# Local news in Illinois

Source: https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-illinois
Published by NewsUSA. Updated 2026-11-14.

> Short answer: In Medill's 2026 data, Illinois has 280 newspapers, 102 digital-only news sites, 13 public broadcasters and 18 local TV newsrooms. Of its 102 counties, 15 have no local news source, and 36 have only one source. That is 2.2 newspapers for every 100,000 residents, against 1.6 nationally.

| Measure | Illinois | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Newspapers | 280 | 5,523 |
| Digital-only news sites | 102 | 1,926 |
| Public broadcasters | 13 | 342 |
| Local TV newsrooms | 18 | 678 |
| Newspapers per 100,000 residents | 2.2 | 1.6 |
| Counties with no local news source | 15 | 238 |
| Counties with only one | 36 | 1,478 |
| Counties | 102 | 3,144 |

Source: Medill Local News Initiative, Northwestern University, 2026 data; population from the US Census Bureau, Vintage 2025. The national county figures come from Medill's county data.

## How Illinois compares

- Illinois has 2.2 newspapers for every 100,000 residents, tied for 18th highest of the 50 states and DC. The national figure is 1.6.
- Of the other states, three have more counties with no local news source than Illinois.
- The county with the most local news sources is Cook, with 138.

## Map: local news by county

![Map of Illinois's 102 counties, shaded by number of local news sources: 15 with none, 36 with one, 36 with two to four and 15 with five or more. Source: Medill Local News Initiative, 2026 data.](https://trynewsusa.com/charts/map-local-news-illinois.png)

## Counties with no local news source

In Medill's 2026 data, these counties have no newspaper, digital news site, public broadcaster or local TV newsroom: Alexander, Calhoun, Clark, Clay, Edwards, Gallatin, Greene, Hamilton, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Pulaski, Saline, Scott, White.

## Every county in Illinois

| County | Newspapers | Digital sites | Public broadcasters | Local TV | Local news sources | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adams | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | Two or more |
| Alexander | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Bond | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Boone | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Brown | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Bureau | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Calhoun | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Carroll | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Cass | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Champaign | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | Two or more |
| Christian | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Clark | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Clay | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Clinton | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Coles | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Cook | 73 | 56 | 2 | 7 | 138 | Two or more |
| Crawford | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Cumberland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| De Witt | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| DeKalb | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Douglas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| DuPage | 12 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 22 | Two or more |
| Edgar | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Edwards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Effingham | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Fayette | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Ford | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Franklin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Fulton | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Gallatin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Greene | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Grundy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Hamilton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Hancock | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Hardin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Henderson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Henry | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Iroquois | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Jackson | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Jasper | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Jefferson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Jersey | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Jo Daviess | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Johnson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Kane | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 | Two or more |
| Kankakee | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Kendall | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Knox | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Two or more |
| LaSalle | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Two or more |
| Lake | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 17 | Two or more |
| Lawrence | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Lee | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Livingston | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Logan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Macon | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | Two or more |
| Macoupin | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | Two or more |
| Madison | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | Two or more |
| Marion | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Marshall | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Mason | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Massac | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| McDonough | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| McHenry | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Two or more |
| McLean | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | Two or more |
| Menard | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Mercer | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Monroe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Montgomery | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Morgan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Moultrie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Ogle | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Peoria | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | Two or more |
| Perry | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Piatt | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Pike | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Pope | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Pulaski | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Putnam | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Randolph | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Richland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Rock Island | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | Two or more |
| Saline | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Sangamon | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 13 | Two or more |
| Schuyler | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Scott | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Shelby | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| St. Clair | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | Two or more |
| Stark | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Stephenson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Tazewell | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | Two or more |
| Union | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Vermilion | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Wabash | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Warren | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Washington | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Wayne | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| White | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Whiteside | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Will | 6 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 15 | Two or more |
| Williamson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Winnebago | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | Two or more |
| Woodford | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |

Source: Medill Local News Initiative, Northwestern University, county data behind its 2026 map, read November 9, 2026. A county's local news sources are its newspapers, digital sites, public broadcasters and local TV newsrooms.

## Neighboring states

Illinois borders [Indiana](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-indiana), [Iowa](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-iowa), [Kentucky](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-kentucky), [Missouri](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-missouri) and [Wisconsin](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-wisconsin).

Closest to Illinois (2.2) on newspapers per 100,000 residents: [Rhode Island](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-rhode-island) (2.2) and [Alaska](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-alaska) (2.3).

## Use this data

Illinois alone: [Illinois by county, 2026 (CSV)](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-illinois-2026.csv). Every county in the country is in one file: [news outlets by county, 2026 (CSV)](https://trynewsusa.com/news-outlets-by-county-2026.csv). State totals are in [news outlets by state (CSV)](https://trynewsusa.com/news-outlets-by-state-2026.csv) and [news deserts by state (CSV)](https://trynewsusa.com/news-deserts-by-state-2026.csv). Credit the Medill Local News Initiative for the figures, and link to this page or to [news deserts by state](https://trynewsusa.com/news-deserts-by-state), which has every state side by side and a lookup you can put on your own site.

## Put these figures on your site

You are welcome to embed this card on your own site. It shows Illinois's figures from Medill's 2026 data and links back to this page. Copy this code. On narrow pages, raise the height to 500.

## Getting a story onto local news sites

A feature story placed through a syndication network can run on local news sites in many states at once. [How to get your brand on local news sites](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-sites) explains how that works, and [local news statistics](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-statistics) has the national picture.

## Questions

### How many news deserts are in Illinois?

Of its 102 counties, 15: Alexander, Calhoun, Clark, Clay, Edwards, Gallatin, Greene, Hamilton, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Pulaski, and 3 more listed on this page. A news desert is a county with no newspaper, digital news site, public broadcaster or local TV newsroom, in Medill's 2026 data.

### How many newspapers are in Illinois?

280, in Medill's 2026 data. That is 2.2 for every 100,000 residents, against 1.6 for the whole country.

### Which Illinois county has the most local news sources?

Cook, with 138: 73 newspapers, 56 digital sites, 2 public broadcasters and 7 local TV newsrooms, in Medill's 2026 data.

## How this page was made

Outlet counts and news deserts come from the Medill Local News Initiative's 2026 data: the state figures on its map (read November 8, 2026) and the outlet list and county data behind it (read November 9). NewsUSA counted the outlets by county and checked on every build that the counties add up to Medill's state figures. Population is the US Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimate.

- [Medill Local News Initiative: Explore the local news landscape (2026 data; state figures read November 8, outlet list and county figures November 9)](https://localnewsinitiative.northwestern.edu/projects/state-of-local-news/explore/), read November 9, 2026
- [US Census Bureau: state population estimates, Vintage 2025 (July 1, 2025)](https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/state/totals/NST-EST2025-ALLDATA.csv), read November 9, 2026