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Illinois · Chicagoland · Fastest Growing County
Kendall County, Illinois
Illinois's fastest-growing county in the Chicago southwestern suburbs — from Yorkville's courthouse on the Fox River to Oswego's exploding master-planned residential communities, Plano's Farnsworth House (a Mies van der Rohe masterpiece), and a Fox Valley county that has seen some of the fastest residential growth in the Midwest driven by families seeking Chicago metro access with more land and lower costs. Property tax, courts, public records, and senior services for Kendall County residents.
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Kendall County's assessment ratio means effective tax rates are low — but incorrect appraisals still cost money. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Office: Kendall County Sheriff’s Office – 1102 Cornell Lane, Yorkville, IL 60560 | Main (630) 553-7500 | Non-Emergency Dispatch (630) 553-5856 | Fax (630) 553-1972 | Email: [email protected]; Sheriff Dwight A. Baird. Jail capacity 203 beds, located within the Public Safety Center Complex.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: SR-47/71/34 serve Yorkville, the county seat, “The City with a River in Its Heart” along the Fox River.
Notes: Kendall County was formed in 1841. Yorkville’s first settler, Earl Adams, built his cabin on Courthouse Hill in 1833. Yorkville was chosen as the original county seat, but Oswego held that title for a 13-year period before voters relocated county government back to the more centrally located Yorkville in 1859.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Kendall County Courthouse (current, since 1997) – north side of Yorkville. The original 1862-1864 limestone-and-brick courthouse (Italianate, architect O.S. Kinnie), standing four and a half stories with a two-story cupola, still exists on Ridge Street and is now used by the Kendall County Forest Preserve; National Register of Historic Places since 1998.
Notes: The original Kendall County Courthouse survived a genuine crisis: at about 4 a.m. on March 25, 1887, it was struck by fire. Yorkville had no fire department at the time and had to rely on railroad water cars rushed in from nearby Aurora to fight the blaze; citizens of Yorkville rescued the sheriff, his family, and prisoners from the building during the emergency. The structure was rebuilt in 1887 (architect Henry Hebard) as a faithful replica of the original. Separately, the county’s historic sheriff’s residence and jail (built 1892-1893, “Joliet Block” limestone, by the Pauly Jail Building Manufacturing Company) cost $9,622.33, chosen over a costlier Geneva design; the sheriff’s compensation in 1894 was $1,000 a year plus janitorial duties, landscaping, and 40 cents a day per prisoner boarded (later raised another 50 cents daily for janitorial work).
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Kendall County Veterans Assistance – confirm current contact via kendallcountyil.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Yorkville Public Library (Yorkville) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The original 1864 Kendall County Courthouse (National Register of Historic Places, now used by the Forest Preserve), the historic sheriff’s residence and jail, and the Fox River corridor through Yorkville are the county’s premier heritage attractions.
Notes: The genuine, dramatic 1887 courthouse fire and citizen rescue of the sheriff, his family, and prisoners is among the standout local historical facts covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Kendall County Assessment Office – confirm current contact via kendallcountyil.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current dedicated shelter contact via kendallcountyil.gov; Kendall County Sheriff’s Office for animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Kendall County Environmental Health – confirm current contact via kendallcountyil.gov.
NOTES: Kendall County is the forty-seventh county completed in Illinois’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, dramatic 1887 courthouse fire and citizen rescue is among the standout local historical 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 Kendall County
Kendall County’s growth story is extraordinary by any measure. As recently as 2000, the county had fewer than 55,000 residents; by 2025 it approaches 135,000 – a 145% increase in 25 years that few Illinois counties have matched at any point in their history. The Fox River valley communities of Yorkville, Oswego, Plano, and Minooka absorbed enormous residential development as Chicago-area families pushed southwest along the I-88 and Route 34 corridors in search of newer housing, lower costs, and larger lots than DuPage or Kane counties could offer. The Fox Valley area – spanning multiple counties along the Fox River – became one of the most active residential development corridors in Illinois.
The county’s rapid growth has created both opportunity and strain. School enrollment surges required rapid school construction; water and sewer infrastructure investment has been ongoing; and transportation planning has tried to keep pace with traffic patterns that can shift dramatically as new subdivisions open. But the tax base has grown with the population, and Kendall County has maintained fiscal stability unusual for high-growth communities. The county’s agricultural heritage – it was a productive dairy and grain county before the subdivisions – is preserved in the Fox River valley’s rural townships that remain largely undeveloped. Kendall County’s story is the Chicago metropolitan fringe in miniature: the managed (and sometimes unmanaged) tension between farmland character and suburban aspiration.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Illinois assesses property at 33.33% of fair market value; Kendall County conducts triennial reassessments. Property owners may appeal to the Board of Review within 30 days of assessment publication. The Senior Citizens Homestead Exemption reduces assessed value by $8,000; the Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze applies to residents 65+ with household income at or below $65,000. Illinois has an estate tax on estates above $4 million; no Illinois inheritance tax.
Recommended
Kendall County Board of Review appeal. Oswego and Yorkville among Illinois's strongest appreciation markets. No IL inheritance tax. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Courts & Legal
Circuit Court (Probate): The Kendall County Circuit Court – 23rd Judicial Circuit at 807 W. John Street, Yorkville, IL 60560, phone 630-553-4183, handles probate, estate administration, and all civil and criminal matters. County Recorder at 111 W. Fox Street maintains property records.
Senior Services
Northeastern Illinois Area Agency on Aging
245 West Roosevelt Road, Building 6, Suite 37, West Chicago, IL 60185
Phone: (630) 293-5990
Senior transportation, Meals on Wheels, caregiver support, and long-term care options counseling for Kendall County residents.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Vital Records, Elections)
111 W. Fox St., Yorkville, IL 60560
(630) 553-4104
CIRCUIT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
807 W. John St., Yorkville, IL 60560
(630) 553-4182
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
111 W. Fox St., Yorkville, IL 60560
(630) 553-4104
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Kendall County Circuit Clerk (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Kendall 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
Kendall County Circuit Clerk (23rd Judicial Circuit) 807 West John Street, Yorkville, IL 60560 (630) 553-4183 Kendall County is one of the fastest-growing counties in Illinois, part of the Chicago metro area.
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 Kendall 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 Kendall 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
1102 Cornell Lane, Yorkville, IL 60560
(630) 553-7500
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Vital Records, Elections)
111 W. Fox St., Yorkville, IL 60560
(630) 553-4104
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
111 W. Fox St., Yorkville, IL 60560
(630) 553-4104
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Kendall County Health Dept
(630) 553-9100
IL DCFS — Joliet
(815) 740-3750
IL Medicaid
(800) 843-6154
Rush Copley Medical Center (Aurora)
rushcopley.com
Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital (Geneva)
nm.org/delnor
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Kendall County Health Department – confirm current contact via kendallcountyil.gov.
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