[1] The village of South Holland serves as the governmental seat of Thornton Township.

Many parts of the township carry names inspired by the village's name, including the three high schools of Thornton Township District 205: Thornton Township High School in Harvey; Thornwood High School in South Holland; Thornridge High School in Dolton; Thornton Fractional South High School in Lansing; Thornton Fractional North High School in Calumet City and Thornton Fractional Center for Academics and Technology also in Calumet City.

The township contains these 11 cemeteries: Berger, First Reformed of Lansing, Glen Oak, Hazelwood, Holy Cross Catholic, Homewood Memorial Gardens, Mount Forest, Oak Lawn, Oak Ridge, Oakland and Washington Memory Gardens.

The following are all part of the Cook County Forest Preserves: As of the 2020 census[2] there were 157,865 people, 60,889 households, and 38,705 families residing in the township.

33.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.