Taylorville

Taylorville is a city in and the county seat of Christian County, Illinois, United States. The population was 10506 at the 2020 census, making it the county’s largest city.

Taylorville was founded on May 24, 1839, and was named after John Taylor, a planning commissioner for the state of Illinois. Taylorville was known (in the early to mid-1990s) to have had a high rate of neuroblastoma, a cancer affecting the adrenal gland and striking children. The local power company Central Illinois Public Service Company was sued and lost for contaminating the groundwater in 1994.

Taylorville is served by Illinois Route 29, Illinois Route 48 and Illinois Route 104. By closest major city, Illinois Route 29 connects Taylorville to Springfield, Illinois; Illinois Route 48 connects to Decatur, Illinois – including, from there, highway access to Pana, Illinois via US Highway 51 and to Champaign, Illinois via Interstate 72; and Illinois Route 104 connects Taylorville to Jacksonville, Illinois.