Its name is in honor of the sixth President of the United States, John Quincy Adams.

[4] As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 65,737 people, 27,199 households, and 17,398 families residing in the county.

Adams County is divided into twenty-three townships: Adams County, positioned in a primarily rural section of Illinois is culturally isolated from Chicago, and therefore more conservative than the state's northeastern corner.

The county is part of the historic belt of German settlement extending into the Missouri Rhineland.

Additionally, five of the six countywide elected officials in Adams County are Republicans, with a Democrat holding the position of Circuit Clerk.

[16][17] Notably, while it voted for Barack Obama in his 2004 Senate campaign, he lost it by wide margins in both of his presidential bids.

The county is part of Illinois's 15th congressional district, currently represented by Republican Mary Miller.

The county is located in the 47th district of the Illinois Senate, represented by Republican Jil Tracy.