Photo: formulanone from Huntsville, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Living in Preemption Township, IL: what to set up and who to call
The Matherville water system has a clean five-year EPA record, but its latest lead result, 11.6 ppb, was higher than 98% of similar systems’ (the action level is 15). Genesis Medical Center, Aledo, 9.5 miles away, is the nearest emergency room.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Preemption Township, 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 Preemption Township.
Power comes from Ameren Illinois Company
Ameren Illinois Company (Ameren Illinois Company), an investor-owned utility, serves 91.0% of Preemption Township residents. Its homes paid an average of 16.7¢ per kWh in 2025, about $148 a month (its average across Illinois, for customers on its standard service). Illinois lets you buy power from another supplier; 45% of Ameren Illinois Company’s home customers do, and Ameren Illinois Company still delivers it.
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Matherville water system
The Matherville water system supplies Preemption Township: about 41% of residents live in its service area. Unity Water Corporation serves another 11%. About 44% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It draws ground water and serves 651 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 78% of the 5,327 systems serving 501–1,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan–Dec 2025, was 11.6 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 98% 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. IL1310200.
8 home internet providers serve Preemption Township
79% of 789 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 9% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mediacom Xtream | Cable | 67% | 1,000/50 |
| Frontier | DSL | 21% | 115/7 |
| Reynolds Telephone Company | Fiber | 6% | 1,000/1,000 |
| Viola Home Telephone Company | Fixed wireless, Fiber | 4% | 1,000/1,000 |
| Viola Communications | Fiber | 3% | 1,000/1,000 |
| Nextlink | Fixed wireless | 29% | 400/100 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Preemption Township’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Preemption Township.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Most of Preemption Township (83%) is in Sherrard Community Unit School District 200; parts are in Mercer County School District 404 (10%) and Rockridge Community Unit School District 300 (7%).
B+School gradeSee 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.
Preemption Township spans 6 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Preemption Township residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Preemption Township | ZIP’s residents in Preemption Township |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61263 | Matherville, IL | 44% | 100% |
| 61281 | Sherrard, IL | 22% | 15% |
| 61231 | Aledo, IL | 21% | 7% |
| 61264 | Milan, IL | 6% | 1% |
| 61276 | Preemption, IL | 4% | 100% |
| 61279 | Reynolds, IL | 3% | 5% |
A few homes fall in 61486.
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 Preemption Township
Who supplies Preemption Township’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
The Matherville water system (EPA ID IL1310200). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 78% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 11.6 ppb (Jan–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Preemption Township?
Ameren Illinois Company (Ameren Illinois Company), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 16.7¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Preemption Township?
Mediacom Xtream, Frontier, Reynolds Telephone Company, Viola Home Telephone Company, Viola Communications, Nextlink (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Preemption Township?
61263 (44%), 61281 (22%), 61231 (21%), 61264 (6%), 61276 (4%), 61279 (3%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Preemption Township in?
Sherrard Community Unit School District 200. Parts of the city are in Mercer County School District 404 and Rockridge Community Unit School District 300.
How do I register to vote in Preemption Township?
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 Mercer 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: OpenStreetMap, Geofabrik extract of Oct 9, 2026. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
- 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.