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e-RD | Resources | 50 States | Illinois | Counties |

Cook County, Illinois

Cook County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

 

County Seat: Chicago
Year Organized: 1831
Square Miles: 946		 Court House:

118 North Clark Street
County Building
Chicago, IL 60602-1304
Etymology - Origin of County Name

Daniel P. Cook, pioneer lawyer, first Attorney General of Illinois and member of Congress (1819-27).

 

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Cook County was created on January 15, 1831 (Laws, 1831, p. 54) and was formed from Putnam County. Present area, or parts of it, formerly included in: Putnam County (1825–1831), Fulton County (1823–1825), Pike County (1821–1823), Clark County (1819–1821), Crawford County (1816–1819), Edwards County (1815–1816), Madison County (1812–1815), St. Clair County (1801–1812) and Knox, Northwest Territory (1795–1801).

The County was named for Daniel Pope Cook. In 1819, Cook was elected to Congress as the sole representative from Illinois. In Congress, Cook served on the committee on Public Lands and later on the Ways and Means Committee. He secured a grant of government lands to aid in the construction of the Illinois-Michigan Canal. In 1824, he had as sole congressman from Illinois cast the vote of the state for Adams, thus practically deciding the decision. Daniel Cook always suffered from poor health and died October 16, 1827, at the age of 33. Four years after his death, a county in Illinois was named in his honor. He probably never visited the area we call Cook County. The County Seat is Chicago (1831-Present).

Cook County is an urban county in the upper northeastern section of the State of Illinois that contains more than 800 local governmental units within its boundaries. With a population of approximately 5.3 million people, it is the second most populous county in the nation and the 19th largest government in the United States (2005 census statistics).

It is a home rule county pursuant to Article VII, Section 6 of the Illinois State Constitution and is governed by a 17-member Board of Commissioners who are elected from single-member districts. The Commissioners and a County Board President are elected to four-year terms by the citizens of the County.

Cook County contains 128 municipalities in its region, the most well known being the City of Chicago - which is the County seat where the central offices of Cook County are located. The City of Chicago and the suburban municipalities account for approximately 85% of the County's 946 square miles, while unincorporated areas make up the remaining 15%. The unincorporated areas of the County are under the jurisdiction of the Cook County Board of Commissioners.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,635 square miles (4,235 kmē), of which 946 square miles (2,449 kmē) is land and 689 square miles (1,785 kmē) (42.16%) is water, most of it in Lake Michigan.
 

Neighboring Counties:
  • North: Lake County
  • East: Lake Michigan
  • Southeast: Lake County, Ind.
  • Southwest: Will County
  • West: DuPage County; Kane County
  • Northwest: McHenry County
Cities and Towns:
- Alsip village Incorporated Area
- Arlington Heights village Incorporated Area
- Bartlett village Incorporated Area
- Bedford Park village Incorporated Area
- Bellwood village Incorporated Area
- Berkeley village Incorporated Area
- Berwyn city Incorporated Area
- Bloom township  
- Blue Island city Incorporated Area
- Bridgeview village Incorporated Area
- Broadview village Incorporated Area
- Brookfield village Incorporated Area
- Burbank city Incorporated Area
- Burnham village Incorporated Area
- Burr Ridge village Incorporated Area
- Calumet township  
- Calumet City city Incorporated Area
- Calumet Park village Incorporated Area
- Chicago (County Seat) city Incorporated Area
- Chicago Heights city Incorporated Area
- Chicago Ridge village Incorporated Area
- Cicero town Incorporated Area
- Country Club Hills city Incorporated Area
- Countryside city Incorporated Area
- Crestwood village Incorporated Area
- Des Plaines city Incorporated Area
- Dixmoor village Incorporated Area
- Dolton village Incorporated Area
- East Hazel Crest village Incorporated Area
- Elk Grove Village village (pt.) Incorporated Area
- Elmwood Park village Incorporated Area
- Evanston city Incorporated Area
- Evergreen Park village Incorporated Area
- Flossmoor village Incorporated Area
- Ford Heights village Incorporated Area
- Forest Park village Incorporated Area
- Forest View village Incorporated Area
- Franklin Park village Incorporated Area
- Glencoe village Incorporated Area
- Glenview village Incorporated Area
- Glenwood village Incorporated Area
- Golf village Incorporated Area
- Hanover Park village Incorporated Area
- Harvey city Incorporated Area
- Harwood Heights village Incorporated Area
- Hawthorne township  
- Hazel Crest village Incorporated Area
- Hickory Hills city Incorporated Area
- Hillside village Incorporated Area
- Hodgkins village Incorporated Area
- Hoffman Estates village Incorporated Area
- Hometown city Incorporated Area
- Homewood village Incorporated Area
- Indian Head Park village Incorporated Area
- Inverness village Incorporated Area
- Jefferson township  
- Justice village Incorporated Area
- Kenilworth village Incorporated Area
- Kildeer village Incorporated Area
- La Grange village Incorporated Area
- La Grange Park village Incorporated Area
- Lansing village Incorporated Area
- Leyden township  
- Lincolnwood village Incorporated Area
- Lynwood village Incorporated Area
- Lyons village Incorporated Area
- Maine township  
- Markham city Incorporated Area
- Matteson village Incorporated Area
- Maywood village Incorporated Area
- McCook village Incorporated Area
- McHenry city Incorporated Area
- Melrose Park village Incorporated Area
- Merrionette Park village Incorporated Area
- Midlothian village Incorporated Area
- Morton Grove village Incorporated Area
- Mount Prospect village Incorporated Area
- New Trier township  
- Niles village Incorporated Area
- Norridge village Incorporated Area
- North Riverside village Incorporated Area
- Northbrook village Incorporated Area
- Northfield village Incorporated Area
- Northlake city Incorporated Area
- Norwood Park township  
- Oak Forest city Incorporated Area
- Oak Lawn village Incorporated Area
- Oak Park village Incorporated Area
- Olympia Fields village Incorporated Area
- Orland township  
- Orland Hills village Incorporated Area
- Orland Park village Incorporated Area
- Palatine village Incorporated Area
- Palos township  
- Palos Heights city Incorporated Area
- Palos Hills city Incorporated Area
- Palos Park village Incorporated Area
- Park Forest village Incorporated Area
- Park Ridge city Incorporated Area
- Phoenix village Incorporated Area
- Posen village Incorporated Area
- Prospect Heights city Incorporated Area
- Proviso township  
- Rich township  
- Richton Park village Incorporated Area
- River Forest village Incorporated Area
- River Grove village Incorporated Area
- Riverdale village Incorporated Area
- Riverside village Incorporated Area
- Robbins village Incorporated Area
- Rolling Meadows city Incorporated Area
- Rosemont village Incorporated Area
- Sauk Village village Incorporated Area
- Schaumburg village Incorporated Area
- Schiller Park village Incorporated Area
- Skokie village Incorporated Area
- South Chicago Heights village Incorporated Area
- South Holland village Incorporated Area
- Steger village Incorporated Area
- Stickney village Incorporated Area
- Stone Park village Incorporated Area
- Streamwood village Incorporated Area
- Summit village Incorporated Area
- Thornton village Incorporated Area
- Tinley Park village Incorporated Area
- University Park village Incorporated Area
- Westchester village Incorporated Area
- Western Springs village Incorporated Area
- Wheeling village Incorporated Area
- Willow Springs village Incorporated Area
- Wilmette village Incorporated Area
- Winnetka village Incorporated Area
- Worth village Incorporated Area
County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here
 

  

 

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."
 

 

 

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