Tamms is a village in Alexander County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The population was 430 at the 2020 census, down from 632 at the 2010 census. It is part of the

Cape Girardeau Cape Girardeau ( , french: Cap-Girardeau ; colloquially referred to as "Cape") is a city in Cape Girardeau and Scott Counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. At the 2020 census, the population was 39,540. The city is one of two principal citi ...

–

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

, MO-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 as a city or tow ...

History

Tamms was established under the name of Idlewild in 1883. The railroad service ended in the 1970s and therefore the economy declined. Tamms is the location of the

Tamms Correctional Center The Tamms Correctional Center is a closed Illinois Department of Corrections prison located in Tamms, Illinois. Prior to its 2013 closure, the prison housed people in two sections: (1) a 200-bed minimum security facility, opened in 1995, and (2) a ...

, a super-maximum correctional facility that was operated by the

Illinois Department of Corrections The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) is the code department of the Illinois state government that operates the adult state prison system. The IDOC is led by a director appointed by the Governor of Illinois, and its headquarters are in Sp ...

and housed the State of Illinois

execution chamber An execution chamber, or death chamber, is a room or chamber in which capital punishment is carried out. Execution chambers are almost always inside the walls of a maximum-security prison, although not always at the same prison where the death r ...

. Illinois abolished the death penalty in 2011. This prison was closed in 2013.

Geography

Tamms is located at (37.240207, -89.264822). According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Tamms has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2020 census

''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 can be of any race.'' As of the 2020 census there were 430 people, 220 households, and 148 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 238 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 67.91%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 28.60%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.93% Native American, and 2.56% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 1.63% of the population. There were 220 households, out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.36% were married couples living together, 10.45% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.73% were non-families. 28.18% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.18% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.63 and the average family size was 2.91. The village's age distribution consisted of 25.2% under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 20.8% from 25 to 44, 34.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 166.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 151.2 males. The median income for a household in the village was $45,227, and the median income for a family was $47,045. Males had a median income of $38,295 versus $39,605 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the village was $18,068. About 8.8% of families and 17.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 11.3% of those under age 18 and 25.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

Tamms was the location of the former

, a super-maximum correctional facility operated by the

which was closed in January 2013. The State of Illinois

was at Tamms. Prior to the January 11, 2003 commutation of death row sentences, male death row inmates were housed in Tamms,

Menard Menard may refer to: Places Canada *Menard River, a tributary of the Wawagosic River in Quebec, Canada United States * Menard County, Illinois ** Menard, Illinois * Menard County, Texas ** Menard, Texas * Menard–Hodges site, archaeological s ...

, and

Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada *Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...

correctional centers. After that date, only Pontiac continued to host the male death row. The death penalty was abolished in Illinois in March 2011.

Education

The school district is the

Egyptian School District Egyptian Community Unit School District 5, also known locally as Egyptian School District or CUSD #5, is a unified school district headquartered in unincorporated Alexander County, Illinois, with a Tamms postal address. Brad Misner is the curre ...

. In previous eras Tamms Community High School was the public high school.

References

{{Alexander County, Illinois Villages in Alexander County, Illinois 1883 establishments in Illinois