Macon County, Illinois

Macon County was formed on January 19, 1829, out of Shelby County. It was named for Nathaniel Macon, a Colonel in the Revolutionary War. Macon later served as senator from North Carolina until his resignation in 1828. In 1830, future US President Abraham Lincoln and his family moved to Macon County. File:Macon County Illinois 1829.png|Macon County (1829) File:Macon County Illinois 1839.png|Macon County (1829–1841) File:Macon County Illinois 1841.png|Macon County (1841–1843) File:Macon County Illinois 1843.png|Macon County (1843–present) ==Geography==

According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.9%) is water. Because of its central location, Macon County is often referred to as "The Heart of Illinois." Climate and weather {{climate chart In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Decatur have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in February 1905 and a record high of was recorded in July 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in July. Major highways • Interstate 72 • U.S. Route 36 • U.S. Route 51 • Illinois Route 48 • Illinois Route 105 • Illinois Route 121 • Illinois Route 128 Transit • Decatur Public Transit System • SHOW Bus • List of intercity bus stops in Illinois Adjacent counties • De Witt - north • Piatt - northeast • Moultrie - southeast • Shelby - south • Christian - southwest • Sangamon - west • Logan - northwest ==Demographics==

2020 census As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 103,998. The median age was 41.3 years. 22.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.5% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 92.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.3 males age 18 and over. The racial makeup of the county as reported by the 2020 census was 72.9% White, 18.3% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.2% from some other race, and 5.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.6% of the population. The 2020 census also reported that 83.0% of residents lived in urban areas while 17.0% lived in rural areas. There were 44,549 households in the county, of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 40.6% were married-couple households, 20.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 31.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The population density was . There were 50,475 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 79.3% white, 16.3% black or African American, 1.0% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.7% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.9% of the population. Of the 45,855 households, 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.7% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.0% were non-families, and 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.89. The median age was 40.3 years. ==Communities==

Cities • Decatur (county seat and largest municipality) • Macon • Maroa Villages • Argenta • Blue Mound • Forsyth • Harristown • Long Creek • Mount Zion • Niantic • Oreana • Warrensburg Census-designated place • Boody • Elwin Unincorporated communities • Bearsdale • Blackland • Bulldog Crossing • Casner • Emery • Heman • Hervey City • Newburg • Oakley • Prairie Hall • Sangamon • Walker Ghost Town • Whistleville Townships • Austin • Blue Mound • Decatur • Friends Creek • Harristown • Hickory Point • Illini • Long Creek • Maroa • Milam (defunct) • Mount Zion • Niantic • Oakley • Pleasant View • South Macon • South Wheatland • Whitmore ==Politics==

In its early years Macon County favored the Democratic Party, voting for it in every election through 1860. Republican Abraham Lincoln won the county in the 1864 election, and from then until the Great Depression Macon County became solidly Republican, only giving a narrow plurality to Woodrow Wilson in 1912 when the GOP was divided by Theodore Roosevelt's splinter–party run. The FDR-era New Deal saw the county become more amenable to the Democratic Party again due to its strong industrial base. Macon County voted for the winner in every election from 1920 through 1996 save in 1960, 1968, and 1988, in two of which it voted for a losing Democrat over a winning Republican (Humphrey over Nixon in 1968 and Dukakis over George H. W. Bush in 1988). In 2000, Macon voted for a losing Democrat for the third time since the New Deal, as Al Gore narrowly held the county, but since then the county has once again trended Republican, as George W. Bush carried the county over John Kerry in 2004 with the same vote share as Reagan in his 1984 national landslide. Illinois native Barack Obama did carry the county with a plurality in his sweeping 2008 triumph, but lost the county to Mitt Romney in 2012. In 2016, Hillary Clinton got the lowest vote share of any Democrat since George McGovern; and while Joe Biden improved on her vote share in 2020, he still failed to match McGovern's percentage. ==Education==

School districts include: • Argenta-Oreana Community Unit School District 1 • Central A & M Community Unit School District 21 • Cerro Gordo Community Unit School District 100 • Clinton Community Unit School District 15 • Decatur School District 61 • Maroa-Forsyth Community Unit School District 2 • Meridian Community Unit School District 15 • Mount Pulaski Community Unit District 23 • Mount Zion Community Unit School District 3 • Okaw Valley Community Unit School District 302 • Sangamon Valley Community Unit School District 9 • Warrensburg-Latham Community Unit District 11 ==See also==