Madison County, Illinois

Madison County is a located in the  of. Madison County is part of the. As of 2000, the population was 258,941. Its is.

History
Madison County was formed in out of  and. At the time of its formation, Madison County included all of the modern State of Illinois north of, about three-fourths of the Territory. The county was named for President, at the outbreak of the.

In the late 1800s, Madison County became an industrial powerhouse, and in the 20th century, was known for first, Graniteware, and later, its steel mills, oil refinerys, and other heavy industry. Because of this large working class population, the County, and the surrounding area, was well known as a Democratic powerhouse.

"Judicial hellhole" accusation
In the early twenty-first century, Madison County was called as a "" by the, which argued that local judges, bankrolled and elected by local plaintiffs' attorneys, encouraged by misapplying the laws to make the court system unfairly balanced on behalf of plaintiffs. One-third of United States cases were brought in Madison County, and the number of class actions increased from three a year to nearly a hundred a year. In the 2005 election to the, both advocates and s spent record amounts of money on behalf of their preferred candidates. , a, defeated Appellate Judge for the seat. President traveled to Madison County to give a speech proposing federal tort reform for  lawsuits.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 258,941 people, 101,953 households, and 70,041 families residing in the county. The was 138/km² (357/sq mi). There were 108,942 housing units at an average density of 58/km² (150/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 90.23%, 7.31% or , 0.27% , 0.60% , 0.02% , 0.49% from , and 1.08% from two or more races. 1.52% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 101,953 households out of which 32.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.00% were living together, 11.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.30% were non-families. 26.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.90% under the age of 18, 9.40% from 18 to 24, 28.90% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 14.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 93.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $41,541, and the median income for a family was $50,862. Males had a median income of $39,857 versus $25,968 for females. The for the county was $20,509. About 7.20% of families and 9.80% of the population were below the, including 12.70% of those under age 18 and 7.30% of those age 65 or over.

MADISON COUNTY EATS COCK