Tazewell County ( ) is located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 131,343. Its county seat and largest city is Pekin.
Tazewell County is part of the Peoria metropolitan area. The majority of the population lives along the county's western border.
History
Tazewell County was formed out of Peoria County in 1827. The consensus appears to be that it was named in honor of Littleton Tazewell, who served in the U.S. Senate, and who became Governor of Virginia in 1834. It is, however, possible that it was named after Littleton's father, prominent Virginia politician Henry Tazewell, after whom Tazewell County, Virginia, was named.
The first county seat was in Mackinaw from 1827 to 1836. It was moved temporarily from Mackinaw to Pekin in June 1831, with the county court proceedings in the Snell schoolhouse. After a political struggle between Tremont and Pekin, the county seat was reassigned to Pekin in 1849.
File:Tazewell County Illinois 1829.png|Tazewell County between 1829 and 1830: the creation of Mason County established a southern border for Tazewell's additional territory.
File:Tazewell County Illinois 1830.png|Tazewell County between 1830 and 1831: the additional territory to the east became McLean County.
File:Tazewell County Illinois 1831.png|Tazewell County between 1831 and 1841: the last of the county's additional territory became part of LaSalle County.
File:Tazewell County Illinois 1841.png|Tazewell County in 1841, reduced to its present borders.
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Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.4%) is water.
- Spring Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area - an 8.5-mile (13.7 km) long alluvial lake that lies parallel to the Illinois River.
- Powerton Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area - 1,426-acre (577 ha) area of semi-protected habitat on the Illinois River.
- Mackinaw River State Fish and Wildlife Area - 1,448-acre (586 ha) state park
Climate and weather
In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Pekin have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1884 and a record high of was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in May.
- Pekin Municipal Airport (C15) - serves Pekin (Located by the Village of South Pekin, Illinois)
- Manito Mitchell Airport (C45) - serves Manito, a village in Mason County
Public Transportation
Bus and paratransit service in Tazewell County is provided by Peoria's “CityLink” system, operating six routes (four originating from Peoria) seven days a week.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 131,343. The median age was 41.9 years. 22.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 19.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 97.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.1 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 92.2% White, 1.3% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.7% from some other race, and 4.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.4% of the population.
78.2% of residents lived in urban areas, while 21.8% lived in rural areas.
There were 53,985 households in the county, of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 50.0% were married-couple households, 17.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 25.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
!Pop 1990
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020
!% 1980
!% 1990
!% 2000
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|130,406
|122,037
|124,270
|128,625
|style='background: #ffffe6; |119,882
|98.73%
|98.66%
|96.72%
|95.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |91.27%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|203
|183
|1,115
|1,351
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,629
|0.15%
|0.15%
|0.87%
|1.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.24%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|180
|213
|293
|307
|style='background: #ffffe6; |279
|0.14%
|0.17%
|0.23%
|0.23%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.21%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|404
|423
|654
|990
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,080
|0.31%
|0.34%
|0.51%
|0.73%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.82%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|x
|x
|9
|30
|style='background: #ffffe6; |41
|x
|x
|0.01%
|0.02%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.03%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|77
|11
|35
|122
|style='background: #ffffe6; |324
|0.06%
|0.01%
|0.03%
|0.09%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.25%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|x
|x
|778
|1,455
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4,947
|x
|x
|0.61%
|1.07%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.77%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|808
|825
|1,331
|2,514
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3,161
|0.61%
|0.67%
|1.04%
|1.86%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.41%
|-
|Total
|132,078
|123,692
|128,485
|135,394
|style='background: #ffffe6; |131,343
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
As of the 2010 United States census, there were 135,394 people, 54,146 households, and 37,163 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 57,516 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.2% white, 1.0% black or African American, 0.7% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 0.5% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.9% of the population.
Of the 54,146 households, 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.4% were non-families, and 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.94. The median age was 39.8 years.
Communities
Cities
- Delavan
- East Peoria
- Marquette Heights
- Pekin (seat)
- Washington
Villages
- Armington
- Creve Coeur
- Deer Creek
- Hopedale
- Mackinaw
- Minier
- Morton
- North Pekin
- Tremont
Census-designated place
- Heritage Lake
Other unincorporated communities
- Groveland
- Schaeferville
Townships
Tazewell County is divided into these townships:
- Deer Creek
- Delavan
- Groveland
- Hittle
- Hopedale
- Little Mackinaw
- Mackinaw
- Morton
- Pekin
- Tremont
- Washington
Politics
Tazewell County has been solidly Republican on the national level, voting for the Republican candidate for U.S. president since 1996 and in all but two elections since 1952.
For the purposes of Illinois law, as of the 2022 general primary election, the three established political parties in the county are the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, and the Libertarian Party as all have received 5% or greater of the vote in a recent election. A relative rarity, Tazewell is one of only five counties where the Libertarian Party was an established political party in 2022. In the 2022 primary, 20 voters requested a Libertarian primary ballot.
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Education
K-12 school districts include:
- Deer Creek-Mackinaw Community Unit School District 701
- Delavan Community Unit School District 703
- Eureka Community Unit District 140
- Illini Central Community Unit School District 189
- Hartsburg-Emden Community Unit School District 21
- Midwest Central Community Unit School District 191
- Morton Community Unit School District 709
- Olympia Community Unit School District 16
- Tremont Community Unit School District 702
Secondary school districts include: