The St. Clair County Sheriff's Department is located in Southern Illinois. St. Clair County is bordered to the west by St. Louis, Missouri, to the south by Monroe and Randolph Counties, to the east by Washington and Clinton Counties and to the north by Madison County. St. Clair County, organized in 1790 was the first, and therefore is the oldest county in the state of Illinois. It was named for General St. Clair, who was the governor of the Northwest Territory under President Washington.
By the time Illinois had became a state in 1818, St. Clair County had already been organized for 28 years. The county covers 663.9 square miles and has a population of 265,200 (about 65,000 unincorporated population). There are 139,478 registered voters in St. Clair County comprising 74.1% of the voting age population. There are 95,112 households in the county with an average size of 2.71 persons and the median age of residents is 32 years. Median household income is $26,813 annually with 13.9% of county families and 17.4% of the total population with incomes below the poverty level. There are 2,275 miles of roadways in St. Clair County with 73% maintained by municipal governments, 11% maintained by county government, and 16% maintained by the state of Illinois. 76.7% of workers drive to work alone and 3.6% take public transportation to work.
The county seat is the City of Belleville. The county is governed by a 29 member County Board and a County Board Chairman. St. Clair County has 31 municipalities. Among the many attractions found in St. Clair County is the fascinating and ancient Cahokia Mounds site which was the center of a native American culture long ago and is one of the most significant archeological sites in North America. Other attractions and institutions in the county include the National Shrine of Our Lady of Snows, MidAmerica Airport, McKendree College, Southwestern Illinois College , St. Clair Square Shopping Center, St. Louis Downtown Airport, Scott Air Force Base, and the Casino Queen.
The Sheriff's Department is commanded by Sheriff Mearl J. Justus and consists of 160 full-time sworn Deputies, 20 civillian employees, and 39 Auxiliary Deputies. The St. Clair County Sheriff's Department provides a full service Patrol Division, Correction's Division, Civil Process Section, and Court Bailiff Services.
The image of William Biggs
The Sheriff of St. Clair County
1795 - 1799
Is on display in Department lobby
