Jacksonville, Illinois
County: Morgan County
Population: 20,000 Educational Institutions: Illinois College (private, four year liberal arts college of approximately 1,000 students); MacMurray College (private, four year liberal arts college of approximately 550 students); Illinois School for the Deaf; Illinois School for the Visually Impaired. Economic/community development organizations: Jacksonville Regional Economic Development Corporation, Jacksonville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, Jacksonville Main Street |
Demographics & Industry
Jacksonville is predominantly white, with a proportionally higher number of people in their early 20s and in their mid-40s to 50s. These populations have markedly different household incomes; students at the undergraduate colleges tend to have lower incomes while the population of older adults likely accounts for Jacksonville’s wealthier residents. Jacksonville is a regional employment center; nearly 40 percent of Morgan County residents work in Jacksonville but live elsewhere. The largest employers in Jacksonville are the Passavant Area Hospital (925 employees), Pactiv (800 employees), Perma-Bound (500 employees), Jacksonville Correctional Facility (490 employees) and Jacksonville Developmental Center (450 employees). Subsidiary industries located in Jacksonville, such as Blue Cross Blue Shield with 300 employees, also provide major sources of employment (JREDC, 2009). Assets Innovative business leaders: Two business leaders in the Jacksonville community have paved the way for much of its downtown revitalization by investing in their own businesses; between them, these business leaders own four establishments in the downtown. Mark Shierl owns and operates three restaurants – Mugsy’s, The Brick House and Mulligans – and Joe Racey owns the Three Legged Dog Café (Tighe, 2011). Institutions: Though Jacksonville has only 20,000 residents, it is home to two private liberal arts colleges and four state-run institutions – the School for the Visually Impaired, the School for the Deaf, Jacksonville Correctional Facility and the Jacksonville Developmental Center. These institutions represent a ‘pull’ factor for Jacksonville by providing jobs and needed social services for a regional market. Regional development coordination: Jacksonville’s successful revitalization has been largely attributed to a collaboration between several for-profit and non-profit organizations, including the City of Jacksonville, Jacksonville Area Chamber of Commerce, Jacksonville Area Conventions and Visitors Bureau, Jacksonville Regional Economic Development Corporation, Imagine Foundation, Morgan County, Illinois Main Street, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, Landmarks Illinois, National Main Street, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Jacksonville’s collaborative efforts have been so successful that in 2012 it was named a Great American Main Street by the National Main Street program (Jacksonville Main Street, 2012). |
Click on charts to see more detail.
|