Statistical/General Information

City Population . . . 7,272

City Government . . . Mayor-Council form of government with 8 Council members, clerk-collector, treasurer, and attorney.

Police Department . . . 28 member force that maintains 24 hour patrol and dispatch.  Programs sponsored are Crime Stoppers, Neighborhood Watch, and a canine unit.

Fire Department . . . 6 full time employees and 45 paid on-call personnel.  Equipment includes 3 life support ambulances, 3 engines, 1 aerial tower, 1 heavy rescue,1 brush truck and 2 tankers.

911 System . . . Mendota is served by an enhanced 911 emergency response system which provides rapid dispatch for police, fire and emergency services.

City Programs . . . Industrial park, CDAP Revolving Loan Fund, Tax Increment Financing, Enterprise Zone and an active Historic Preservation & Restoration Commission

Road Transportation . . . 2 miles to I-39 north-south, 12 miles to I-80 east-west and 18 miles to I-88 east-west.  Mendota is within 90 minutes of 5 major markets – Chicago, Rockford, Quad Cities, Bloomington-Normal, and Peoria

Rail Transportation . . . Amtrak’s Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandberg provide service between Quincy and Chicago and the Southwest Chief has service between Los Angeles and Chicago, making two daily stops here.  Commercial shippers use the Burlington-Northern which provides freight service and reciprocal switching.  Distance to nearest inter-modal service is 28 miles.

Air Transportation . . . Illinois Valley Regional airport is located 15 miles south of Mendota.  The airport has 6,000 ft. lighted hard surfaced runway.   Fuel, including jet fuel, is available also service and storage, charter service, catering and car rental.  Grandpa’s Farm Airport is located at the southwestern edge of town has 3,940 ft. sod runway.

River Transportation . . . Services are available on the Illinois River, 15 miles south on Rt. 251. This is an asset for many agricultural and industrial products.

Truck Transportation . . . Two local terminals, along with 7 interstate firms provide excellent service to all principal points of distribution in the nation.

Industrial Base . . . Fifteen diversified manufacturing plants, most with internal distribution, presently employ over 1,400 individuals and  provide a solid industrial base.

Industrial Incentives . . . There are area Tax Increment Financing Districts to assist in financing new development and improve infrastructure, and an Enterprise Zone, which provides tax abatements and select tax credits for eligible businesses.

Industrial Park  . . . The City’s industrial park has a flexible development plan to attract firms needing small to large acreage sites.

Homes . . . There is a mixture of quality homes, from the modest single family home to apartments and condominiums, stately Victorians, and new residential developments.  Tree lined streets and quiet neighborhoods are in abundance.

Churches . . . Fourteen churches, many of them in beautifully built buildings, represent 12 denominations.

Organizations . . . Over 60 civic, fraternal and social organizations and clubs are active and meet on a regular basis.

Shopping . . . The business district offers a variety of specialty shops, men’s, women’s and children’s apparel, shoes, jewelry, furniture, and antiques.  A variety of retail businesses are conveniently located throughout the community, including 3 major automobile dealerships, a farm implement dealership, lumberyards, grocery, pharmacy, hardware and discount stores. Numerous restaurants feature varied menus and offer casual to fine dining experiences.

Recreation Lakes . . . 208 acres contain Lakes Mendota and Kakusha.  The lake areas provide playgrounds, sheltered picnic areas, volleyball, softball diamonds, skate park, soccer fields, game fishing and a pier.

Recreation Parks . . . Several neighborhood parks hold Little League diamonds, picnic shelters, swimming pool, tennis courts and playground equipment.

Recreation Nature Area . . . Snyders Grove Nature Area Contains 104 acres of wildlife and prairie that can be seen from many of the walking trails.

Recreation Sponsored . . . The City and Mendota Area YMCA sponsor numerous recreational programs:  Little, Minor and Senior League baseball, Youth Soccer, bowling, an 18 hole golf course, Junior Tackle Football, and Youth Wrestling are also provided.

Museum Union Depot Railroad . . . Located in a restored portion of the 1888 depot.  It houses an operational AMTRAK Station, restored to its former beauty of the 1940’s.  Inside are numerous displays, including a telegraph office, railroad memorabilia and an HO scale layout depicting the town in the late 30’s and early 40’s.   Outside is the impressive CB&Q Locomotive #4978 with tender and caboose, a 1938 Milwaukee Road Combination Car, 1949 Southern Pacific Dining Car and Illinois Central Electric Commuter Cars.

Museum Hume-Carnegie . . . The Hume-Carnegie Museum is dedicated to preserving the historical commercial and industrial history of the Mendota area.  Displays include the life & times of Wild Bill Hickok, Helen Hokinson cartoons, a Western Cottage Organ, built in Mendota along with other items fashioned by various Mendota industries.  Changing exhibits deal with Native American items, local sports memorabilia, and military exhibits. An extensive photographic collection depicts the area over the years.

Museum Breaking of the Prairie . . . The Breaking of the Prairie Museum is housed in a replica barn with glass walls on three sides for open viewing of rotating displays.  Included are antique farm tools, tractors and other farm equipment.  A rare Elgin Hummer windmill is displayed outside along with a country chapel, which was the center for religious and social activities for farmers and their families.

Theatre. . . The Mendota Community Theatre and the Mendota High School present cultural programs and continually produce outstanding theatrical and musical productions.

Elementary Schools . . . District #289 Lincoln School, grades 2,3,4;  Northbrook School grades 5,6,7,8 and pre-school;  Blackstone School grades
K & 1 have a total of 1,355 students.  Holy Cross Parochial provides daycare service as well as grades Pre-school and K-8 with enrollment of 160.

High School . . . Mendota Township High School District #280 offers both academics and extracurricular activities for over 600 students. The school is a modern facility housing a 2000 seat gymnasium and a 524 seat auditorium. A large well lit athletic field is located on Stroble Avenue.

Colleges & Universities . . . Residents take advantage of Illinois Valley Community College, Oglesby, Il which is 20 miles away and Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL is 45 miles from Mendota.

Library . . . Graves-Hume Public Library offers 33,700 volumes for research & reading as well as video and audio recordings, CD’s, DVD’s, periodicals and microfilm copies of the local newspaper dating to the 1800’s.  Children’s services such as story hour and summer reading club are also offered.

Hospital . . . Mendota Community Hospital is an acute care non-profit hospital with approximately 300 employees.  20 physicians are on the active medical staff and over 40 physicians are on the hospital’s consulting/courtesy staff.  Services offered by the hospital include Medical-Surgical Unit, Intensive Care Unit, Surgery and Recovery, Same Day Surgery, Laboratory, Microbiology Lab, Rehab Services, Home Health Department, Swing Beds (Skilled Care), Cardiopulmonary, 24-hour Physician-Staffed Emergency Services, Radiology including Ultrasound, MRI, Nuclear Medicine, CT Scanner, Bone Densitometer and Mammography, Nutrition Counseling, Community Health Services, Outpatient Specialty Clinics, Occupational Health Services, D.O.T. Drug Testing, and a Sleep Lab.  The hospital offers public educational programming, and outreach clinics in surrounding communities.  

Nursing Homes . . .  Heritage Manor Nursing Home is located in the northeast corner of the City.  This licensed facility provides both short term and long term care and is Medicare and Medicaid certified and houses 99 senior citizens and provides them with complete nursing care. The facility provides physical, occupational and speech therapies.
Mendota Lutheran Home comfortably houses 128 senior citizens and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and licensed by the Department of Public Health.  Skilled care/Medicare certified they provide sheltered care, assisted living and intermediate nursing care. Fully staffed, 2 blocks from downtown, senior citizens of all faiths are welcomed.
          
Taxes . . . 9.177 in Mendota Township per $100 assessed valuation within the city limits of Mendota and 8.7110 in Troy Grove Township.

Newspapers . . .The Mendota Reporter is a weekly paper with a distribution of 3,000 copies.   The Mendota Shopping Guide, a weekly paper serving over 15 communities.  The town is also serviced on a daily basis by the News Tribune out of LaSalle, IL.

Radio Station . . . WGLC - FM service began in 1965 and presently is 6000 watts on 100.1 FM and WMKB-FM Radio service began in 2003 and is presently 2250 watts on 102.9 FM.

Utilities – Electricity . . . COMED supplies home, commercial, and industrial needs.  District office is in Dixon, IL

Utilities – Gas . . . NICOR supplies natural gas from various regions.   District office is located in Ottawa, IL

Utilities – Telephone . . . VERIZON provides complete telecommunication service to Mendota and 7 surrounding communities. 

Utilities – Water . . . Municipal supply from deep wells with an average usage of 1,200,000 gallons per day.   Storage facilities:  900 gallons in reservoirs and 600,000 gallons in standpipes.

Utilities – Sewage . . . Complete city coverage to modern treatment plant.  Activated sludge process with tertiary filters is used.

Utilities – Cable TV . . . COMCAST is the digital cable service used in Mendota.

Post Office . . . First Class Post Office with 4,000 deliveries daily. 

Civic Center . . . The Mendota Civic Center is a full service 17,200 sq. ft. facility situated on Lake Mendota.  Meeting, conference, and banquet rooms, seating 15 to 400 guests are available and used often by the entire Illinois Valley area.

Motels . . . Super 8 Motel and Comfort Inn are located at Rt. 34 &
I-39.  Lord Stockings Bed & Breakfast is located at 803 3rd Ave. in town.

Climate . . . Mendota is 760 feet above sea level and has a mean annual temperature of 50 degrees.  The average annual rainfall is 33 inches, and average humidity of 70%. Prevailing winds are south-southwest.

MASS . . . The Mendota Area Senior Services provides senior citizens with transportation, information and assistance, outreach services and senior center activities.

Corn Festival . . . Mendota’s Sweet Corn Festival, annually attracting more than 60,000 visitors to the community on the second full weekend of August.  It highlights a variety of events for the entire family, takes place primarily in the downtown area, and with the exception of the beer garden, has no admission fees or parking fees.  Free musical entertainment is in abundance.  The Crafter’s Market Place and Flea Market feature 230 spaces for dealers in handmade crafts and unique merchandise.   There is a Queen Pageant, carnival with rides and games for both children and adults, and a beer garden in the evening, featuring live bands.   The midways are lined with food booths, serving a multitude of ethnic, regional and festival delights.  The “BIG EVENT” is the serving of tons of FREE hot buttered Del Monte Sweet Corn on Sunday afternoon. It has been cooked to its golden goodness by an antique steam traction engine and served by volunteers for over 60 years.

Tri-County Fair . . . The Mendota Tri-County Fair takes place over Labor Day Weekend and features western entertainment, harness racing, truck and tractor pulls and demolition derbies.  Livestock judging, fine and domestic art exhibits, children’s entertainment, a carnival, food, merchandise and commercial booths round out the entertainment.