Madison, Illinois

Madison is a city in Madison and St. Clair counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is also a suburb of St. Louis. The population was 3,171 at the 2020 census, down from 3,891 in 2010. It is home to World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway and the first Bulgarian Orthodox church in the United States.

History
Madison was founded in 1820. There have been three villages named Madison.

Geography
Madison is located in southwestern Madison County at 38.68361°N, -90.15111°W (38.683700, -90.151047). The central city area is bordered by Granite City to the north and Venice to the southwest. However, the Madison city limits now extend 3 mi south, 4 mi east, and 8 mi north of the city center, so that it is also bordered by Hartford to the extreme north, Pontoon Beach to the east, Fairmont City to the southeast, and Brooklyn to the southwest. The Mississippi River forms the western boundary of Madison north of Venice, with St. Louis, Missouri, across the river.

Illinois Route 203 passes through the center of Madison as MC Cambridge Avenue and Edwardsville Road, leading north into Granite City and south to Interstates 55 and 70 at their Exit 4 in the southernmost part of town. Illinois Route 3 (Cedar Street) crosses the western part of Madison, leading south into Venice before crossing the Mississippi into St. Louis, and north through Granite City to Hartford.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Madison has a total area of 17.88 sqmi, of which 14.15 sqmi are land and 3.74 sqmi, or 20.91%, are water.

2000 census
At the 2000 census there were 4,545 people, 1,881 households, and 1,117 families living in the city. The population density was 648.3 PD/sqmi. There were 2,322 housing units at an average density of 331.2 /sqmi. The racial makup of the city was 55.36% White, 42.13% African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.92% from other races, and 1.17% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.96%.

Of the 1,881 households 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.2% were married couples living together, 22.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.6% were non-families. 34.9% of households were one person and 14.7% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 29.8% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.4 males.

The median household income was $24,828 and the median family income was $29,926. Males had a median income of $27,363 versus $21,250 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,090. About 19.6% of families and 24.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.4% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.

National Register of Historic Places

 * Chain of Rocks Bridge over the Mississippi River

Transportation
Amtrak's Texas Eagle as well as its Lincoln Service pass through Madison, but don't stop in the small city. A regional bus service is provided for the community.

Notable people

 * George Becker, president of United Steelworkers 1993-2001
 * Donnie Freeman, basketball player at Illinois and in ABA and NBA
 * Sam Harshany, catcher for the St. Louis Browns