Local government in New England was made up of English towns with the shire left out." Subsequently counties were formed in New England for judicial purposes, but the towns retained the greater number of their functions; and in the south, the counties were afterwards subdivided into election and police districts, but the administrative power remained with the county.
The Middle States divided the local power between the town and the county.
Migration is chiefly along the parallels of latitude.

And people from habit and instinct organize new governments largely on the plans to which they are accustomed.

Hence we are not surprised to find that in the states formed south of the line of the Ohio, the county is the principal division; while in the northwestern states the town is the important factor.

Though in the Northwest the county is more important than in New England, the influence of the towns in county affairs is generally maintained by the selection of members of the county board from the several towns.
Illinois is a good example of the truth of the generalizations at the beginning of the preceding paragraph.

The state is very long and reaches far to the south.