Editing Coal City, Illinois

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Coal City, Illinois
| settlement_type = [[List of towns and villages in Illinois|Village]]
| nickname = 
| motto = 
| image_skyline = 
| image_caption = 
| image_flag = Flag of Coal City, Illinois.png
| image_seal = Seal of Coal City, Illinois.png
| etymology = 
| anthem = 
| image_map = File:Will County Illinois Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Coal City Highlighted.svg
| mapsize = 
| map_alt = 
| map_caption = Location within counties and [[Illinois]]
| image_map1 = Illinois in United States (US48).svg
| mapsize1 = 
| map_alt1 = 
| map_caption1 = Location of Illinois in the United States
| pushpin_map = 
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| coordinates = {{coord|41|16|47|N|88|16|39|W|display=inline,title}}
| coor_pinpoint = 
| coordinates_footnotes = 
| grid_name = 
| grid_position = 
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = United States
| subdivision_type1 = State
| subdivision_name1 = Illinois
| subdivision_type2 = County
| subdivision_name2 = [[Grundy County, Illinois|Grundy]], [[Will County, Illinois|Will]]
| subdivision_type3 = Townships
| subdivision_name3 = [[Braceville Township, Grundy County, Illinois|Braceville]]{{dot}} [[Felix Township, Grundy County, Illinois|Felix]]
| established_title = Founded
| established_date = 
| established_title1 = 
| established_date1 = 
| founder = 
| named_for = 
| seat_type = 
| seat = 
| government_footnotes = 
| government_type = 
| governing_body = 
| leader_party = 
| leader_title = Mayor
| leader_name = 
| total_type = 
| unit_pref = Imperial
| area_footnotes = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_17.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=March 15, 2022}}</ref>
| area_total_km2 = 15.23
| area_total_sq_mi = 5.88
| area_land_km2 = 14.94
| area_land_sq_mi = 5.77
| area_water_km2 = 0.29
| area_water_sq_mi = 0.11
| area_water_percent = 
| area_metro_footnotes = 
| area_metro_km2 = 
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| elevation_footnotes = <ref name=gnis/>
| elevation_ft = 568
| elevation_point = 
| population_as_of = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
| population_footnotes = 
| population_total = 5705
| pop_est_as_of = 
| pop_est_footnotes = 
| population_est = 
| population_rank = 
| population_density_km2 = 381.94
| population_density_sq_mi = 989.25
| population_density = 
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| timezone1 = [[Central Time Zone (Americas)|CST]]
| utc_offset1 = -6
| timezone1_DST = [[Central Time Zone (Americas)|CDT]]
| utc_offset1_DST = -5
| postal_code_type = [[ZIP code|ZIP Code(s)]]
| postal_code = 60416
| area_code_type = 
| area_code = [[Area codes 815 and 779|815, 779]]
| geocode = 
| iso_code = 
| blank_name = [[Federal Information Processing Standards|FIPS code]]
| blank_info = 17-15170
| blank1_name = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info = 2398586<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2398586}}</ref>
| website = {{URL|https://coalcity-il.gov/|coalcity-il.gov}}
| footnotes = <ref name="GR4">{{cite web|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic|title=Geographic Names Information System|accessdate=2008-01-31|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]}}</ref>
}}

'''Coal City''' is a village in [[Grundy County, Illinois|Grundy]] and [[Will County, Illinois|Will]] Counties in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Illinois]]. It is considered a [[Rural–urban fringe|fringe town]] of the [[Chicago metropolitan area]]. The population was 5,705 at the 2020 census.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=1600000US1715170 |access-date=2022-06-28 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref>

==History==
Coal City was incorporated in 1870, named for [[Coal mining|coal mines]] in the vicinity<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n84 85]}}</ref> that were built following the 1820 discovery of large coal reserves. During the 20th century, coal mining operations in the area declined, with the local economy being driven more by growth in manufacturing and the construction of nearby power plants,<ref name="Encyclopedia_of_Chicago">{{cite web |title=Coal City, IL |url=http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/308.html |website=Encyclopedia of Chicago |publisher=Newberry Library |accessdate=28 December 2019}}</ref> including [[Dresden Nuclear Power Plant]] and [[Braidwood Nuclear Generating Station]].

===2013 tornado===
A tornado passed through Coal City damaging a number of homes during the [[2013 Washington, Illinois tornado#Washington, Illinois supercell|tornado outbreak of November 17, 2013]]. The [[National Weather Service]] rated the tornado an EF2. The max wind speed was rated at 122 miles per hour, with a reported path length of 12.9 miles. 3 injuries would be recorded.

===2015 tornado===
A confirmed EF3 tornado passed through Coal City during the outbreak of storms and tornadoes on Monday, June 22, 2015.  The tornado touched down near [[Morris, Illinois]], before entering Coal City, damaging and destroying a number of homes and businesses. According to the National Weather Service, winds reached 160 miles per hour as the tornado touched down, making it the most powerful tornado to hit the region since the Plainfield, IL tornado in August 1990.<ref>{{cite web |title=Gov. Bruce Rauner declares Grundy County a disaster area |url=https://www.shawlocal.com/2015/06/23/gov-bruce-rauner-declares-grundy-county-a-disaster-area/al1goq7/?page=1%3Fpage%3D1 |website=Shaw Local News Network}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weather.gov/lot/22June2015|author=National Weather Service|author-link=National Weather Service|date=June 22, 2015|title=June 22, 2015: Numerous Tornadoes Strike Northern Illinois}}</ref>

==Geography==
According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Coal City has a total area of {{convert|5.88|sqmi|km2|2}}, of which {{convert|5.77|sqmi|km2|2}} (or 98.11%) is land and {{convert|0.11|sqmi|km2|2}} (or 1.89%) is water.<ref name="gaz2021">{{Cite web |publisher=United States Census Bureau |title=Gazetteer Files |url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html |access-date=2022-06-29 |website=Census.gov}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1890= 1672
|1900= 2607
|1910= 2667
|1920= 1744
|1930= 1637
|1940= 1852
|1950= 2220
|1960= 2852
|1970= 3040
|1980= 3028
|1990= 3907
|2000= 4797
|2010= 5587
|2020= 5705
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|accessdate=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]]<ref name=":0" /> there were 5,705 people, 1,939 households, and 1,297 families residing in the village. The population density was {{Convert|970.57|PD/sqmi|PD/km2}}. There were 2,418 housing units at an average density of {{Convert|411.36|/sqmi|/km2}}. The racial makeup of the village was 91.15% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.60% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.39% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.33% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.00% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 1.31% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 6.22% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 7.03% of the population.

There were 1,939 households, out of which 39.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.03% were married couples living together, 9.85% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.11% were non-families. 28.21% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.33% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.99 and the average family size was 2.55.

The village's age distribution consisted of 27.7% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 109.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.7 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $75,108, and the median income for a family was $97,695. Males had a median income of $66,654 versus $40,755 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the village was $36,011. About 3.9% of families and 6.1% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 4.1% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.

== Education ==
[[File:Coal City IL Sep 1 1914.jpg|thumb|A store in Coal City, Illinois was shown on a real photo postcard mailed on September 1, 1914]]
Coal City is served by Unit School District 1. There are five schools and a unit office in the school district. The Coal City Early Childhood Center services grades PK through 1st. The Coal City Elementary School services grades 2 and 3.  The Coal City Intermediate School serves grades 4 and 5. Coal City Middle School has grades 6–8. [[Coal City High School]] has grades 9–12.

Coal City is the home of the [[Coal City High School]] 2010 IHSA State Champion Softball team. Coal City also won a state championship in football in 1993.

==Transportation==
It is served by [[Interstate 55 in Illinois|Interstate 55]]. The [[Santa Fe Railway]] formerly served Coal City at [[Coal City Station]].

== Notable people ==
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* [[John R. Fronek]], member of the [[Wisconsin State Assembly]] and farmer; lived in Coal City
* [[William E. Somerville]], early aviation engineer, businessman and mayor.

==References in popular culture==
{{unreferenced section|date=November 2023}}
The little town of Coal City was mentioned in the classic comedy ''[[The Blues Brothers (film)|The Blues Brothers]]''. Elwood Blues (as played by [[Dan Aykroyd]]) explains that his brother Jake ([[John Belushi]]) was in prison for holding up a gas station, and then says "He pulled that job to pay for the band's room service tab from that Kiwanis gig in Coal City."  For years residents of Coal City wondered if Aykroyd really said "Coal City" or said "Cal City" (a nickname for Calumet City, a much bigger city in Illinois). However, when watching the DVD of Blues Brothers with [[subtitle (captioning)|subtitles]] on, the text says "Coal City."

The [[Steve Martin]] and [[John Candy]] comedy, ''[[Planes, Trains & Automobiles]]'', was partially filmed in Coal City and other nearby towns.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://coalcity-il.gov/ Village of Coal City]

{{Grundy County, Illinois}}
{{Will County, Illinois}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Coal City, Illinois|*]]
[[Category:Villages in Grundy County, Illinois]]
[[Category:Villages in Will County, Illinois]]
[[Category:Villages in Illinois]]