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Illinois County
McDonough County, Illinois
Western Illinois University and Macomb's prairie college town - from Western Illinois University (a regional comprehensive university enrollment ~7,000, whose presence transforms a remote west-central Illinois county seat into a college community with cultural resources well beyond its rural setting) to Macomb's well-preserved Victorian commercial district and the surrounding prairie agricultural landscape of corn and soybeans that stretches to every horizon.
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Office: McDonough County Sheriff’s Office – Jail: 110 South McArthur Street, Macomb, IL 61455 (60 beds), one block west of the courthouse. Confirm current sheriff and phone via McDonough County government offices.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-67 and SR-9 serve Macomb, the county seat, along the East Fork La Moine River, about 65-75 miles southwest of Peoria.
Notes: McDonough County was organized January 25, 1826, named for Commodore Thomas Macdonough, who commanded the American fleet to a decisive naval victory over the British at the 1814 Battle of Lake Champlain near Plattsburgh during the War of 1812. The area’s earliest white settlers, William Carter and Riggs Pennington, arrived that same year. Macomb was laid out in 1831 (settled 1829 as “Washington” by Baptist minister John Baker before being renamed for General Alexander Macomb, another War of 1812 officer); a log courthouse and, the following year, a jail were the county’s first public buildings.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: McDonough County Courthouse – 1 Courthouse Square, Macomb, IL | (309) 833-2474.
Notes: Macomb is genuinely the home of Western Illinois University, founded 1899. A well-documented local historical anecdote survives from the county’s old jail: sheriffs’ wives traditionally cooked meals for inmates, for which the sheriff was paid extra; in 1925, the Macomb Journal reported that a sheriff’s wife heard sawing noises coming from the jail, and the sheriff withheld meals from the prisoners until they surrendered the hacksaw blades they had used to cut nearly through a window bar. Macomb also holds a genuine, significant civil rights connection: Reverend C.T. Vivian, the celebrated Civil Rights leader and eventual Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, spent his childhood in Macomb (1929-1943) through his college years at Western Illinois University, and returned again in 1949-1951; the city honored him with a 2020 historical marker at his former home site and a 2022 downtown mural depicting his career, including his receipt of the medal from President Barack Obama. Macomb and McDonough County were also documented as ideologically divided over slavery in the years before and after the Civil War, split between abolitionist “Yankee” settlers and pro-secessionist Southern transplants.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: McDonough County Veterans Assistance – confirm current contact via county offices.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Macomb Public Library (Macomb) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Western Illinois University campus, the Macomb Courthouse Square Historic District, the Western Illinois Museum (201 S. Lafayette Street, Tue-Sat 10 AM-4 PM), and the C.T. Vivian historical marker/mural are the county’s premier heritage and cultural attractions.
Notes: The genuine, significant Civil Rights history connecting Macomb to Reverend C.T. Vivian is among the standout local facts covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: McDonough County Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via county offices.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current dedicated shelter contact via county offices; McDonough County Sheriff’s Office for animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: McDonough County Environmental Health – confirm current contact via county offices.
NOTES: McDonough County is the sixty-second county completed in Illinois’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, significant Civil Rights history connecting Macomb to Reverend C.T. Vivian 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 McDonough County
McDonough County is west-central Illinois’s prairie university county – a flat agricultural community whose regional university provides cultural and economic vitality in an otherwise remote setting.
Macomb (the county seat, population ~18,000) is defined by Western Illinois University – the regional comprehensive institution provides education, arts performances, athletics, and economic activity that make Macomb significantly more culturally active than its population would suggest. The university’s presence draws students from across Illinois and the Midwest.
McDonough County’s agricultural landscape – essentially flat glaciated prairie as far as the eye can see – produces exceptional corn and soybean yields on some of Illinois’s finest farmland.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
McDonough County Assessor at 1 Courthouse Square, Suite 2, Macomb, IL 61455, phone 309-837-4469. IL residential assessed at 33.33% of market value. Appeal to Board of Review.
Courts & Legal
McDonough County Circuit Court at 1 Courthouse Square, Macomb, IL 61455, phone 309-837-4889, 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)
1 Courthouse Square, Macomb, IL 61455
(309) 833-2474
CIRCUIT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
1 Courthouse Square, Macomb, IL 61455
(309) 833-4400
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
1 Courthouse Square, Macomb, IL 61455
(309) 833-2474
Genealogy
County-level record sources
McDonough County Circuit Clerk (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Western Illinois University Archives, Macomb – significant regional research holdings.
Local societies
No dedicated McDonough 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
McDonough County Circuit Clerk 1 Courthouse Square, Macomb, IL 61455 (309) 837-4889
McDonough County was established January 25, 1826, named for Commodore Thomas Macdonough, who led a successful naval battle against the British on Lake Champlain in the War of 1812. Its seat, Macomb, is home to Western Illinois University. The 1871 McDonough County Courthouse (Second Empire style, National Register of Historic Places) is the centerpiece of the Macomb Courthouse Square Historic District.
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 McDonough 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 McDonough 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
220 W. Jackson St., Macomb, IL 61455
(309) 833-4540
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Vital Records, Elections)
1 Courthouse Square, Macomb, IL 61455
(309) 833-2474
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
1 Courthouse Square, Macomb, IL 61455
(309) 833-2474
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
McDonough County Health Dept
(309) 833-2243
IL DCFS — Macomb
(309) 833-4235
IL Medicaid
(800) 843-6154
McDonough District Hospital
mdh.org (Macomb)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: McDonough County Health Department – confirm current contact via county offices.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Macomb
Population: 30,000
Area: 589 sq mi
Established: 1826
Tier: 3
Public Records
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