Kane County from the time of its creation to 1837, when DeKalb County was split off
Kane County between 1837 and 1841
Kane County in 1841, reduced to its present size
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county's area was 524 square miles (1,360 km2), of which 520 square miles (1,300 km2) is land and 4.1 square miles (11 km2) (0.8%) is water.[5] Its largest cities are along the Fox River.
In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Geneva have ranged from a low of 10 °F (−12 °C) in January to a high of 84 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −26 °F (−32 °C) was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of 111 °F (44 °C) was recorded in July 1936. The average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.52 inches (39 mm) in February to 4.39 inches (112 mm) in July.[6]
U.S. Decennial Census[9] 1790–1960[10] 1900–1990[11] 1990–2000[12] 2010–2019[2]
2000 census age pyramid for Kane County
Kane County, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of the 2010 census, there were 515,269 people, 170,479 households, and 128,323 families residing in the county.[16] The population density was 990.8 inhabitants per square mile (382.6/km2). There were 182,047 housing units at an average density of 350.1 per square mile (135.2/km2).[5] The racial makeup of the county was 74.6% white, 5.7% black or African American, 3.5% Asian, 0.6% American Indian, 13.0% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 30.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 24.3% were German, 13.0% were Irish, 7.9% were Polish, 7.4% were Italian, 7.1% were English, and 2.4% were American.
Of the 170,479 households, 42.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.2% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 24.7% were non-families, and 19.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.98 and the average family size was 3.45. The median age was 34.5 years.[16]
The median income for a household in the county was $67,767 and the median income for a family was $77,998. Males had a median income of $53,833 versus $39,206 for females. The per capita income for the county was $29,480. About 7.0% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.5% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.[17]
Kane county has an extensive county highway system that includes federal, state and county maintained routes. During the years that the county was represented by Dennis Hastert it received many federal earmarks for highway improvements to respond to population growth. In addition, the county has entered into an agreement with the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority to operate a limited access toll bridge on the Longmeadow Parkway that is not connected to any other tollway.
Kane County services are overseen by a 24 member Board which is elected every two years. The Board's chair is elected every four years. The Board sets the County's budget. Corrine Michelle Pierog is the current County Board Chair. There are currently 16 Democrats and 8 Republicans on the Board.
In addition to the Board chair, there are nine county officeholders elected countywide every four years. These positions are the Auditor, Circuit Clerk, County Clerk, Coroner, Recorder, Regional Office of Education Superintendent, Sheriff, State's Attorney, and Treasurer.
Kane County is coterminous with the 16th Judicial Circuit. The 16th Judicial Circuit is divided into four subcircuits. The first subcircuit consists of the majority of Aurora Township. The second subcircuit consists of most of Elgin and Dundee townships. The fourth subcircuit consists the tri-cities area of Batavia, Geneva, and Saint Charles. The third subcircuit consists of all territory not included in the other three subcircuits, which corresponds to an area of roughly the western two thirds of the county.[21]
Politics
As one of the Yankee-settled and prosperous suburban "collar counties", Kane County was a stronghold of the Free Soil Party in its first few elections, being one of nine Illinois counties to give a plurality to Martin van Buren in 1848. Kane County then unsurprisingly became solidly Republican for the century and a half following that party's formation. It voted for the GOP presidential nominee in every election between 1856 and 2004 except that of 1912 when the Republican Party was mortally divided and Progressive candidate Theodore Roosevelt carried the county with a majority of the vote over conservative incumbent William Howard Taft.
The gradual shift of the GOP towards white Southern Evangelicals, however, has led the generally moderate electorate of Kane and the other "collar counties" to trend towards the Democratic Party. In 2008, Senator Barack Obama became the first Democrat to carry Kane County since Franklin Pierce in 1852, and the first ever to win an absolute majority of the county's vote (the previous two Democratic winners, Pierce and James K. Polk in 1844 had both gained only pluralities due to strong Free Soil votes). Obama won a plurality in 2012, and Hillary Clinton improved upon Obama's showing to become the second Democrat to win a majority in 2016. In 2020, Joe Biden had the best performance ever by a Democrat in the county, even besting Obama's 2008 victory.
Forstall, Richard L., ed. (1996). Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790 to 1990: From the Twenty-One Decennial Censuses. United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Population Division. ISBN0-934213-48-8.
