| Streator is a
city in LaSalle and partially in Livingston counties
in the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 17,190
as of the 2000 census. The city is situated on the Vermilion
River approximately 81 miles (130 km) southwest of Chicago,
Illinois in prairie and farmland of north-central Illinois.
According to the 2000 U.S. census[2] the popuation of
Streator was 14,190 people. Streator was named for Dr.
Worthy S. Streator, an Ohio industrialist who financed
the regions first coal mining operation.
It was incorporated as a city
in 1868. Streator's early growth was due to its success
as a coal producer, a major glass manufacturer and a
railroad hub in the midwest. Today Streator's economy
is lead by heavy-equipment manufacturer Vactor, food
manufacturer U.S. Foodservice and glass bottle manufacturer
Owens-Illinois. The city is the hometown of Clyde Tombaugh,
who discovered the dwarf planet Pluto in 1930,[3] and
George "Honey Boy" Evans, who wrote In the
Good Old Summertime. Streator hosts annual events including
the Roamer Cruise Night and the Heritage Days celebration
each July 4th. Streator is governed by a Manager-council
style of government. It maintains police and fire departments
as well as a public works system. The mayor is Ray Schmitt.
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