The City Profile section gives lots of statistical data and information about the City. This data is very useful to the new or prospective resident.

The City of Carbondale operates under a Council-Manager form of Government. The Mayor and six City Council members are elected at-large for four-year staggered terms. The City Council acts as the policy making body for City Government and hires a City Manager to serve as the Chief Administrative Officer. The Mayor is the official head of the City and with City Council consent, is responsible for appointing members to the various boards, commissions, and committees of the City.

The City employs approximately 260 full-time employees. Services provided by the City include police and fire protection, development services, public works, and a public library. The City also operates, on an enterprise basis, water and sanitary sewer operations, parking system maintenance and operations, solid waste collection and recycling operations, and City-owned rental properties maintenance and operations.

The City has several boards and commissions that allow for broad citizen participation in the local Government. Citizens who wish to volunteer their time and participate in local Government should call the Mayor's Office at 618-549-5302, ext. 229.

Regular City Council meetings are held on designated Tuesdays of the month at 7:00 p.m., at City Hall/Civic Center, 200 South Illinois Ave. Check the City Council Meetings Calendar for the appropriated day. All meetings are open to the public. Every agenda includes the item "Citizen Questions and Comments" to permit discussion of any topic by any citizen.

Population

Highway Mileage

Public Facilities In the City or Within 10 Miles

Library

Carbondale Public Library
405 W. Main St.

Morris LIbrary
Southern Illinois University Campus

Educational Facilities

Carbondale is the home of Southern Illinois University, a comprehensive teaching and research institution with approximately 61 graduate programs and professional schools of Law, Medicine, and Engineering. The University, with approximately 7,364 employees, is the area's largest employer.

Other Major Area Employers Are:

Churches

47 Protestant
2 Catholic
1 Jewish Synagogue
2 Moslem Temple

Retail Shopping

University Mall, an enclosed shopping center (677,000 square feet) with anchors: J.C. Penny, Macy's, Bed Bath and Beyond and AMC Theaters an 8 Screen Complex

Murdale Shopping Center with anchors: Neighborhood Food Co-op and Tru-Value

University Place, an open-air center (250,000 square feet) with anchors: Dick's Sporting Goods, Best Buy, Petco, AMC Theatre an 8 Screen Complex, TJ Maxx, Party City and Various other Shops

Eastgate Shopping Center with anchors: Ashley Furniture

Central Business district

West Park Plaza, an open-air center (55,322 sqare feet) with anchors Golds Gym, CVS Pharmacy and Sherwin Williams Paint

Health Care

Memorial Hospital of Carbondale

Memorial Hospital of Carbondale is the flagship hospital for SIH and regional referral center for the 16 county southern Illinois region. Memorial paves the way to bring big city medicine home. Physicians in nearly 40 different specialties practice here, bringing expertise and new procedures, but successfully tailoring them to the particular needs of a rural setting. The success has earned them HealthGrades Outstanding Patient Experience Award for several consecutive years.

• 140-bed tertiary care hospital
• Southern Illinois’ largest and most spacious birthing center with Level II Plus Special Care Nursery
• Only dedicated pediatric unit in the region
• The core hospital for SIH’s comprehensive, regional heart program, Prairie Heart Institute.
• High level surgical capabilities including daVinci technology
• Affiliated with SIU School of Medicine through its Family Practice Residency Program
• Neuroscience program including neurosurgery and the region’s only Primary Stroke Center
• Accredited by the Commission on Cancer for comprehensive cancer treatment

Climate/Atmosphere

Average winter temperature 29.9 degrees
Average summer temperature 86.5 degrees
Growing season - 190 days
Average annual precipitation - 40"
Average annual snowfall - 10.4"

Awards

• Selected as "Best Small City in Illinois," 1990, 1997
• Winner, "Governor's Hometown Award," 1991, 1992, 2009 
• Winner, "GFOA Distinguished Budget Presentation Award," since 1986
• Selected as "Tree City USA," since 1981
• Name as 2009 All-America City Finalist
• City Livability Award, 2009
• Finalist, Award for Municipal Excellence, 2009
• Sunshine Transparency in Government Award, 2010,2011,2012

Community Programs

Carbondale is an enterprise zone community.

Industrial Sites

Utilities

Electricity
Egyptian Electric 618-684-2143
AmerenIllinois 888-789-2477

Water

Supplied by the City of Carbondale
Source - City Lake/Reservoir
Elevated storage capacity 7,500,000 gallons
Capacity at water plant 8,000,000 gallons per day
Average consumption 4,610,000 gallons per day
Peak consumption 7,000,000 gallons per day

Natural Gas

Distributor AmerenIllinois
Pipeline source Texas Eastern
Sanitation
Type of sewage treatment plant secondary
% community served by sewer 98.0 percent
Average load 4,800,000 gallons per day 4.8m
Peak load 10,600,000 gallons per day
Design capacity 12,600,000 gallons per day

Telephone

Frontier Residential Customers 877-462-3152
Business Customers 877-462-3152

Wireless

Verizon: 618-549-5490
Alltel: 877-395-6824
ATT&T: 618-457-7720
SI Wireless: 618-457-7170
 

Transportation

Rail Service

Canadian National Railroad - Chicago to New Orleans - 16 daily trains with 3 daily Amtrak trains
Carbondale has a traincar maintenance facility and the distance to the nearest piggyback service is 10 miles

Motor Carrier

Greyhound Bus Lines - 905 E. Main Street 618-549-3495
West Bus Service (Charters) - 700 New Era Road 618-549-3913
Distance to nearest interstate interchange: 12 miles
Number of local terminals: 2
Number of carriers: 6
(Includes intra and interstate carriers)

Air Service

Southern Illinois Airport
Located 2 miles from Carbondale
Type of runway: hard surface
Length of runway: 6,500 feet
Unicom radio: 122.95
Instrument landing system, VOR, Non-directional beacon
Williamson County Airport
Located 10 miles east of Carbondale at Hwy 13 & Hwy 148 Marion, IL
Terminal Building: 618-993-3353

Selected Demographic Information

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau

*Carbondale population figure for 2000 was recently adjusted by the Census Bureau

Average Annual Unemployment Rates

Source: Illinois Department of Employment