Living in Dakota, IL: what to set up and who to call
Thursday is trash day in Dakota. The closest ER is FHN Memorial Hospital, 8.5 miles away.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Dakota, and who provides it. Tap an answer for the details and where they come from.
Power, water and internet
Who to call to start service at a new address in Dakota.
Power comes from Commonwealth Edison
Commonwealth Edison (Commonwealth Edison Co), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Dakota. Its homes paid an average of 17.7¢ per kWh in 2025, about $107 a month (its average across Illinois, for customers on its standard service). Illinois lets you buy power from another supplier; 20% of Commonwealth Edison’s home customers do, and Commonwealth Edison still delivers it.
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Dakota water system
The Dakota water system supplies almost all of Dakota. It draws ground water and serves 500 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 77% of the 15,074 systems serving 101–500 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan–Dec 2025, was 4.8 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 90% of similar systems’ latest results.
The system’s full record: EPA ECHO report
EPA SDWIS via Envirofacts (violations pulled Oct 9, 2026) and ECHO (lead samples, 2026Q3); service area: EPA Community Water System Service Area Boundaries v3.0 (EPA’s estimate). Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. IL1770100.
6 home internet providers serve Dakota
100% of 214 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 0% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mediacom Xtream | Cable | 100% | 1,000/50 |
| Frontier | DSL | 81% | 10/1 |
| JCWIFI.com | Fixed wireless | 98% | 200/200 |
| Rise Broadband | Fixed wireless | 76% | 25/5 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 11% | 25/6 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 7% | 25/3 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Trash day in Dakota is Thursday
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Dakota, from the town’s own site.
This month
- TrashEvery week
- RecyclingEvery week, Thu
From villageofdakota.com, the town’s official site, checked Oct 23, 2026; pages dated 2026. Rules change: the town’s page is the last word. .
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Dakota is in Dakota Community Unit School District 201.
Test scores and every school: see Schools →U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25. Enrollment rules and registration are the district’s.
Town hall and registering to vote
Who to call, and how to register.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Jun 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Dakota is in ZIP code 61018
ZIP codes where Dakota residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Dakota | ZIP’s residents in Dakota |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61018 | Dakota, IL | 100% | 48% |
Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, by census block; post office names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). ZIPs created since 2020 are missing.
Getting around, the ER and the library
One line each; the subject pages have the rest.
ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.
Questions about living in Dakota
Who supplies Dakota’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
The Dakota water system (EPA ID IL1770100). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 77% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 4.8 ppb (Jan–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Dakota?
Commonwealth Edison (Commonwealth Edison Co), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 17.7¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Dakota?
Mediacom Xtream, Frontier, JCWIFI.com, Rise Broadband, Verizon, T-Mobile (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Dakota?
61018. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Dakota in?
Dakota Community Unit School District 201.
How do I register to vote in Dakota?
In Illinois you can register online until 16 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 28 days before). Elections here are run by the Stephenson County Clerk. Check your registration at ova.elections.il.gov.
Sources & dates
Every answer above names its source. Here they are with their dates.
- Water: EPA SDWIS (Envirofacts, pulled Oct 9, 2026), ECHO SDWA 2026Q3, EPA CWS Service Area Boundaries v3.0.
- Power: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map Aug 2023); EIA-861 final 2025.
- Trash: Dakota’s own website (villageofdakota.com), read Oct 23, 2026, pickup and drop-off facts extracted and checked against the page they came from.
- ZIP codes: Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files; GeoNames postal codes (CC BY 4.0).
- Schools: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25.
- Registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025 (read Oct 10, 2026). Official sites and area codes: Wikidata.
- Election office: FVAP local election office directory (fetched Oct 10, 2026; each record dated), EAC EAVS 2024 jurisdictions; registration and lookup links from vote.gov’s state data, checked Oct 10, 2026.
- Internet: FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025.