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McLean County is the largest county by land area in the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sov ...
of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 169,572. Its county seat is Bloomington. McLean County is included in the
Bloomington–Normal Bloomington–Normal, officially known as the Bloomington, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area, is a metropolitan area in Central Illinois anchored by the twin municipalities of Bloomington and Normal. At the 2010 census, the municipalitie ...
, IL
Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...
.


Pronunciation

Locally, the second syllable of ''McLean'' is pronounced with a 'long a' (ā, IPA /ei/) sound (i.e. "muh-KLAIN") (as with native son McLean Stevenson), not with a 'long e' (ē, IPA /i/) sound ("muh-KLEEN").


History

The first white settlers in what became McLean County arrived around 1821. The first settlement was Blooming Grove, established in 1822 near present-day Bloomington. McLean County was formed late in 1830 out of Tazewell County. It was named for John McLean, United States Senator for Illinois, who died in 1830. File:McLean_County_Illinois_1830.png, McLean County from the time of its creation to 1837 File:McLean County Illinois 1837.png, McLean County between 1837 and 1841 File:McLean County Illinois 1841.png, McLean County in 1841, reduced to its present borders


Geography

According to the
U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water. It is the largest county in Illinois by land area and third-largest by total area after
Cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...
and Lake Counties, which have large portions of their areas on Lake Michigan. McLean County is actually larger than the land area of Rhode Island (1045 sq mi).


Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Bloomington have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of was recorded in June 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in May.


Adjacent counties

* Woodford County - northwest * Livingston County - northeast * Ford County - east * Champaign County - southeast *
Piatt County Piatt County is a county in Illinois. According to the 2020 United States Census, it had a population of 16,673. Its county seat is Monticello. Piatt County is part of the Champaign– Urbana, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The f ...
- south * DeWitt County - south * Logan County - southwest * Tazewell County - west


Major highways

* Interstate 39 *
Interstate 55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The h ...
* Interstate 74 *
U.S. Highway 24 U.S. Route 24 (US 24) is one of the original United States highways of 1926. It originally ran from Pontiac, Michigan, in the east to Kansas City, Missouri, in the west. Today, the highway's eastern terminus is in Independence Township, Mic ...
*
U.S. Highway 51 U.S. Route 51 or U.S. Highway 51 (US 51) is a major south-north United States highway that extends from the western suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana, to within of the Wisconsin–Michigan state line. As most of the United States Numbered Highw ...
* U.S. Highway 66 * U.S. Highway 136 * U.S. Highway 150 *
Illinois Route 9 Illinois Route 9 (IL 9) is a cross-state, east–west rural state highway in the central part of the U.S. state of Illinois. It travels from Niota at the Fort Madison Toll Bridge, that crosses the Mississippi River into Iowa, eastward across ce ...
* Illinois Route 54 * Illinois Route 122 * Illinois Route 165 *
Illinois Route 251 Illinois Route 251 is a north–south state highway that runs on the former alignment of U.S. Route 51 before Interstate 39 was built in north central Illinois. It runs from U.S. 51 at the border with Wisconsin to I-39 and U.S. 51 south of K ...


Transit

*
Connect Transit Connect Transit, formerly Bloomington-Normal Public Transit System until 2012, is the primary provider of mass transportation in Bloomington/Normal, IL. The system consists of 13 fixed routes, plus the Illinois State University Redbird Express, an ...
*
Uptown Station Uptown Station is an intermodal transportation center in Normal, Illinois, United States. It is served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system, and is the major intercity rail station in north-central Illinois. It appears on Amtrak tim ...
*
List of intercity bus stops in Illinois The following is a list of presently operating intercity bus stops in Illinois with regular service. The list excludes charter buses, local transit buses, paratransit systems, and trolleybus systems. The following companies provide intercity bus se ...


Demographics

As of the
2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...
, there were 169,572 people, 65,104 households, and 40,124 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 69,656 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 84.3% white, 7.3% black or African American, 4.3% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 1.5% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 4.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 31.2% were
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
, 15.4% were
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
, 11.4% were
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
, and 11.0% were English. Of the 65,104 households, 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.5% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 38.4% were non-families, and 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.02. The median age was 32.1 years. The median income for a household in the county was $57,642 and the median income for a family was $77,093. Males had a median income of $52,271 versus $39,685 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,167. About 6.2% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.4% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.


Communities


Cities

* Bloomington (seat) *
Chenoa María Laura Corradini Falomir (born June 25, 1975, in Mar del Plata, Argentina) popularly known as Chenoa, is an Argentine-Spanish music artist who rose to fame as a contestant on reality television singing competition '' Operación Triunfo''. ...
* El Paso * Le Roy *
Lexington Lexington may refer to: Places England * Laxton, Nottinghamshire, formerly Lexington Canada * Lexington, a district in Waterloo, Ontario United States * Lexington, Kentucky, the largest city with this name * Lexington, Massachusetts, the oldes ...


Town

* Normal


Villages

*
Anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄγ ...
* Arrowsmith * Bellflower * Carlock * Colfax * Cooksville * Danvers * Downs * Ellsworth * Gridley * Heyworth * Hudson * McLean * Saybrook * Stanford * Towanda


Census-designated place

* Twin Grove


Other unincorporated communities

* Barnes * Bentown * Bloomington Heights * Covell * Cropsey * Fletcher * Funks Grove * Gillum *
Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
* Holder * Kerrick * Laurette * Lytleville *
Meadows A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifici ...
* Merna * Padua * Randolph * Sabina * Shirley * Watkins * Weedman *
Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia ...
* Yuton


Townships

McLean County is divided into these townships: * Allin *
Anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄγ ...
* Arrowsmith * Bellflower * Bloomington * Bloomington City * Blue Mound * Cheney's Grove *
Chenoa María Laura Corradini Falomir (born June 25, 1975, in Mar del Plata, Argentina) popularly known as Chenoa, is an Argentine-Spanish music artist who rose to fame as a contestant on reality television singing competition '' Operación Triunfo''. ...
* Cropsey * Dale * Danvers * Dawson * Downs * Dry Grove *
Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
* Funk's Grove * Gridley * Hudson * Lawndale *
Lexington Lexington may refer to: Places England * Laxton, Nottinghamshire, formerly Lexington Canada * Lexington, a district in Waterloo, Ontario United States * Lexington, Kentucky, the largest city with this name * Lexington, Massachusetts, the oldes ...
* Martin * Money Creek * Mount Hope * Normal *
Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...
* Randolph * Towanda * West *
White Oak The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera '' ...
* Yates


Ghost towns

* Allin * Benjaminville * Kumler


Government

McLean County has a twenty-member board representing ten districts within the county. Each district elects two members. Districts 1-3 encompass all of the county outside of Bloomington and Normal. Districts 4-6 are within the town limits of Normal, and districts 7-10 are within Bloomington city limits.


Politics

Like most of central Illinois, McLean County is historically Republican-leaning. The only Democrats to gain an absolute majority of the county's vote since the Civil War have been
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As th ...
in 1932 and 1936, Lyndon Johnson by a mere 1.2% in 1964, and Joe Biden in 2020. Illinois resident
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
in 2008 and
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
in 1912 both carried the county by narrow pluralities. The county has not swung as heavily to the Democrats as other counties dominated by college towns. In recent years, however, McLean has trended sufficiently Democratic that Hillary Clinton in
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh c ...
lost the county by just 1.3 percent, while Biden won the county in
2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...
with a narrow majority. McLean County is one of only thirteen counties to have voted for Obama in 2008, Romney in 2012, Trump in 2016, and Biden in 2020.


Education

Here is a list of school districts (all fully K-12) with territory in the county, no matter how slight, even if the district's schools and/or administrative offices are not in the county: * Blue Ridge Community Unit School District 18 * Bloomington School District 87 * El Paso-Gridley Community Unit School District 11 * Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Community Unit School District 5 * Heyworth Community Unit School District 4 * Le Roy Community Unit School District 2 * Lexington Community Unit School District 7 * McLean County Unit School District 5 * Olympia Community Unit School District 16 * Prairie Central Community Unit School District 8 * Ridgeview Community Unit School District 19 * Tri-Valley Community Unit School District 3 Illinois State University is in the county.


Notable persons

* George J. Mecherle, founder of State Farm *
Adlai Stevenson II Adlai Ewing Stevenson II (; February 5, 1900 – July 14, 1965) was an American politician and diplomat who was twice the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. He was the grandson of Adlai Stevenson I, the 23rd vice president of ...
, Governor of Illinois (1949–53), two-time Democratic nominee for the U.S. presidency, and Ambassador to the United Nations (1961–65) * Pokey LaFarge, musician and songwriter *
Bonnie Lou Mary Joan Okum (née Kath; October 27, 1924 – December 8, 2015), known by her performing name Bonnie Lou, was an American musical pioneer, recognized as one of the first female rock and roll singers. She is also one of the first artists to gain ...
, recording artist and television celebrity * William H. Rowe, farmer, businessman, and politician


See also

* National Register of Historic Places listings in McLean County, Illinois


Notes


References


External links


McLean County Government Web Site

McLean County Divorce

Map of McLean Co., showing political subdivisions
{{Coord, 40.49, -88.85, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-IL_source:UScensus1990 Illinois counties 1830 establishments in Illinois Populated places established in 1830