Winnebago County, Illinois

Winnebago County, Illinois
Seal
Location in the state of Illinois
Illinois's location in the U.S.
Founded	1834
Seat	Rockford
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	519.25 sq mi (1,345 km²) 513.36 sq mi (1,330 km²) 5.89 sq mi (15 km²), 1.13%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	295,266 541/sq mi (209/km²)
Website	www.co.winnebago.il.us

Winnebago County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 295,266, which is an increase of 6.1% from 278,418 in 2000. Its county seat is Rockford.

Winnebago County is part of the Rockford, Illinois, Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 519.25 square miles (1,344.9 km²), of which 513.36 square miles (1,329.6 km²) (or 98.87%) is land and 5.89 square miles (15.3 km²) (or 1.13%) is water.

Major highways

• Interstate 39
• Interstate 90
• U.S. Highway 20
• U.S. Highway 51
• Illinois Route 2
• Illinois Route 75
• Illinois Route 173
• Illinois Route 251

Adjacent counties

• Rock County, Wisconsin (north)
• Boone County (east)
• DeKalb County (southeast)
• Ogle County (south)
• Stephenson County (west)
• Green County, Wisconsin (northwest)

History

Winnebago County was formed in 1836 out of Jo Daviess and LaSalle Counties. It was named for the Winnebago Tribe of American Indians.

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  Winnebago County for its first year of existence

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  Winnebago County in 1837, reduced to its current borders by the creation of Stephenson and Boone Counties

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 278,418 people, 107,980 households, and 73,642 families residing in the county. The population density was 542 people per square mile (209/km²). There were 114,404 housing units at an average density of 223 per square mile (86/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 82.46% White, 10.53% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 1.72% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.11% from other races, and 1.86% from two or more races. 6.90% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 20.8% were of German, 9.2% Swedish, 8.9% Irish, 7.3% Italian, 6.6% English and 6.1% American ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 107,980 households out of which 32.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.30% were married couples living together, 11.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.80% were non-families. 26.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.40% under the age of 18, 8.40% from 18 to 24, 29.80% from 25 to 44, 22.70% from 45 to 64, and 12.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $43,886, and the median income for a family was $52,456. Males had a median income of $40,289 versus $25,942 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,194. About 6.90% of families and 9.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.90% of those under age 18 and 6.80% of those age 65 or over.

Present County Government Representation

Winnebago County is comprised by the following districts represented in 2009-2010 by the following individuals listed along with their political affiliation [1]:

District 1

• Randal Olson (R)
• Tom Owens (R)

District 2

• Steve Schultz (R)
• David Yeske (R)

District 3

• Doug Aurand (D)
• Kyle Logan (R)

District 4

• Dave Fiduccia (R)
• Dianne Parvin (R)

District 5

• Paul Gorski (D)
• Wendy Owano (R) [2]

District 6

• Pearl Hawks (D)
• Dorothy Redd (D)

District 7

• Angie Goral (D)
• Dave Tassoni (D)

District 8

• Kay Mullins (R)
• Melvin Paris (D)

District 9

• Ted Biondo (R)
• Fred Wescott (R)

District 10

• John Eckberg (R)
• Bob Kinnison (R)

District 11

• Isidro Barrios (D) [3]
• Karen Hoffman (D)

District 12

• George Anne Duckett (D)
• L.C. Wilson (D)

District 13

• Bob Hastings (D)
• Rick Pollack (R)

District 14

• Frank Gambino (R)
• John Sweeney (R)

Townships

Winnebago County is divided into these townships:

Burritt Cherry Valley Durand Harlem Harrison

Laona Owen Pecatonica Rockford Rockton

Roscoe Seward Shirland Winnebago

Cities and towns

Argyle Cherry Valley Durand Harrison Lake Summerset Loves Park

Machesney Park New Millford Pecatonica Rockford Rockton Roscoe

Seward Shirland South Beloit Winnebago

Climate and weather

Rockford, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     1.4   27 11     1.3   33 16     2.4   46 27     3.6   59 37     4   71 48     4.8   80 58     4.1   83 63     4.2   81 61     3.5   74 52     2.6   62 40     2.6   46 29     2.1   32 17 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     36   -3 -12     34   1 -9     61   8 -3     92   15 3     102   22 9     122   27 14     104   28 17     107   27 16     88   23 11     65   17 4     67   8 -2     52   0 -8 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Rockford have ranged from a low of 11 °F (−12 °C) in January to a high of 83 °F (28 °C) in July, although a record low of −27 °F (−33 °C) was recorded in January 1982 and a record high of 112 °F (44 °C) was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.34 inches (34 mm) in February to 4.80 inches (122 mm) in June.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Winnebago County, Illinois
• Winnebago County War Memorial

Further reading

• Shaw, Adele Marie (June 1904). "Common-Sense Country Schools: How Superintendent kern Has Revolutionized Rural Education In Winnebago County, Illinois". The World's Work: A History of Our Time VIII: 4883–4894. http://books.google.com/books?id=AYbNAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA4883. Retrieved 2009-07-10.  Includes numerous photos of c. 1904 Winnebago County schools.

External links

• Winnebago County Website
• History of Winnebago County