Thornton Township is one of 29 townships in Cook 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 Rock ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 157,865. Incorporated in 1850, it is located immediately south of the city 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 ...

. It is the second most populous township in Illinois as of the 2020 census, after Rockford Township (pop. 170,478) in Winnebago County. The village of

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 ...

serves as the governmental seat of Thornton Township. The township is named after the village of Thornton, located in the south central portion of the township. Many parts of the township carry names inspired by the village's name, including the three high schools of Thornton Township District 205: Thornton Township High School in Harvey;

Thornwood High School Thornwood High School is a public high school located in South Holland, Illinois, United States. It was built as part of Thornton Township High School District 205. It opened in 1971 to accommodate overcrowding at other District 205 schools, Tho ...

in South Holland; Thornridge High School in Dolton; Thornton Fractional South High School in

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, maki ...

; Thornton Fractional North High School in Calumet City and Thornton Fractional Center for Academics and Technology also in Calumet City. Supervisor Frank M. Zuccarelli was voted Supervisor of the Year in 2007 by the Township Officials of Illinois for his outstanding service to the residents of Thornton Township.

Geography

According to the

United States 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 th ...

, Thornton Township covers an area of ; of this, is land and (1.03 percent) is water.

Boundaries

Thornton Township is bordered by Western Avenue on the west, 138th Street on the north, the

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

state line on the east, and 183rd/186th Street on the south.

Cities and villages

Unincorporated Town

* Thornton Junction at

Adjacent townships

Cemeteries

The township contains these 11 cemeteries: Berger, First Reformed of Lansing, Glen Oak, Hazelwood, Holy Cross Catholic, Homewood Memorial Gardens, Mount Forest, Oak Lawn, Oak Ridge, Oakland and Washington Memory Gardens.

Major highways

Airports and landing strips

Ingalls Memorial Hospital Ingalls Memorial Hospital is a general medical and surgical hospital located in Harvey, Illinois, a south suburb of Chicago, Illinois. Ingalls is a secular establishment. In 2016, Ingalls completed a merger with the University of Chicago Medicin ...

Heliport

Lakes

Forest Preserves

The following are all part of the Cook County Forest Preserves:

Colleges

South Suburban College South Suburban College is a 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 college was an ext ...

Demographics

According to the 2020 Census, there were 157,865 people, 61,490 households, and 37,187 families in the township. The population declined by 11,461 people or by 6.77% between the 2010 and 2020 censuses. The population density was . Out of the 66,938 housing units, 7,065 of them were vacant. The racial makeup of the township was 69.94%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

, 14.11%

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 ...

, 0.51% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 8.67% from other races, and 6.14% from two or more races. Latinos of any race made up 15.19% of the population. Of the inhabitants, 22.4% were under the age of 18, 63.4% were between 18 and 65 years old, and 14.2% were aged 65 years or older. The median age was 38.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 77.9 males.

Political districts

References

*
United States Census Bureau 2007 TIGER/Line Shapefiles

United States National Atlas

External links

Thornton Township official website

Township Officials of Illinois

Cook County official site

{{authority control Townships in Cook County, Illinois Townships in Illinois 1850 establishments in Illinois