La Fayette is a village in Stark County, Illinois. It is located south of Kewanee off Route 78 on Route 17|IL-17. The population was 223 at the 2010 census, down from 227 in 2000. It is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. Once a prominent strip coal mine and farming village with; a general store, high school, hotel, bank, grain elevator, train depot, and many other features and amenities.