Madison County, Illinois

Madison County, Illinois is 740 square miles on the romantic Mississippi River, in the southwestern portion of Illinois. Madison County is bordered by Bond County to the east, Clinton County to the southeast, Jersey County to the northwest, Macoupin County to the north, Montgomery County to the northeast, St. Charles County, Missouri to the northwest, St. Clair County to the south, the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County, Missouri to the west. It is part of the eastern St. Louis Metropolitan Area known as Metro East., a designation Madison County shares with neighboring St. Clair County.

Madison County, IL was established on September 14, 1812 from portions of Randolph County and St. Clair County. Madison County was formed before Illinois became a state; at that time, the area was part of the Illinois Territory. Madison was named in honor of President James Madison. By the late 1800s, Madison County, IL had a large working class population with steel mills and oil refineries as the major industries.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Madison County had 268,078 residents in 2008, a 3.5 percent increase from 2000. There were 101,953 households, with an average of 2.48 persons per household. Madison County, Illinois cities include Alton, Collinsville, Edwardsville, Granite City, Highland, Madison, Troy, Venice and Wood River. Alton is the largest city in the county.

The Madison County Regional Office of Education oversees public education within Madison County, Illinois. Post-secondary education is offered by the Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and a satellite campus of Lewis and Clark Community College.

Major interstates in the county include I-55, I-70, I-255 and I-270. Madison County Transit provides public transportation service to Madison County. The nearby St. Louis Lambert International Airport in the City of St. Louis also serves Madison County's transportation needs.

Madison County is home to a unique roadside Americana attraction, the World's Largest Catsup Bottle. This unique 170-foot-tall water tower was built in 1949 and remains a popular tourist attraction. This beautifully preserved attraction is on the National Register of Historic Places and even has its own fan club and festival.

Madison County provides many parks and recreational activities including the 2,960-acre Horseshoe Lake State Park and the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, where visitors can view relics of a prehistoric Native American civilization.

The Circuit Court in Madison County is part of the Third Judicial Circuit of Illinois. The majority of cases in Madison County, IL are handled in Edwardsville, the county seat, at the Madison County Courthouse (155 North Main Street, Edwardsville, IL 62025). The Madison County Circuit Court for Felony Cases is located at Madison Criminal Courts Building, 509 Ramey Street, Edwardsville, IL, 62025. The City of Edwardsville has its own Municipal Court for municipal ordinance violations such as parking tickets, disorderly conduct complaints, abandoned vehicle complaints, littering and other city offenses.

Branches of the Circuit Court are located in Granite City at City Hall, 2000 Edison Avenue, Granite City, IL, 62040, Collinsville at Collinsville City Hall, 125 South Center Street, Collinsville, IL, 62234, and Alton at The Law Enforcement Center, 1700 East Broadway, Alton, IL, 62002. The Branch Courts are used primarily to hear traffic and misdemeanor cases filed in those municipalities. Madison County also has a Juvenile Detention Home for temporary placement of juveniles awaiting court decisions on their cases. The Madison County Sheriff's Office provides law enforcement services to the unincorporated areas of Madison County, IL. The Sheriff's Office also provides security at the Circuit Court and manages all prisoners confined to the County Jail.

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