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Office: Alexander County Emergency Management – Director Mike Turner; (618) 734-7000, 2000 Washington Avenue, Cairo, IL 62914.
Sheriff: Alexander County Sheriff’s Office – 2000 Washington Avenue #7, Cairo, IL 62914 | (618) 734-2141. County population approximately 9,590 (2022 estimate) across 236 square miles.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-57 and US-51/60/62 serve Cairo, the county seat, located at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers – the southernmost city in Illinois. Alexander County is bounded by the Mississippi River to the west and south, the Ohio and Cache Rivers to the east, and Union County to the north.
Notes: Alexander County was organized from part of Union County in 1819, named for Dr. William M. Alexander, a physician who practiced in America, Illinois, the county’s first seat and later Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives (1822). The county seat moved repeatedly: from America (now part of Pulaski County) to Unity (1833), then Thebes (1843), then finally to Cairo (1860) after Cairo’s population and prosperity grew enough to win the seat by a wide margin.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Alexander County Courthouse – Cairo, IL, built in the 1960s, the latest in a series of courthouses across four different towns in the county’s history.
Notes: Cairo was chartered in 1837 at the site of the earlier Fort Defiance, and grew to 2,000 residents by 1841, but was nearly abandoned after a devastating 1842 flood. A newly built levee protected the town during the Great Flood of 1844, and Cairo began to prosper again in the early 1850s. Cairo has genuinely been visited by four sitting U.S. presidents. Nearby Tamms, Illinois, was home to the Tamms Correctional Center, once known as the first “supermax” prison in the state.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Alexander County Veterans Assistance – confirm current contact via alexandercounty.illinois.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Cairo Public Library (Cairo) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers at Cairo, the Alexander County Courthouse, and the historic riverfront are the county’s premier heritage attractions.
Notes: The genuine, dramatic river-confluence setting of Cairo – visited by four sitting U.S. presidents over its history – is among the standout local facts covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Alexander County Assessor’s Office – Leslie J. Matlock; confirm current contact via alexandercounty.illinois.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current dedicated shelter contact via alexandercounty.illinois.gov; Alexander County Sheriff’s Office for animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Alexander County Environmental Health – confirm current contact via alexandercounty.illinois.gov.
NOTES: Alexander County is the second county completed in Illinois’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, dramatic river-confluence setting of Cairo is among the standout local facts covered in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Alexander County County
Alexander County is Illinois’s southernmost county at the confluence of the nation’s two greatest rivers – Cairo’s Civil War headquarters role and the dramatic Ohio-Mississippi river junction that made this remote tip of Illinois one of the most strategically significant locations in 19th-century America define a county whose history is disproportionate to its current modest size.
Cairo (the county seat, population ~1,700) is Alexander County’s governmental hub at the Ohio-Mississippi confluence, a once-prosperous river city whose Civil War significance, Charles Dickens visit, and dramatic flood history have left an extraordinary architectural and historical legacy in one of Illinois’s most challenging economic environments.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Alexander County Supervisor of Assessments at 2000 Washington Avenue, Cairo, IL 62914, phone 618-734-7000. IL assessed at 33.33% of market value.
Courts & Legal
Alexander County Circuit Court at 2000 Washington Avenue, Cairo, IL 62914, phone 618-734-7000, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Vital Records, Elections)
2000 Washington Ave., Cairo, IL 62914
(618) 734-0107
CIRCUIT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
2000 Washington Ave., Cairo, IL 62914
(618) 734-0107
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
2000 Washington Ave., Cairo, IL 62914
(618) 734-0107
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Alexander County Circuit Clerk (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Alexander County has never adopted township form of government – it is instead divided into precincts, which is worth knowing when researching historical local governance records.
Local societies
No dedicated Alexander County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Alexander County Circuit Clerk (First Judicial Circuit) 2000 Washington Avenue, Cairo, IL 62914 (618) 734-0107
Alexander County is Illinois’ southernmost county, created in March 1819, named for early legislator William M. Alexander. Cairo, the county seat, sits at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and has been visited by four former U.S. presidents.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Illinois has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code and is not a community property state – it follows common law property principles. Illinois probate is governed by the Probate Act of 1975 (755 ILCS 5/). Two main paths:
Small Estate Affidavit – for estates where personal property (excluding real estate) is valued at $150,000 or less (raised from $100,000 effective August 15, 2025), with no unresolved debts or claims and no real estate involved. No formal court probate is required.
Formal Probate (Independent or Supervised Administration) – required when the estate doesn’t qualify for the small estate affidavit. Most Illinois probate cases proceed under Independent Administration, letting the estate representative act without prior court approval for most routine actions.
Step 2: filing for formal probate
File the decedent’s original will (if one exists) with the Alexander County Circuit Clerk, where the decedent resided at death.
Petition the court to open the estate and appoint an executor (if there’s a will) or an administrator (if intestate).
The court issues Letters of Office (Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration) appointing the representative.
Publish notice to creditors and unknown heirs as required by Illinois law.
Under Independent Administration, the representative marshals assets, pays valid debts and taxes, and distributes the remaining estate without needing court approval for each step.
File a final accounting or closing documents to formally close the estate.
What it costs
Illinois imposes its own state estate tax on estates valued above $4 million, with rates up to 16%. There is no Illinois inheritance tax.
Filing fees vary by county – confirm current amounts with the Alexander County Circuit Clerk.
Most uncontested probate proceedings in Illinois can be completed within about a year.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
2000 Washington Ave., Cairo, IL 62914
(618) 734-2151
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Vital Records, Elections)
2000 Washington Ave., Cairo, IL 62914
(618) 734-0107
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
2000 Washington Ave., Cairo, IL 62914
(618) 734-0107
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Alexander County Health Dept
(618) 734-3052
IL DCFS — Cairo
(618) 734-3401
IL Medicaid
(800) 843-6154
Heartland Regional Medical Center (Marion)
heartlandregional.com
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Alexander County Health Department – confirm current contact via alexandercounty.illinois.gov.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Cairo
Population: 5,500
Area: 236 sq mi
Established: 1819
Public Records
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