Tilton, Illinois

Tilton is a village in Danville Township, Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. It is part of the Danville, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,976 at the 2000 census, down to 2,724 in 2010 and down to 2,660 in 2020.

It is named after Charles Tilton, a friend of Abraham Lincoln, who worked for the railroads. Lincoln reputedly had Thanksgiving dinner at Tilton's house in the village in the 1850s.

Geography
Tilton is located at 40.09667°N, -87.64194°W (40.096586, -87.642071).

According to the 2010 census, Tilton has a total area of 3.243 sqmi, of which 3.21 sqmi (or 98.98%) is land and 0.033 sqmi (or 1.02%) is water.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,976 people, 1,322 households, and 823 families residing in the village. The population density was 960.5 people per square mile (370.7/km2). There were 1,412 housing units at an average density of 455.7 per square mile (175.9/km2). The racial makeup of the village was 98.29% White, 0.17% African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.34% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.08% of the population.

There were 1,322 households out of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.7% were non-families. 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.83.

In the village, the population was spread out with 22.0% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 26.9% from 45 to 64, and 18.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.8 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $31,810, and the median income for a family was $37,727. Males had a median income of $35,455 versus $20,988 for females. The per capita income for the village was $16,276. About 6.2% of families and 8.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.7% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation
Danville Mass Transit provides bus service on Routes 9 and 13 connecting Tilton to downtown Danville and other destinations.

Notable people

 * Bert Graham: infielder with the St Louis Browns
 * Russ Meers: pitcher for the Chicago Cubs
 * Joseph Kirkland: journalist and novelist

Mayors

 * 1949-1957 - Carl Gruber
 * 1957-1963 - Donald Fitzsimmons
 * 1963-1964 - William West
 * 1964-1973 - Elmer Nabors
 * 1973-1993 - Herschel Jones
 * 1993-2001 - Conrad "Dutch" Wantland
 * 2001-2023 - David Phillips
 * 2023-Now - William "Billy" Wear Jr.

Police Chiefs

 * 1970-2001: Charles Wolfe (Retired)


 * 2001-2009: Michael Schull Sr. (Retired)


 * 2009-2017: Steven Cornett (Retired)


 * 2017-2022: David Cornett
 * 2022-present: Phillip Bernardi

Police

 * Phillip Bernardi- Chief
 * Ryan Schull - Captain
 * Josh Brown - Officer
 * Sam Bernardi - Officer
 * Thomas Wimmer - Officer
 * Amy Kobus - Officer - School Resource Officer
 * Lane Weston - Officer
 * Scott Larsen - Officer
 * Kevin Goetzelman - Officer

Public works

 * T.J. George - Director
 * Nena George
 * Doug Moss

Office Staff

 * Lori Fields - Clerk
 * Tiffany Jones - City Administrator
 * Cassidy Warrick- Treasurer

Fire Department

 * Fire Chief-Dan Pentecost
 * Butch Fields - Asst. Fire Chief/EMS Chief
 * Andy Dunavan- Deputy Chief
 * Doug Moss- Captain
 * Jack Clifton-Captain
 * Brian Dunavan- Captain
 * Brian Schull- Lieutenant
 * Greg Sims- Lieutenant
 * Justin Moore- Lieutenant

EMS

 * Bays	Brandon	EMR


 * Crawford	Jamee	EMR/EMT-B Student


 * Dunavan	Sarah	EMT-P/Administrative Services


 * Dunavan	James(Andy)	EMT-P


 * Dunavan	Brain	EMT-B


 * Fields	William(Butch)	EMT-P/Coordinator


 * Fields	Lori	EMT-B /Administrative Services


 * Harrier	Cameron	EMR/EMT-B Student


 * Haskins	Amy	EMR


 * Heiser	Dustin	EMT-B


 * Hendricks	Brandy	EMT-B


 * Mitchell	Scott	EMR


 * Mitchell	Anna	EMT-B


 * Pentecost	Dan	EMT-B


 * Schull	Brian	EMT-P


 * Schull	Ryan	EMT-B


 * Warrick	Cameron	EMR


 * Weddle	Karyn	EMT-B


 * Weddle	Zach	EMT-B