Dolton, Illinois

Dolton (Template:IPAc-en) is a village in Thornton Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 21,426 at the 2020 census.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Dolton is located just west of the expressway Interstate 94 and immediately south of the city limits of Chicago. It is bordered by Chicago to the north, Riverdale and Harvey to the west, South Holland to the south, and Calumet City to the east.

History

A post office has been in operation in Dolton since 1854.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The village was named for a family of early settlers.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The villages of Dolton and nearby Riverdale were effectively one community until each incorporated separately in 1892.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Geography

In 2021, Dolton was an area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert (or 97.50%) is land and Template:Convert (or 2.50%) is water.<ref name="gaz2021">Template:Cite web</ref>

Demographics

Dolton village, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition
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Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 1980<ref name=1980Census>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 1990<ref name=1990Census>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Partial<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	% 1980	% 1990	% 2000	% 2010	Template:Partial
White alone (NH)	23,265	13,429	3,390	1,226	598	93.94%	56.12%	13.23%	5.30%	2.79%
Black or African American alone (NH)	483	9,044	20,973	20,932	19,322	1.95%	37.79%	81.88%	90.41%	90.18%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	17 <ref>Compiliation of American Indian, Eskimo, Aleut categories</ref>	52	28	14	19	0.07%	0.22%	0.11%	0.06%	0.09%
Asian alone (NH)	221 <ref>Compiliation of Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Asian Indian, and Vietnamese categories. Other Asian groups would be included in the Some Other Race category</ref>	313	144	68	38	0.89%	1.31%	0.56%	0.29%	0.18%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)	1 <ref>Compiliation of Hawaiian, Guamanian, and Samoan categories. Other Pacific Islander groups would be included in the Some Other Race category</ref>	25 <ref>Derived from extracting Pacific Islander population from Asian population</ref>	4	3	1	0.00%	0.10%	0.02%	0.01%	0.00%
Other race alone (NH)	48 <ref>Calculated as the difference between the total population and all other categories</ref>	6	34	24	107	0.19%	0.03%	0.13%	0.10%	0.50%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	x <ref>Not an option in the 1980 Census</ref>	x <ref>Not an option in the 1990 Census</ref>	250	264	404	x	x	0.98%	1.14%	1.89%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	731 <ref>Listed as Spanish origin in the 1980 Census. Racial identification for Hispanics only consisted of White, Black, and Some Other Race; hence, a small number of Latinos may be also be included in the counts for Asian, Native American, and Pacific Islander</ref>	1,061	791	622	937	2.95%	4.43%	3.09%	2.69%	4.37%
Total	24,766	23,930	25,614	23,153	21,426	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

In the 2020 census<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> there were 21,426 people, 7,985 households, and 5,361 families in the village. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 8,768 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert.

The racial makeup of the village was 90.69% African American, 3.25% White, 0.17% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 2.62% from other races, and 3.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.37% of the population.

There were 7,985 households. 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them. 25.45% were married couples living together. 35.94% had a female householder with no husband present. 32.86% were non-families. 29.42% of all households were made up of individuals. 12.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.44. The average family size was 2.78.

The village's age distribution consisted of 24.8% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 21.8% from 25 to 44, 27% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.5 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $50,237. The median income for a family was $57,634. Males had a median income of $33,939 versus $33,354 for females. The per capita income for the village was $22,135. About 15.4% of families and 22.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 42.8% of those under age 18 and 13.2% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Dolton Public Library opened in 1954.<ref name ="DPL">Template:Cite web</ref> First located inside the Village Hall, it contained 5,000 books and magazines.<ref name ="DPL"/> The library moved to a new facility in 1967 and featured a collection of 35,000 books.<ref name ="DPL"/>

Parks and recreation

Dolton features over Template:Convert of recreational properties, and 11 parks.<ref name ="parks">Template:Cite web</ref> A recreational center contains a gymnasium and fitness room.<ref name ="parks"/>

Government

File:Dolton Municipal Building (4534670751).jpg

Village Hall

Most of the village is part of the Dolton Park District, with a small portion served by the Calumet Memorial Park District. The entire village is part of the Dolton Public Library District and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District.<ref name="County clerk">Cook County Clerks Office Template:Webarchive</ref>

Allegations of misspending and harassment

In November 2023, WGN News published a two-part series alleging widespread misspending and harassment of political opponents by the mayor, Tiffany Henyard.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On February 20, 2024, it was reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had launched a probe into alleged misconduct by Mayor Henyard.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Mayors

Mayors of Dolton, Illinois

Image Mayor Years Notes Fred J. Ehlert 1913–1919 <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Charles H. Smythe 1919–1923 <ref>Template:Cite book</ref> William C. Krueger 1923–1927 <ref>Template:Cite book</ref> John Harms Jr. 1927–1929 <ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Charles Dickelman 1929–1935 <ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Ira Hastings 1935–1957 <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Fred Kasten 1957–1965 <ref name=Derwinski>Template:Cite book</ref> Albert J. Ohlsen 1965 Served the last six months of mayor Kasten's term<ref name=Derwinski/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Thomas Harper 1965–1969 <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> File:Norman MacKay, mayor of Dolton.jpg Norman MacKay 1969–1985 <ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Upset>Template:Cite news</ref> J. Michael Peck 1985–1993 <ref name=Upset/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Donald Hart 1993–1997 <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> File:William "Bill" Shaw, circa 1983.jpg William Shaw 1997–2008 Died in office First African-American mayor.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Ronnie Lewis 2008–2013 Acting in 2008;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> elected to full term in 2009<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Riley H. Rogers 2013–2021 <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Tiffany Henyard 2021–2025 <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Jason House 2025–present <ref name="House">Template:Cite web</ref>

Education

The entire village is part of South Suburban Community College District 510.<ref name="County clerk"/>

Infrastructure

File:Pace Bus No. 6199 (4534664147).jpg

Pace bus in Dolton

Transportation

Pace provides bus service on multiple routes connecting Dolton to destinations across the Southland.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Metra's planned SouthEast Service will have a station in Dolton.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The corridor previously had commuter train service that was operated by the Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad from 1904 to 1964.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Notable people

• Ronnie Baker Brooks, musician<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Susan Carlson, broadcast journalist and news anchor<ref name="Chicago1">Template:Cite news</ref>
• Kevin Duckworth, professional basketball player<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Nelsan Ellis, actor who played Lafayette Reynolds in True Blood<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
• Reggie Hayward, professional football player<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Andrew Holmes, activist and politician<ref name="Vaisvilas1">Template:Cite web</ref>
• Perry Johnson, businessman<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Jane Lynch, entertainer<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Derek Needham, professional basketball player<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Robert Prevost, later to become Pope Leo XIV, 267th Pope of the Catholic Church<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Richard Roeper, film critic; grew up in Dolton<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• William Shaw, Illinois state legislator and mayor of Dolton<ref>'William "Bill" Shaw: 1937-2008,' Chicago Tribune, Rick Pearson and Stacy St. Clair, November 28, 2008</ref>
• R. Bruce Waddell, politician<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

External links

• Template:Official website