsenal. Other parks include Channahon State Park and the Des Plaines Fish and Wildlife Area.

Climate and weather

Joliet, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     1.6     30 13     1.6     35 19     2.5     47 28     3.8     60 37     3.9     72 48     4.2     81 58     4.3     85 63     3.8     82 61     3.1     76 53     2.7     64 41     3     48 31     2.4     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     40     −1 −11     42     2 −7     62     8 −2     95     16 3     98     22 9     107     27 14     110     29 17     97     28 16     80     24 12     69     18 5     76     9 −1     62     2 −7 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Joliet have ranged from a low of 13 °F (−11 °C) in January to a high of 85 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −26 °F (−32 °C) was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of 104 °F (40 °C) was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.58 inches (40 mm) in January to 4.34 inches (110 mm) in July.^[5]

Adjacent counties

• Kane County (northwest)
• DuPage County (north)
• Cook County (northeast)
• Lake County, Indiana (east)
• Kankakee County (south)
• Grundy County (southwest)
• Kendall County (west)

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1840	10,167		—
1850	16,703		64.3%
1860	29,321		75.5%
1870	43,013		46.7%
1880	53,422		24.2%
1890	62,007		16.1%
1900	74,764		20.6%
1910	84,371		12.8%
1920	92,911		10.1%
1930	110,732		19.2%
1940	114,210		3.1%
1950	134,336		17.6%
1960	191,617		42.6%
1970	249,498		30.2%
1980	324,460		30.0%
1990	357,313		10.1%
2000	502,266		40.6%
2010	677,560		34.9%
2020	696,355		2.8%
2023 (est.)	700,728	[6]	0.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[7] 1790–1960[8] 1900–1990[9] 1990–2000[10] 2010[11] 2020[1]

2020 census

Will 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[12]	Pop 2010[13]	Pop 2020[14]	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	388,523	455,577	418,418	77.35%	67.24%	60.09%
Black or African American alone (NH)	51,980	74,419	79,256	10.35%	10.98%	11.38%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	672	814	711	0.13%	0.12%	0.10%
Asian alone (NH)	11,021	30,458	42,416	2.19%	4.50%	6.09%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	120	104	82	0.02%	0.02%	0.01%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	536	751	2,105	0.11%	0.11%	0.30%
Mixed Race or Multi-Racial (NH)	5,646	9,620	22,516	1.12%	1.42%	3.23%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	43,768	105,817	130,851	8.71%	15.62%	18.79%
Total	502,266	677,560	696,355	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

As of the 2010 Census, there were 677,560 people, 225,256 households, and 174,062 families residing in the county.^[15] The population density was 809.6 inhabitants per square mile (312.6/km²). There were 237,501 housing units at an average density of 283.8 per square mile (109.6/km²).^[4] The racial makeup of the county was 76.0% white, 11.2% black or African American, 4.6% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 5.8% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 15.6% of the population.^[15] In terms of ancestry, 21.6% were German, 18.6% were Irish, 13.3% were Polish, 11.1% were Italian, 5.9% were English, and 2.1% were American.^[16]

Of the 225,256 households, 44.0% had children under 18 living with them, 61.9% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 22.7% were non-families, and 18.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.41. The median age was 35.4.^[15]

The median income for a household in the county was $75,906 and the median income for a family was $85,488. Males had a median income of $60,867 versus $40,643 for females. The per capita income was $29,811. About 5.0% of families and 6.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.0% of those under 18 and 5.6% of those 65 or older.^[17]

Government

Will County is governed by a 22-member county board elected from 11 districts. Each district elects two members. The county executive, county clerk, coroner, auditor, treasurer, recorder of deeds, state's attorney, and sheriff are all elected in a countywide vote. The current county executive is Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, who took office in 2020.

Will County government has been housed in a succession of courthouses, the first being erected in 1837.^[18] The fourth courthouse was designed of reinforced concrete in the Brutalist style by Otto Stark of C.F. Murphy Associates and completed in 1969. Citing lack of space, inefficiency and high operating costs, the County Board chose to erect a new courthouse, which was designed by Wight & Co. and completed in 2020.^[19] Considerable controversy surrounded the disposition of the 1969 courthouse, with Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois including the building on its “2022 Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois”.^[20] After a number of votes and appeals, demolition was approved and the destruction of the building began on December 4, 2023.^[21]

Politics

Like most of the collar counties, Will County was once a Republican stronghold. It went Republican in all but three elections from 1892 to 1988. Since the 1990s, it has become a swing county. It voted for the national winner in every presidential election from 1980 to 2012, but Chicago-born Hillary Clinton won it along with the rest of the "collar counties" aside from McHenry in 2016.

United States presidential election results for Will County, Illinois^[22]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	155,116	44.80%	183,915	53.11%	7,235	2.09%
2016	132,720	43.63%	151,927	49.94%	19,579	6.44%
2012	128,969	46.36%	144,229	51.85%	4,967	1.79%
2008	122,597	42.69%	160,406	55.86%	4,178	1.45%
2004	130,728	52.37%	117,172	46.94%	1,709	0.68%
2000	95,828	50.00%	90,902	47.43%	4,940	2.58%
1996	62,506	42.15%	69,354	46.76%	16,444	11.09%
1992	58,337	38.35%	59,633	39.20%	34,153	22.45%
1988	73,129	59.10%	49,816	40.26%	786	0.64%
1984	78,684	63.25%	45,193	36.33%	520	0.42%
1980	69,310	57.44%	41,975	34.79%	9,373	7.77%
1976	61,784	53.85%	51,103	44.54%	1,840	1.60%
1972	65,155	65.67%	33,633	33.90%	430	0.43%
1968	43,630	49.32%	31,576	35.70%	13,254	14.98%
1964	38,619	43.75%	49,663	56.25%	0	0.00%
1960	42,575	50.86%	41,056	49.04%	81	0.10%
1956	45,628	64.34%	25,188	35.52%	100	0.14%
1952	38,533	56.34%	29,749	43.50%	110	0.16%
1948	28,601	51.41%	26,430	47.51%	597	1.07%
1944	30,058	52.32%	27,085	47.14%	310	0.54%
1940	32,291	52.13%	29,442	47.53%	213	0.34%
1936	25,028	45.25%	28,135	50.86%	2,151	3.89%
1932	25,173	48.16%	25,798	49.36%	1,295	2.48%
1928	26,081	55.02%	20,877	44.04%	447	0.94%
1924	22,780	64.16%	4,707	13.26%	8,018	22.58%
1920	21,746	76.37%	5,410	19.00%	1,318	4.63%
1916	19,881	62.59%	11,378	35.82%	506	1.59%
1912	3,331	19.87%	4,717	28.13%	8,719	52.00%
1908	10,358	61.29%	5,693	33.68%	850	5.03%
1904	10,001	66.39%	3,191	21.18%	1,873	12.43%
1900	10,056	59.22%	6,655	39.19%	269	1.58%
1896	9,249	56.94%	6,873	42.32%	120	0.74%
1892	6,720	49.51%	6,434	47.40%	420	3.09%

Education

• Governors State University is a 6,000-student public university in University Park.
• Lewis University is a 5,200-student four-year private university in Romeoville.
• University of St. Francis is a 3,300-student four-year private university in Joliet.
• The county is in Community College District 525 and is served by Joliet Junior College in Joliet.^[23] Joliet Junior College was the first two-year higher education institution in the United States.

K-12 school districts

K-12 school districts, including any with any territory in Will County, no matter how slight, even if the schools and/or administrative headquarters are in other counties:^[24]

K-12:

• Beecher Community Unit School District 200U
• Coal City Community Unit School District 1
• Crete-Monee Community Unit School District 201-U
• Indian Prairie School District 204
• Manteno Community Unit School District 5
• Naperville Community Unit District 203
• Oswego Community Unit School District 308
• Peotone Community Unit School District 207U
• Plainfield School District 202
• Reed Custer Community Unit School District 255U
• Valley View Community Unit School District 365U
• Wilmington Community Unit School District 209U

Secondary:

• Bloom Township High School District 206
• Joliet Township High School District 204
• Lincoln Way Community High School District 210
• Lockport Township High School District 205
• Minooka Community High School District 111

Elementary:

• Chaney-Monge School District 88
• Channahon School District 17
• Elwood Community Consolidated School District 203
• Fairmont School District 89
• Frankfort Community Consolidated School District 157C
• Homer Community Consolidated School District 33C
• Joliet Public School District 86
• Laraway Community Consolidated School District 70C
• Lockport School District 91
• Manhattan School District 114
• Minooka Community Consolidated School District 201
• Mokena School District 159
• New Lenox School District 122
• Richland School District 88A
• Rockdale School District 84
• Steger School District 194;
• Summit Hill School District 161
• Taft School District 90
• Troy Community Consolidated School District 30C
• Union School District 81
• Will County School District 92

Transportation

Will County is served by four U.S. interstate highways, four U.S. highways, and 12 Illinois highways. Pace provides bus transit services within the county.

Rail

Four different Metra commuter rail lines (Metra Electric Main Line, Southwest Service, Rock Island District and Heritage Corridor) connect Will County with the Chicago Loop. Amtrak serves the county at Joliet Transportation Center. The Lincoln Service operates between Chicago and St. Louis, while the Texas Eagle provides service from Chicago south to San Antonio and west to Los Angeles.

Major highways

• Interstate 55
• Interstate 57
• Interstate 80
• Interstate 355
• U.S. Highway 6
• U.S. Highway 30
• U.S. Highway 45
• U.S. Highway 52
• U.S. Highway 66
• Illinois Route 1
• Illinois Route 7
• Illinois Route 43
• Illinois Route 50
• Illinois Route 53
• Illinois Route 59
• Illinois Route 102
• Illinois Route 113
• Illinois Route 126
• Illinois Route 129
• Illinois Route 171
• Illinois Route 394

Energy infrastructure

Pipelines

Will County is a major hub in the national natural gas pipeline grid where pipelines from Canada and the Gulf of Mexico meet and then fan out to serve the Midwest. The following major energy companies own pipeline that runs through Will County:

• Alliance Pipeline
• Enbridge
• Integrys Energy Group
  • Peoples Gas
• Kinder Morgan Interstate Gas Transmission
• TransCanada
  • ANR Pipeline - Fully owned & operated
  • Northern Border Pipeline - Partially owned & fully operated
• Vector Pipeline

Joliet Refinery

ExxonMobil owns and operates the Joliet Refinery along the Des Plaines River just east of I-55. According to ExxonMobil, the refinery employs about 600 people and was constructed in 1972.^[25]

Municipalities

Cities

• Aurora (mostly in DuPage, Kane, and Kendall counties)
• Braidwood
• Crest Hill
• Joliet (partly in Kendall County)
• Lockport
• Naperville (mostly in DuPage County)
• Wilmington

Villages

• Beecher
• Bolingbrook (partly in DuPage County)
• Channahon (partly in Grundy County)
• Coal City (mostly in Grundy County)
• Crete
• Diamond (mostly in Grundy County)
• Elwood
• Frankfort (partly in Cook County)
• Godley
• Homer Glen(Partly in Cook County)
• Manhattan
• Minooka (mostly in Grundy & Kendall counties)
• Mokena
• Monee
• New Lenox
• Orland Park (mostly in Cook County)
• Oswego (mostly in Kendall County)
• Park Forest (mostly in Cook County)
• Peotone
• Plainfield (partly in Kendall County)
• Rockdale
• Romeoville
• Shorewood
• Steger (partly in Cook County)
• Symerton
• Tinley Park (mostly in Cook County)
• University Park (partly in Cook County)
• Woodridge (mostly in DuPage County)

Census-designated places

• Andres
• Arbury Hills
• Ballou
• Bonnie Brae
• Crystal Lawns
• Custer Park
• Eagle Lake
• Fairmont
• Frankfort Square
• Goodenow
• Goodings Grove (former)
• Ingalls Park
• Lakewood Shores
• Lockport Heights
• Lorenzo
• Marley
• Plum Valley
• Polk
• Preston Heights
• Rest Haven
• Ridgewood
• Ritchie
• Sunnyland
• Willow Brook Estates
• Wilton
• Wilton Center

Fort

• Beggs

Townships

• Channahon
• Crete
• Custer
• DuPage
• Florence
• Frankfort
• Green Garden
• Homer
• Jackson
• Joliet
• Lockport
• Manhattan
• Monee
• New Lenox
• Peotone
• Plainfield
• Reed
• Troy
• Washington
• Wesley
• Wheatland
• Will
• Wilmington
• Wilton

See also

References

Specific

1. "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Will County, Illinois". www.census.gov. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. "Was Dr. Conrad Will really worth his salt?" Archived October 1, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Ledger-Sentinel, Roger Matile, June 22, 2006
4. "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
5. "Monthly Averages for Joliet, Illinois". The Weather Channel. Archived from the original on January 27, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
6. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
7. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
8. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
9. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on April 24, 2014. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
10. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 18, 2014. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
11. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
12. "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Will County, Illinois". United States Census Bureau.
13. "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Will County, Illinois". United States Census Bureau.
14. "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Will County, Illinois". United States Census Bureau.
15. "DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
16. "DP02 SELECTED SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE UNITED STATES – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
17. "DP03 SELECTED ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
18. "Will County Court Facts". Retrieved February 11, 2024.
19. "County Breaks Ground on New Courthouse". Retrieved February 11, 2024.
20. "Landmarks Illinois & Courthouse Preservation Partnership Issue Request For Expressions Of Interest To Demonstrate Interest In Former Will County Courthouse". Retrieved February 11, 2024.
21. "Demolition Of Will County Courthouse Finally Arrives". Retrieved February 11, 2024.
22. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
23. retrieved 2007-02-13 Archived December 8, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
24. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Will County, IL" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved July 20, 2022. - Text
25. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved August 30, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

General

• Forstall, Richard L. (editor) (1996). Population of states and counties of the United States: 1790 to 1990: from the twenty-one decennial censuses. United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Population Division. ISBN 0-934213-48-8. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)

External links

• Official website
• Will County Board

41.44°N 87.98°W / 41.44; -87.98