Lee County, Illinois

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox U.S. county

Lee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 34,145.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Its county seat is Dixon.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Dixon, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Lee County.

History

The area's first non-native settlers were mostly from the six New England states.<ref>Stevens, Frank Everett. History of Lee County, Illinois, Vol. 1 p. 382</ref> The early nineteenth century saw a wave of westward movement from New England, due largely to completion of the Erie Canal and the end of the Black Hawk War.<ref>Holbrook, Stewart Hall. The Yankee Exodus: An Account of Migration from New England, University of Washington Press (1968)</ref><ref>Shalev, Eran. American Zion: The Old Testament as a Political Text from the Revolution to ..., Yale University Press (March 26, 2013) Template:ISBN pp. 70-71</ref>

The area that included present-day Lee County was delineated as St. Clair County in 1809. In 1823, a large section of northern St. Clair County was partitioned off as Fulton County. In 1825, the northwestern portion of that county was partitioned off as Putnam County. In 1831, the area was further partitioned into Jo Daviess County. A section of that county was partitioned off in 1836 as Ogle County, and in 1839 the bottom half of Ogle County was split off as Lee County. It is largely understood that the county's name honors "Lighthorse Harry" Lee, an officer in the American Revolutionary War.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> An alternative theory suggests the name honors Richard Henry Lee, a member of the Continental Congress (the Declaration of Independence was adopted pursuant to the Lee Resolution).

President Ronald Reagan lived in Dixon as a boy and attended Dixon High School.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Lee County's boundaries have remained unchanged since its creation in 1839.

Geography

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (0.6%) is water.<ref name=CD/>

Adjacent counties

Ogle County – north
DeKalb County – east
LaSalle County - southeast, south
Bureau County – south, southwest
Whiteside County – west

Climate and weather

Template:Climate chart In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Dixon have ranged from a low of Template:Convert in January to a high of Template:Convert in July, although a record low of Template:Convert was recorded in January 1999 and a record high of Template:Convert was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranges from Template:Convert in February to Template:Convert in June.<ref name=WX/>

Major highways

Template:Div col

Template:Div col end

Other features

Demographics

Template:US Census population

2020 census

**Lee County, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition**
Template:Nobold
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 1980<ref name=1980Census>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 1990<ref name=1990Census>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 2020<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	% 1980	% 1990	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	34,820	32,191	32,643	31,824	28,435	95.85%	93.60%	90.52%	88.32%	83.28%
Black or African American alone (NH)	580	1,212	1,753	1,709	1,831	1.60%	3.52%	4.86%	4.74%	5.36%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	38	71	32	51	30	0.10%	0.21%	0.09%	0.14%	0.09%
Asian alone (NH)	123	170	202	244	248	0.34%	0.49%	0.56%	0.68%	0.73%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)	x <ref>included in the Asian category in the 1980 Census</ref>	x <ref>included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census</ref>	5	6	10	x	x	0.01%	0.02%	0.03%
Other race alone (NH)	168	21	11	25	95	0.46%	0.06%	0.03%	0.07%	0.28%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	x <ref>not an option in the 1980 Census</ref>	x <ref>not an option in the 1990 Census</ref>	269	370	1,172	x	x	0.75%	1.03%	3.43%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	599	727	1,147	1,802	2,324	1.65%	2.11%	3.18%	5.00%	6.81%
Total	36,328	34,392	36,062	36,031	34,145	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 36,031 people, 13,758 households, and 9,064 families residing in the county.<ref name="DP1">Template:Cite web</ref> The population density was Template:Convert. There were 15,049 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert.<ref name="CD">Template:Cite web</ref> The racial makeup of the county was 90.9% white, 4.8% black or African American, 0.7% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 1.9% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 5.0% of the population.<ref name=DP1/> In terms of ancestry, 38.0% were German, 18.8% were Irish, 8.4% were English, and 8.2% were American.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Of the 13,758 households, 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.2% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.1% were non-families, and 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.94. The median age was 42.0 years.<ref name=DP1/>

The median income for a household in the county was $48,502 and the median income for a family was $60,759. Males had a median income of $42,114 versus $30,920 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,440. About 7.6% of families and 9.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.8% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Communities

Cities

Amboy
Dixon (county seat)

Politics

Lee County is, together with neighboring Ogle County, the most consistently Republican county in Illinois. It is one of very few counties in the United States to have never supported a Democrat for President since the Civil War. The only occasion when the Republican candidate did not win the county in this time was in 1912, when Theodore Roosevelt carried it while running as a member of the Progressive Party, unofficially known as the "Bull Moose" party.

As of 2018, Lee County is in the 16th congressional district, the 45th legislative district, and the 74th and 90th representative districts.<ref>2018 Election Results - Lee County IL</ref>

Education

K-12 school districts include:<ref name=SDMap2020>Template:Cite map - Text list</ref> Template:Div col

Template:Div col end

Secondary school districts include:<ref name=SDMap2020/>

Elementary school districts include:<ref name=SDMap2020/> Template:Div col

Template:Div col end

Notes

Template:Notelist

References

Template:Reflist

External links

Template:Geographic Location

Template:Lee County, Illinois Template:Illinois Template:Authority control Template:Coord

Lee County, Illinois

Contents

History