WILL County, IL

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. The county seat is Joliet. 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 the 815 and 779 area codes, 630 and 331 are for far northern Will County, and 708 is for central and eastern Will County.

History

Will County was formed in 1836 out of Cook and Iroquois. It was named after Dr. Conrad Will, a businessman involved in salt production in southern Illinois, and also a politician. Will was a member of the first Illinois Constitutional Convention and a member of the Illinois Legislature until his death in 1835. On January 12, 1836, Will County was formed from Cook County and Iroquois County. Besides its present area, it included the part of Kankakee County, Illinois north of the Kankakee River. Will County lost that area when Kankakee County was organized in 1852. Since then its boundaries have been unchanged.

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

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of , of which is land and (1.5%) is water.

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 total) under the Forest Preserve District of Will County. The 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

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Joliet have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in July.

Adjacent counties

Demographics

As of the 2010 Census, there were 677,560 people, 225,256 households, and 174,062 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 237,501 housing units at an average density of . 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. 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.

Of the 225,256 households, 44.0% had children under the age of 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 years.

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 for the county 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 age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Will County is governed via a 26-member county board who are elected from one of 13 districts. Each district elects 2 members. The County Executive, County Clerk, Coroner, Auditor, Treasurer, Recorder of Deeds, State's Attorney and Sheriff are all elected in a countywide vote.

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. However, it has become a swing county since the 1990s. It voted for the national winner in every presidential election from 1992 to 2012, but Chicago-born Hillary Clinton won it along with the rest of the "collar counties" aside from McHenry in 2016.

Education

Transportation

Will County is served by 4 US Interstate Highways, 4 US Highways, and 12 Illinois Highways.

Major highways

Rail

Four different Metra commuter rail lines (Metra Electric Main Line, Southwest Service, Rock Island District and Heritage Corridor) connect the parts of the county with the Chicago Loop.

Energy infrastructure

Pipelines

The county is a major hub in the United States 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 run through Will County:

Joliet Refinery

ExxonMobil owns and operated the Joliet Refinery which is located along the Des Plaines River just east of I-55. According to ExxonMobil, the refinery employs about 600 people and was constructed in 1972.

Municipalities

The municipalities with their population within Will County and their total population as of the 2010 Census, are:

Cities

Villages

Census-designated places

Forts

Townships

The 24 townships of Will County, with their populations as of the 2010 Census, are: