Peoria, Illinois

• September 19 to October 21, 1813 – Peoria War[30][31]
• 1844 – Abraham Lincoln came to Peoria to get involved in the Aquilla Wren divorce case and took it to the Supreme Court of Illinois[32]
• April 15, 1926 – Charles Lindbergh's first air mail route, Contract Air Mail route #2, began running mail from Chicago to Peoria to Springfield to St. Louis and back.[33] There is nothing to substantiate the local legend that Lindbergh offered Peoria the chance to sponsor his trans-Atlantic flight and call his plane the "Spirit of Peoria," but he does state that he first pondered the journey after taking off from the Peoria air mail field.[34]
• 1942 – Penicillium chrysogenum, the fungus originally used to industrially produce penicillin, was first isolated from a mouldy cantaloupe found in a grocery store in Peoria.
• Local legend is that Theodore Roosevelt called Grandview Drive, a street on the bluffs overlooking the Illinois River "the world's most beautiful drive" during his visit in 1910.[35] However, no contemporaneous accounts of this story appeared, even in local papers and histories, for over two decades after it supposedly occurred. A related legend claims that the Peoria radio station and CBS television affiliate, WMBD, chose it's call sign based on this story. In fact, the WMBD letters were assigned randomly and the meaning behind it was invented after the fact in 1927.[36]

Peoria has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa), with cold, snowy winters, and hot, humid summers. Monthly daily mean temperatures range from 22.5 °F (−5.3 °C) to 75.2 °F (24.0 °C). Snowfall is common in the winter, averaging 26.3 inches (67 cm), but this figure varies considerably from year to year. Precipitation, averaging 36 inches (914 mm), peaks in the spring and summer, and is the lowest in winter. Extremes have ranged from −27 °F (−33 °C) in January 1884 to 113 °F (45 °C) in July 1936.[38]

Panorama of downtown Peoria, viewed from across the Illinois River in East Peoria. In the middle are the Twin Towers, the Former Caterpillar World Headquarters Building, and the Associated Bank Building

Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.

According to the 2021 American Community Survey, Peoria's poverty rate was 19.7 percent.[45] Median household income was estimated to be 53,568 in 2022. Population was estimated to have decreased approximately 1.9% from 113,176 to 111,021 between 2020 and 2022.[45]

According to 24/7 Wall St, in 2018 Peoria ranked as the 5th worst city for Black Americans based on income, educational, and unemployment disparities between Black and White residents.[46][47]

As of the census[48] of 2010, there were 115,021 people and 47,202 households residing in the city. The population density was 2,543.4 inhabitants per square mile (982.0/km²). There were 52,621 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 62.4% White, 26.9% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 4.6% Asian, and 3.6% of mixed races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.9% of the population. The city has a sizable, established Lebanese population with a long history in local business and government.

There were 45,199 households, out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.6% were married couples living together, 15.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.5% were non-families. Individuals made up 33.2% of all households, and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.04.

The age distribution of city population was the following: 25.7% under the age of 18, 12.0% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $36,397. The per capita income for the city was $20,512. Some 18.8% of the population was below the poverty line.

Special censuses were conducted in 2004 and 2007 that noted a total increase of 8,455 in the city's population since the 2000 census.[49]

Peoria's first major industry was started in 1830 by John Hamlin and John Sharp, who constructed the flour mill on Kickapoo Creek.[50] In 1837, another industry was begun with E.F. Nowland's pork planting industry. Many other industries started slowly in Peoria including carriage factories, pottery makers, wholesale warehousing, casting foundries, glucose factories, ice harvesting, and furniture makers.

Peoria became the first world leader for distilleries thanks to Andrew Eitle (1837), Almiron S. Cole (1844), and Joseph B. Greenhut.[51][52] Between 1837 and 1919, Peoria held over 24 distilleries and 73 breweries.[53][54] Together, they produced the highest amount of internal revenue tax on alcohol (also known as 'Sin Tax') of any single revenue district in the entire United States; as much as 50% of tax revenue during the Civil War came from Peoria's district, largely due to distilleries and breweries.[54][55] Peoria also was one of the major bootlegging areas during Prohibition and home to the famed mobsters, the Shelton brothers.[56] This great success placed Peoria into a building boom of beautiful private homes, schools, parks, churches, as well as municipal buildings.[52][53]

In addition to the distilleries came farm machinery manufacturing by William Nurse in 1837.[57] Also, two men called Toby and Anderson brought the steel plow circa 1843, which gained immediate success.[57] The dominant manufacturing companies in Peoria were Kingman Plow Co., Acme Harvester Co., Selby, Starr & Co., and Avery Manufacturing Co.[57][55] In 1889, Keystone Steel & Wire developed the first wire fence and has since been the nation's leading manufacturer.[58][59]

Around the 1880s, businesses such as Rouse Hazard Co. in Peoria, were dealers and importers of bicycles and accessories worldwide.[60] Charles Duryea, one of the cycle manufacturers, developed the first commercially available gasoline-powered automobile in the U.S. in 1893.[61]

At this time, agricultural implement production declined, which led the earth moving and tractor equipment companies to skyrocket and make Peoria in this field the world leader. In 1925, Caterpillar Tractor Co. was formed from California-based companies, Benjamin Holt Co. and the C.L. Best Tractor Co. Robert G. LeTourneau's earth moving company began its production of new scrapers and dozers in 1935 which evolved into Komatsu-Dresser, Haulpak Division.[62][63] Today, the joint venture between Komatsu and Dresser Industries has long since passed; Komatsu bought out Dresser in 1996.[55][64] The entity that remains is the off-highway truck manufacturing division for Komatsu America Corporation.[55]

The world headquarters for Caterpillar Inc. was based in Peoria for over 110 years until announcing their move to Deerfield, Illinois in late-2017.[65] Medicine has become a major part of Peoria's economy. In addition to three major hospitals, the USDA's National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, formerly called the USDA Northern Regional Research Lab, is located in Peoria. This is one of the labs where mass production of penicillin was developed.[66][67]

More recently Peoria has become a regional medical hub for central Illinois with recent hospital expansions. Peoria is ranked as the 6th midsize healthcare hub in the USA.[68]

The city's largest mall is Northwoods Mall.[69] Other retail centers include The Shoppes at Grand Prairie,[70] Sheridan Village, Metro Centre,[71] Willow Knolls Court, and Westlake Shopping Center.

• Bergner's (until August 2018 when it went bankrupt and closed nationwide): Department store; started in 1889 in downtown Peoria and eventually bought out Carson Pirie Scott & Co. (now part of Bon-Ton)
• Caterpillar (until 2017 when its headquarters (approximately 300 positions) moved to Deerfield, Illinois, and then to Irving, Texas in 2022): Heavy equipment and engine manufacturer. Caterpillar still maintains a large working force in the area in management, marketing, IT, engineering and labor union manufacturing, as well as other positions.
• CEFCU: Credit union; started by Caterpillar employees; now serves residents of 14 counties in Central Illinois and 3 in California
• Komatsu America Corporation: World's second-largest mining equipment manufacturer has a large manufacturing facility in Peoria[72]
• Maui Jim: Sunglasses manufacturer that is a subsidiary (as of 2022) of the French company Kering Eyewear.
• National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research: Largest USDA research facility; one of the facilities where mass production of penicillin was improved
• OSF Healthcare, which operates OSF Saint Francis Medical Center
• RLI Corp. (World Headquarters): Specialty insurance company.
• UnityPoint Health: Owns three hospitals in the area, two in Peoria. In 2023 the brand Carle health bought UnityPoint health.

According to Peoria's 2018 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[73] the top employers in the city are:

Library services in Peoria originated in 1855 with two rival libraries, the Peoria Mercantile Library and the Peoria Library, which consolidated in 1856 as the Peoria City Library, and contained over 1,500 volumes.[83] The Peoria Public Library has five locations, including the Lincoln Branch, a Carnegie library opened in 1911.

The Peoria Symphony Orchestra is the 14th oldest in the nation. Peoria is also home to the Peoria Municipal Band, the Peoria Area Civic Chorale, the Youth Music Illinois (formerly known as Central Illinois Youth Symphony), Central Illinois Ballet, and the Peoria Ballet. Several community and professional theaters have their home in and around Peoria, including the Peoria Players, which is the fourth-oldest community theater in the nation and the oldest in Illinois.[84] Corn Stock Theatre is another community theater company in Peoria, and is the only outdoor theater company in Central Illinois.[85]

Peoria has hosted the Heart of Illinois Fair every year since 1949.[86] The fair features livestock competitions, rides, concessions, motor contests, and concerts.[87][88]

Civic Center

The Peoria Civic Center includes an arena, convention center, and theater, and opened June 6, 1982, was designed by the famed late architect Philip Johnson.[89] It completed a $55 million renovation and expansion by 2007.[90]

The Hotel Pere Marquette finished renovations in 2013[91] with a skyway linking to the Peoria Civic Center. A new 10-story Courtyard has been built adjacent to this hotel, completing a hotel campus for larger conventions.

The Civic Center hosts the Bradley University Men's Basketball team, the IHSA Boys State Basketball Championships and State Chess Championship. Which claims to be the largest chess team tournament in the United States: Beginning in 2018, the teams were narrowed to 128 by the use of sectional elimination competitions, and as of 2018 the tournament has about 1500 players, including up to 8 players and 4 alternates per team.[92]

Renaissance Park was originally designated as a research park, originally established in May 2003 as the Peoria Medical and Technology District. It consisted of nine residential neighborhoods, Bradley University, the medical district, and the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research. The Peoria NEXT Innovation Center opened in August 2007 and provides both dry and wet labs, as well as conference and office space for emerging start-up companies. Over $2 billion in research is conducted in Peoria annually.[93] While the Renaissance Park research park project never came to full fruition, many of the original ideas from the original Renaissance Park concept still continue on a smaller level via The Renaissance Park Community Association.[94]

The Museum Block, also known as Museum Square,[95] is a $100+ million project that contains the Peoria Riverfront Museum[96] and The Caterpillar Experience,[97] a museum and visitor's center showcasing Caterpillar past, present, and future.[98] It is located in downtown Peoria along the Illinois River at the site formerly known as the Sears Block or Washington Square.[95][99] The Block broke ground on September 7, 2010[95] and opened in October 2012.[100][101][102][103]

Waterfront in Peoria, Illinois, c. 1909

• The city of Peoria is home to a United States courthouse and the Peoria Civic Center (which includes Carver Arena).
• Civil War Monument at County Courthouse Plaza
• Grandview Drive along the Illinois River bluff in Peoria and Peoria Heights
• Glen Oak Park, including Glen Oak Zoo and George L. Luthy Memorial Botanical Garden
• Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception (Peoria, Illinois) (also known as St. Mary's Cathedral)
• Scottish Rite Cathedral
• Peoria Riverfront Museum and Caterpillar Visitor Center along the downtown waterfront. The third largest scale model of the solar system is centered on the museum.[104]
• Dozer Park - home of the Peoria Chiefs professional baseball team located in the downtown sector

Outline of the Township of the City of Peoria in Peoria County

The Township of the City of Peoria (also City of Peoria Township) is a separate government from the City of Peoria, and performs the functions of civil township government in most of the city. The township was created by the Peoria County Board to match the boundaries of the City of Peoria, which until then had overlapped portions of Peoria Township (now West Peoria Township) and Richwoods Township.[116] The border of the township grew with the Peoria city limits until 1990, when it was frozen at its current boundaries, containing about 53 sq mi (140 km²);[117] the City of Peoria itself has continued expanding outside the City of Peoria Township borders into Kickapoo, Medina, and Radnor township. In the years before the freeze, the Township of the City of Peoria had grown to take up most of the former area of Richwoods and what is now West Peoria Township.

This township has the following neighborhoods:

• Averyville*
• Central Peoria
• Downtown
• East Bluff
• El Vista*
• Glen Oak-Flanagan Historic District
• Grandview Drive
• Heart of Peoria
• Moss-Bradley
• North Valley
• Northwest Peoria
• Randolph-Roanoke Historic District
• University East
• The Uplands
• West Bluff

* - unincorporated towns that were assimilated by the City of Peoria:

NOAA Weather Radio station WXJ71 transmits from East Peoria and is licensed to NOAA's National Weather Service Central Illinois Weather Forecast Office at Lincoln, broadcasting on a frequency of 162.475 mHz (channel 4 on most newer weather radios, and most SAME weather radios). The station activates the SAME tone alarm feature and a 1050 Hz tone activating older radios (except for AMBER Alerts, using the SAME feature only) for hazardous weather and non-weather warnings and emergencies, along with selected weather watches, for the Illinois counties of Fulton, Knox, Marshall, Mason, McLean, Peoria, Stark, Tazewell, and Woodford. Weather permitting, a tone alarm test of both the SAME and 1050 Hz tone features are conducted every Wednesday between 11 AM and noon.[130]

The health-care industry accounts for at least 25% of Peoria's economy. The city has three major hospitals: OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, UnityPoint Health – Methodist, and UnityPoint Health – Proctor, now known as Carle Heath as of 2023. In addition, the Children's Hospital of Illinois, the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, and the Midwest Affiliate of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital are located in the city. The hospitals are all located in a medical district around the junction of Interstate 74 and Knoxville Avenue, adjacent to downtown in the southeast of the city, except for UnityPoint Health – Proctor in the geographic center of the city. The surrounding towns are also supported by UnityPoint Health – Proctor, Pekin Hospital, Advocate Eureka Hospital, and the Hopedale Medical Complex. The Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation was created from the "Peoria Plan for Human Rehabilitation," a model for medical and occupational rehabilitation launched in 1943 to integrate returning World War II veterans back into the workplace.

The Peoria area is served by three Interstate highways: Interstate 74, which runs from northwest to southeast through the downtown area, Interstate 474, a southern bypass of I-74 through portions of Peoria and the suburbs of Bartonville and Creve Coeur, and Interstate 155, which runs south from I-74 in Morton to Interstate 55 in Lincoln which connects to Springfield and St. Louis. I-74 crosses over the Illinois River via the Murray Baker Bridge, while I-474 crosses via the Shade-Lohmann Bridge. The nearest metropolitan centers accessible on I-74 are the Quad Cities to the west, and Bloomington-Normal to the east.

From 2004 to 2006, Interstate 74 between Interstate 474 on the west and Illinois Route 8 on the east was reconstructed as part of the Upgrade 74 project.[131]

In addition, U.S. Route 150 serves as the main arterial for the northern portion of the Peoria area, becoming War Memorial Drive before heading west towards Kickapoo. It enters from the McClugage Bridge; east of the bridge, then runs southeast to Morton. U.S. Route 24 runs concurrently with Interstate 474 in the southwest portion of the city.

The following state routes run through Peoria:

• Illinois Route 6 runs along the northwestern portion of the city as an extension of I-474. It is a four-lane freeway that runs from the I-74/474 intersection northeast to Illinois Route 29 south of Chillicothe. It is marked as a north–south road.
• Illinois Route 8 roughly parallels I-74 to the south. It enters Peoria from Elmwood and runs southeast through the city, passing just southwest of the downtown area. Illinois 8 crosses into East Peoria via the Cedar Street Bridge with 116. Illinois 8 is marked as an east–west road.
• Illinois Route 29 runs through Peoria along the Illinois River from Chillicothe through downtown Peoria. It then joins Interstate 74 across the Murray Baker Bridge. Illinois 29 is marked as a north–south road, and is called Galena Road north of U.S. 150.
• Illinois Route 40 (formerly 88) enters Peoria from the north as Knoxville Avenue. It runs south through the center of the city and exits southeast over the Bob Michel Bridge. Illinois 40 is marked as a north–south road.
• Illinois Route 91 briefly enters Peoria at the intersection with U.S. 150 in the far northwestern portion of the city. Traffic on Illinois 91 mainly accesses The Shoppes at Grand Prairie,[132] or continues to Dunlap.
• Illinois Route 116 enters from the west at Bellevue. It runs directly east and crosses into East Peoria over the Cedar Street Bridge.

The planned Illinois Route 336 project will also connect Illinois 336 with I-474 between Illinois 8 and Illinois 116. Construction on the segment nearest Peoria has not started, nor has funding been allocated.

Metro Peoria is served by ten common carrier railroads. Four are Class I railroads: BNSF, Canadian National, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific. The latter has a north–south oriented line which skirts the west edge of the city but a line branches off of it to enter Peoria. One Class II/Regional, Iowa Interstate, serves the city, coming out of Bureau Junction, Illinois. Five Class III/Shortline railroads: Central Illinois Railroad, which operates a portion of the city-owned Peoria, Peoria Heights and Western Railroad; three Genesee & Wyoming-owned operations: Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway, which runs next to US 24 east to Logansport, Indiana (formally owned by Rail America), Illinois & Midland Railroad (the former Chicago & Illinois Midland, comes up from Springfield and Havana) and Tazewell & Peoria Railroad (leases the Peoria & Pekin Union Railway from its owners Canadian National, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific); Pioneer Railcorp's Keokuk Junction Railway (which now owns the Toledo, Peoria and Western's West End from Lomax and La Harpe in Western Illinois, plus the branch from Keokuk).[133]

Peoria was a minor passenger rail hub until the 1950s. Several Midwestern railroads served Peoria Union Station until 1955. The Rock Island Railroad operated trains into its Rock Island Depot until 1978, when they discontinued the Peoria Rocket. East Peoria was served by Amtrak's Prairie Marksman (Chicago–East Peoria) until 1981. Peoria is currently the largest city in Illinois without passenger rail service; the closest passenger stations are Galesburg (served by Amtrak's Chicago–Los Angeles Southwest Chief) and Bloomington (served by Amtrak's Chicago-St. Louis Lincoln Service).

A study of East Peoria–Bloomington passenger rail service was published in 2011. Plans for the proposed service, which would have connected with Amtrak's Lincoln Service at Bloomington, were abandoned due to financial considerations.[134]

A study of Peoria–Chicago passenger rail service was published in July 2022. The study, conducted by IDOT at the request of a Passenger Rail Committee established in August 2021, estimated that startup costs for the proposed service would be $2.54 billion. The service would be operated by Amtrak and would have intermediate stops at LaSalle-Peru, Utica, Ottawa, Morris, and Joliet. The trip between Peoria and Chicago would take about 2+1⁄2 hours. Committee members, who met with federal transportation officials and Amtrak's CEO, were hopeful about securing funding.[134]

Public bus service is provided by the Greater Peoria Mass Transit District, which operates 17 bus routes under the name CityLink, that serve the city, Illinois Central College and much of East Peoria, Illinois, Peoria Heights, West Peoria, and points between Peoria and Pekin.[135]

General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport is located 5 miles west of Peoria. The airport is served by 3 passenger airlines (United, American, and Allegiant Air) and numerous cargo carriers. Nonstop destinations include Chicago, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Punta Gorda, and Charlotte.[136] Seasonal destinations include Denver, Nashville, and Destin Fort Walton. Cargo carriers serving Peoria include UPS and DHL.

Mount Hawley Auxiliary Airport, on the north end of the city, is a general aviation airport.[137]

• On the Songs: Ohia album called The Magnolia Electric Co (2003) there is a song by Jason Molina called "Peoria Lunch Box Blues".
• In Sufjan Stevens' album Illinois, Peoria is the subject of the song titled "Prairie Fire That Wanders About." Stevens makes reference to multiple figures in Peoria's history, including Lydia Moss Bradley, and also speaks of Peoria's Santa Claus parade, the longest running in the nation.
• "Peoria" by King Crimson was recorded at The Barn in Bartonville (Peoria County) on March 10, 1972, included in the live album Earthbound.
• Alternative Metal band Mudvayne were founded in Peoria in 1996.

• Published posthumously in 2011, David Foster Wallace's unfinished novel The Pale King features vignettes based in Peoria.

• In 1977, the news magazine Time used Peoria as a form of "et cetera" in an article on the proliferation of new vineyards in America, calling them "the new Chateaux Peorias...."
• A 2009 issue of National Geographic states in its "The Big Idea" section that electron-dispensing filling stations, a now-possible idea difficult to implement on a large scale, will soon "play even in Peoria".[143]
• In 2022, during a WWE house show event in Peoria Scarlett Bordeaux was assaulted by a fan an attendee resulting in international coverage.[144]