About Livingston

Livingston County was established on February 27, 1837. It was formed from parts of McLean, LaSalle, and Iroquois Counties, and named after Edward Livingston, a prominent politician who was mayor of New York City and represented New York in the United States House of Representatives and Louisiana in both houses of Congress. He later served as Andrew Jackson’s Secretary of State and as Minister to France. Although he had no connections to Illinois, the General Assembly found him accomplished enough to name a county after him. Currently, Livingston County is comprised of 1,044.29 square miles of land.

As of the 2010 U.S. Census, there were 38,950 people, 14,613 households, and 9,741 families residing in Livingston County. The population density was 37.3 people per square mile, with 23,057 people (59.2%) in an urban area and 15,893 (40.8%) in a rural. There were 15,895 housing units at an average density of 15.2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the County was 89.6% White, 4.8% Black or African American, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 0.5% Asian, and 1.2% from other races. Additional census information can be found at www.census.gov or at www.census.illinois.gov.

Livingston County operates under the Township form of government.  The Illinois Constitution of 1848 allowed voters in each county to choose to establish township governments or a county commission form of government. Today, 85 of the 102 counties in Illinois operate under the township form of government. Township counties usually operate with standing committees. These committees study the particular problems that arise within their areas of responsibility and submit recommendations to the full board for action. A county board member can also hold the office of township supervisor.  Additional information regarding the County Board Committee structure can be found under Committees.

Additional information for each subdivision can be found under County Services.  Annual appropriations for each subdivision can be found within the Finance Page, under County Services, by clicking on the appropriate Annual Budget.  Information regarding local communities, amenities, education, healthcare and housing can be found by visiting http://livelivingston.org/.

County Organizational Chart:

Livingston-County-Illinois-TofO-2019-03