Forrest is a village in Livingston County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,220 at the 2010 census. Geography Forrest is located in southeastern Livingston County at (40.750018, -88.409992). It is in the northern part of Forrest Township, with a small area extending north into Pleasant Ridge Township. U.S. Route 24 (Wabash Avenue) passes through the village, leading east to Interstate 57 at Gilman and west to Interstate 55 at Chenoa. Illinois Route 47 (Center Street) crosses US 24 near the village center; it leads north to Dwight and south to Gibson City. According to the 2010 census, Forrest has a total area of , all land. History Founding and naming Forrest was laid out on December 11, 1866, by Israel J. Krack (1816 – 1900). Krack was born in Baltimore, Maryland. Both of his parents had come from Germany. He was briefly a teacher, lived in Indiana, and came to Livingston County in 1854. Krack was a farmer, notary public, grain dealer, and in later life an insurance agent. Krack was elected to the Illinois General Assembly in 1872 and became treasurer of Livingston County in 1878. Krack Street, which parallels the railroad, was named for the town's founder. When Forrest was established, the Toledo, Peoria and Western Railroad had already been in operation for almost ten years, and therefore the origin of the town is unlike Fairbury, Chatsworth, Chenoa, Gridley and El Paso, all of which were founded when the railroad was first built. Within a few years of its founding, the people of Forrest did not know the full name of the person for whom the town was named. The author of the 1878 History of Livingston County says only two things about Mr. Forrest: he was a business partner of C. L. Frost, an official of the Toledo, Peoria and Western, and that he had promised to do something for the young village and that promise was "unfulfilled". The first version of the name was said to be "Forestville", spelled with one "r", but the "Forrest" spelling quickly came into use. Forrest Township was created soon after the village was founded and took its name from the village. Design and commerce In 1861 or 1862, before the town was platted, Israel J. Krack was operating a grain elevator at the location. Like most towns of the period, the plan of the original town of Forrest was