Photo: Green254 · CC BY-SA 4.0How is Gillespie run?
Gillespie’s city government spent $2.9 million on day-to-day services in the year to April 30, 2024, about $934 per resident. Water and other utilities ($830,000) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Gillespie is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $934 per resident a year, or $2.56 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: police, at 37%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
No comparison or trend for Gillespie yet
The fair comparison uses 2022, the last year the Census Bureau counted every government (later years are a sample), and Gillespie’s 2022 figures are a Census estimate (it reported none of its 2022 dollars). It reported 2024 only (2022 is an estimate), so there is no trend yet either. The next full count is 2027.
How Town Hall compares budgets →The typical homeowner pays $1,430 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 1.57% 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 Gillespie’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.
Tax bills are one input to Gillespie’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Gillespie →
Who’s in charge in Gillespie
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
One full-time city employee for every 105 residents
On the payroll in March 2022, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (3,140).
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.
Gillespie Community Unit School District 7
Gillespie’s K–12 school district, shared with Benld, Dorchester, Eagarville, East Gillespie, Mount Clare and more. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $15,374 per pupil, $9,615 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.
Gillespie’s votes are counted by county
Illinois reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Gillespie alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Macoupin County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican68.3%16,065 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat29.3%6,892 votesOthers: 2.4% (568 votes).
Most votes in Macoupin County: Donald J Trump
Illinois: Harris 54.4%, Trump 43.5%
100% of Gillespie lies in Macoupin County. Every 2024 race in Macoupin County is on the county’s page.
Macoupin 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 Gillespie.
- 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.
How Gillespie compares with the towns next door
Gillespie’s 2022 figures are a Census estimate, so it isn’t placed among them. Neighbors that reported 2022 spent $282 per resident. Tap a town to see its page.
| Town | Day-to-day, per resident (2022) | Tax bill |
|---|---|---|
| East Gillespie | $282 | $2,154 |
| Gillespie | estimate | $1,430 |
Day-to-day spending in 2022, the last year every government was counted, for governments that reported it; hospital and utilities left out. Tax bill: the typical homeowner’s bill (Census ACS, 2020–24).
Reach Gillespie’s government
Neighbors add phone numbers and hours to the Handbook.
Questions about Gillespie’s government
How much does Gillespie spend per resident?
About $934 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to April 30, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau.
What is the property tax rate in Gillespie?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $1,430 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 1.57% of the typical home’s value, vs 2.01% across Illinois. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see the city’s assessor.
Who runs Gillespie’s government?
We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Gillespie yet.
How did Gillespie vote in 2024?
Illinois counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Gillespie alone. Macoupin County, where 100% of Gillespie lies, voted Trump 68.3%, Harris 29.3% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Gillespie?
30 full-time and 21 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $129,020 (about $1.5M a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Gillespie in the state legislature?
State Senate District 54 (Steve McClure) and State House District 108 (Wayne Rosenthal). The House district also covers 105 other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Gillespie’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; 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 →