How is Dakota run?
Dakota’s village government spent $200,000 on day-to-day services in the year to April 30, 2022, about $436 per resident. These are Census Bureau estimates: Dakota didn’t report its figures, so this page shows them without comparisons.
What stands out about how Dakota is run
Read from the village’s budget and official records.
About $436 per resident a year, or $1.19 a day
Day-to-day services only (a Census Bureau estimate). The biggest line: sewer & trash, at 52%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
Dakota didn’t report all of its 2022 figures to the Census Bureau, so most of these numbers are the Bureau’s estimates.
No comparison or trend for Dakota yet
Every year of Dakota’s figures is a Census Bureau estimate: the village reported none of its dollars for 2022. Estimates are shown above, labeled, but never ranked against places that reported or drawn as a trend.
How Town Hall compares budgets →The typical homeowner pays $2,373 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 2.05% of the home’s value, vs 2.01% across Illinois.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Dakota’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate. In a town this small the estimate has a wide margin.
Tax bills are one input to Dakota’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Dakota →
Who’s in charge in Dakota
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
One full-time village employee for every 115 residents
On the payroll in March 2022, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2022 finance file (459).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2022
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Dakota Community Unit School District 201
Dakota’s K–12 school district, shared with Davis, Rock City, Rock Run Township, Dakota Township, Lancaster Township and more. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $16,252 per pupil, $8,550 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Illinois districts overall: 52% local, 38% state, 10% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Dakota’s votes are counted by county
Illinois reports official results by county and precinct, not by village, so there are no official results for Dakota alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Stephenson County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican58.5%12,347 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat39.2%8,278 votesOthers: 2.3% (481 votes).
Most votes in Stephenson County: Donald J Trump
Illinois: Harris 54.4%, Trump 43.5%
100% of Dakota lies in Stephenson County. Every 2024 race in Stephenson County is on the county’s page.
Stephenson County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Dakota.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilLocal officials aren’t on record yet.
- 2Illinois HouseState representatives
- 3Illinois SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Illinois
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Dakota’s government
Neighbors add phone numbers and hours to the Handbook.
Questions about Dakota’s government
How much does Dakota spend per resident?
About $436 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to April 30, 2022, a Census Bureau estimate (Dakota didn’t report its figures). With building projects and interest, the whole budget was about $468,000.
What is the property tax rate in Dakota?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $2,373 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 2.05% of the typical home’s value, vs 2.01% across Illinois. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see the village’s assessor.
Who runs Dakota’s government?
We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Dakota yet.
How did Dakota vote in 2024?
Illinois counts votes by county and precinct, not by village, so there are no official results for Dakota alone. Stephenson County, where 100% of Dakota lies, voted Trump 58.5%, Harris 39.2% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Dakota?
4 full-time and 8 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $20,383 (about $244,596 a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Dakota in the state legislature?
State Senate District 45 (Andrew Chesney) and State House District 90 (John Cabello). The House district also covers 36 other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Dakota’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (for Dakota, the Bureau’s estimates); day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →