Dolton (pronounced "DAWL-ton") is a village in

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...

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 Rock ...

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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The population was 21,426 at the 2020 census. Dolton is located just west of the expressway

Interstate 94 Interstate 94 (I-94) is an east–west Interstate Highway connecting the Great Lakes and northern Great Plains regions of the United States. Its western terminus is just east of Billings, Montana, at a junction with I-90; its eastern term ...

and immediately south of the city limits of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. Its most common ZIP code is 60419. Dolton is bordered by Chicago to the north, Riverdale and Harvey to the west,

South Holland South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely ...

to the south and

Calumet City Calumet City ( ) is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 36,033 at the 2020 census, a decline of 2.7% from 37,042 in 2010. The ZIP code is 60409. Etymology The word ''Calumet'' is the Miꞌkmaq and French word for a ...

to the east.

History

A post office has been in operation in Dolton since 1854. The village was named for a family of early settlers.

Geography

Dolton is located at (41.627509, -87.598512). According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Dolton has a total area of , of which (or 97.50%) is land and (or 2.50%) is water.

Surrounding areas

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

: Riverdale

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

: Riverdale / Harvey

: Harvey

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 21,426 people, 7,985 households, and 5,361 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 8,768 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 90.69%

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 ...

, 3.25%

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 ...

, 0.17% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 2.62% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 3.04% 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 for ...

or Latino of any race were 4.37% of the population. There were 7,985 households, out of which 54.29% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 25.45% were married couples living together, 35.94% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.86% were non-families. 29.42% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.44 and the average family size was 2.78. The village's age distribution consisted of 24.8% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 21.8% from 25 to 44, 27% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.5 males. The median income for a household in the village was $50,237, and the median income for a family was $57,634. Males had a median income of $33,939 versus $33,354 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 $22,135. About 15.4% of families and 22.1% 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 ...

, including 42.8% of those under age 18 and 13.2% of those age 65 or over. ''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.''

Government

Dolton is in

Illinois's 2nd congressional district Illinois's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Illinois. Based in the south suburbs of Chicago, the district includes southern Cook county, eastern Will county, and Kankakee county, as well as the city ...

and the 15th State Senate District. Approximately 3/4 of the village is within the Illinois Legislature's 29th Representative District, with the remainder in the 30th district. The village is split evenly between the Cook County Judicial Circuit 1st Subcircuit and 2nd Subcircuit. Most of the village is part of the Dolton Park District, with a small portion served by the Calumet Memorial Park District. The entire village is part of the Dolton Public Library District and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District.Cook County Clerks Office

Education

Dolton is served primarily by

Dolton School District 148 Dolton may refer to: * Dolton, Devon, UK * Dolton, Illinois, USA * Dolton, South Dakota, USA Other uses * Dolton Records Dolton Records was a record label based in Seattle that was originally known as Dolphin Records. It was initially owned by ...

and

Dolton School District 149 Dolton may refer to: * Dolton, Devon, UK * Dolton, Illinois, USA * Dolton, South Dakota, USA Other uses * Dolton Records Dolton Records was a record label based in Seattle that was originally known as Dolphin Records. It was initially owned ...

. A small portion of the village is within

South Holland School District 151 South Holland School District 151 is an elementary school district in South Holland, Illinois, South Holland, a Chicago suburb located in southern Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois. It is composed of four schools; three elementary schoo ...

. High school students are served by

Thornton Township High School District Number 205 Thornton Township High School District 205 is a consolidated high school district based in South Holland, Illinois that serves much of Cook County's Thornton Township. The district is located south of the city of Chicago; the township's norther ...

, which operates Thornridge High School in Dolton. The entire village is part of

South Suburban Community College District 510 South Suburban College is a Public college, public community college in South Holland, Illinois. It has a second campus in Oak Forest, Illinois. History South Suburban College was founded in 1927 as Thornton Junior College. At that time, the co ...

Notable people

Dolton is the hometown of former NFL star Donovan McNabb, ''

At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper ''At the Movies'' (originally ''Siskel & Ebert & the Movies'', and later ''At the Movies with Ebert and Roeper'') is an American movie review television program produced by Disney–ABC Domestic Television in which two film critics share the ...

'' co-host

Richard Roeper Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American columnist and film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times''. He co-hosted the television series '' At the Movies'' with Roger Ebert from 2000 to 2008, serving as the late Gene Siskel's success ...

, actress

Jane Lynch Jane Marie Lynch (born July 14, 1960) is an American actress, comedian and author. She is known for starring as Sue Sylvester in the musical comedy series '' Glee'' (2009–2015), which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award. Lynch also gained recog ...

, news anchor Susan Carlson, writer Mac Gretz an
''Los Angeles Times''

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

Jim Kirk. William Shaw, Illinois state legislator, served as the first African-American mayor of Dolton. He was followed as mayor by Ronnie Lewis who was the first African-American to serve as an official in the Dolton government.

Nelsan Ellis Nelsan Ellis (November 30, 1977 – July 8, 2017) was an American actor and playwright. He achieved critical acclaim for his portrayal of Lafayette Reynolds in the HBO television series ''True Blood'' (2008–2014), for which he won a Sa ...

, who played Lafayette Reynolds in ''

True Blood ''True Blood'' is an American fantasy horror drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball. It is based on '' The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', a series of novels by Charlaine Harris. A reboot is currently in development. The ser ...

'', grew up there. R. Bruce Waddell, Illinois state representative and businessman, was born in Dolton.'Illinois Blue Book 1977-1978,' Biographical Sketch of R. Bruce Waddell, pg. 133

References

External links

Village of Dolton official website
{{authority control Villages in Illinois Chicago metropolitan area Villages in Cook County, Illinois Populated places established in 1893 1893 establishments in Illinois Majority-minority cities and towns in Cook County, Illinois