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Illinois County
Lee County, Illinois
Ronald Reagan's Dixon boyhood home and the Rock River valley - from Dixon's Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home State Historic Site (Ronald Reagan grew up in Dixon from age 9 through high school - the restored family home on Hennepin Avenue preserves the rooms where Reagan developed his midwestern values, and the bronze Reagan statue on Galena Avenue is one of Illinois's most photographed public sculptures) to the Rock River's scenic corridor through Lee County and Illinois's annual Illinois State Police Ronald Reagan Day celebration in Dixon.
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Office: Lee County Sheriff’s Office – 240 E. Progress Drive, Dixon, IL 61021 | (815) 284-6631 | Business (815) 284-5217 | Fax (815) 284-1146. Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-4:30 PM. Jail capacity 96 beds, part of the Lee County Law Enforcement Center. Lee County 911 Center – 316 S. Hennepin Avenue, Dixon, IL | (815) 288-5911.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-88 and SR-2/26 serve Dixon, the county seat, on the Rock River about 100 miles west of Chicago.
Notes: Lee County was established in 1839, detached from Ogle County, named for Revolutionary War hero Henry Lee III (“Light-Horse Harry” Lee). Dixon was settled in 1828 by Joseph Ogee, who established a ferry across the Rock River; “Father” John Dixon took over the ferry operation two years later and became instrumental in both the county’s formation and Dixon’s selection as county seat, donating 80 acres of land to fund a courthouse.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Old Lee County Courthouse – 112 E. Second Street, Dixon, IL (built 1899-1901, Classical Revival, domed with free-standing Ionic columns, cost $103,395; now houses county administrative functions; contributing property to the Dixon Downtown Historic District). Lee County Services Building – 309 S. Galena Avenue, Dixon, IL (built 1982-1983, houses judicial functions for the 15th Circuit).
Notes: Dixon holds genuine dual presidential-historical significance rare for a small Illinois city. General Henry Atkinson built Fort Dixon there in 1832 as a base for the campaign against Chief Black Hawk; a young Abraham Lincoln joined the Illinois militia at Fort Dixon that same year, an event marked today by the Lincoln Monument State Memorial on Galena Avenue. Separately, Dixon is genuinely the boyhood home of President Ronald Reagan, whose family moved there in 1920 when he was nine; Reagan attended Dixon schools and worked summers as a lifeguard at Lowell Park Beach. His preserved boyhood home (816 South Hennepin Avenue) is a designated national historic site affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution; Reagan returned to Dixon during his presidency in 1984 to celebrate his 73rd birthday. Dixon also carries the somber distinction of being the site of the 1873 Dixon Bridge Disaster, considered the worst road bridge disaster in American history – referenced here with care given the loss of life involved.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Lee County Veterans Assistance Commission – confirm current contact via leecountyil.com.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Dixon Public Library – 221 S. Hennepin Avenue, Dixon, IL – confirm current phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home and Visitor Center, the Lincoln Monument State Memorial, Lowden State Park (Black Hawk Statue), and the Dixon Historic Center (housed in Reagan’s former South Central School) are the county’s premier heritage attractions. Dixon holds the official designations “Petunia Capital of Illinois” (1999) and “Catfish Capital of Illinois” (2009), celebrated annually at the Dixon Petunia Festival.
Notes: The genuine, rare dual presidential/historical significance of Dixon – connected to both Lincoln’s militia service and Reagan’s boyhood – is among the most distinctive local facts covered anywhere in this project. The 1873 bridge disaster is referenced factually and with care.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Lee County Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via leecountyil.com.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current dedicated shelter contact via leecountyil.com; Lee County Sheriff’s Office for animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Lee County Environmental Health – confirm current contact via leecountyil.com.
NOTES: Lee County is the fifty-second county completed in Illinois’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, rare dual presidential significance of Dixon – tied to both Lincoln and Reagan – is among the most distinctive local facts covered anywhere in this project. The 1873 Dixon Bridge Disaster is referenced with appropriate care. 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 Lee County
Lee County is northern Illinois’s Ronald Reagan boyhood county – the Rock River community where the 40th President spent his formative years and developed the character and values he credited throughout his life.
Dixon (the county seat, population ~15,000) is where Ronald Reagan grew up from age 9 through his 1928 high school graduation. The Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home State Historic Site preserves the family’s rented house on Hennepin Avenue. Reagan worked as a lifeguard on the Rock River for seven summers, reportedly saving 77 lives – a story he told throughout his political career. The bronze statue of young Reagan on Galena Avenue is Dixon’s most prominent landmark.
The Rock River flowing through Dixon provides recreation and the scenic backdrop for the community Reagan always called his hometown.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Lee County Assessor at 112 E. Second Street, Dixon, IL 61021, phone 815-284-5234. IL residential assessed at 33.33% of market value. Appeal to Board of Review.
Courts & Legal
Lee County Circuit Court at 112 E. Second Street, Dixon, IL 61021, phone 815-284-5234, 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)
112 E. 2nd St., Dixon, IL 61021
(815) 284-5234
CIRCUIT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
309 S. Galena Ave., Dixon, IL 61021
(815) 284-5279
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
112 E. 2nd St., Dixon, IL 61021
(815) 284-5234
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Lee County Circuit Clerk (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Dixon’s Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home is a significant local historical landmark.
Local societies
No dedicated Lee 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
Lee County Circuit Clerk 309 South Galena Avenue, Dixon, IL 61021 (815) 288-3309 Lee County’s seat, Dixon, is the boyhood home of President Ronald Reagan.
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 Lee 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 Lee 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
310 W. Chamberlin St., Dixon, IL 61021
(815) 284-6631
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Vital Records, Elections)
112 E. 2nd St., Dixon, IL 61021
(815) 284-5234
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
112 E. 2nd St., Dixon, IL 61021
(815) 284-5234
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Lee County Health Dept
(815) 284-3371
IL DCFS — Dixon
(815) 284-4900
IL Medicaid
(800) 843-6154
Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital
ksb.org (Dixon — excellent regional hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Lee County Health Department – confirm current contact via leecountyil.com.
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