The Land of Lincoln is also the land of world-class universities, medical centers, museums and corporations. As a result, any list of the 200 most prominent Illinoisans is virtually impossible to assemble given the plethora of talented and influential people who’ve lived and worked here. To assemble this list, the Sun-Times sought recommendations from eight experts, matching their respective lists of nominees. In all, 116 people matched at least twice, and we picked the remaining 84. One of our experts, Chicago treasure Timuel Black, who turns 99 on Dec. 7, made the list — the result of some of his counterparts recognizing his historical significance.
Grace Abbott, early 1900s social worker who promoted immigrant rights
Robert S. Abbott, Chicago Defender publisher who started the Bud Billiken Parade
Jane Addams, influential feminist and social worker, founder of Hull House
Dankmar Adler, architect who partnered with Louis Sullivan in development of steel-framed skyscrapers
Max Adler, Sears Roebuck and Co. vice president who established the Adler Planetarium in Chicago
Nelson Algren, writer known for “The Man with the Golden Arm” and “A Walk on the Wild Side”
Saul Alinsky, community organizer who worked to improve living conditions of the poor
John Peter Altgeld, 20th governor of Illinois who supported workplace safety and child labor laws
Philip Armour, meatpacking industrialist
Ernie Banks, iconic Cubs first baseman and shortstop
Saul Bellow, prolific 20th century writer, recipient of the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize for Literature
Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, Archbishop of Chicago, 1982-1996
Jesse Binga, first African-American to own a Chicago bank, opening his on the South Side in 1908
Timuel Black, author, educator and South Side activist known for coining the phrase “plantation politics”
Harry Blackmun, U.S. Supreme Court justice from Nashville, Illinois, who wrote the Roe v. Wade decision
RELATED: Order a copy of the Sun-Times 64-page Illinois 200 premium edition magazine See all ‘200 for 200’ nominations from our panel of experts
Shadrach Bond, first governor of Illinois
Myra Bradwell, first woman to be admitted to the Illinois bar
Carol Moseley Braun, first African-American female U.S. senator, 1993-1999
Gwendolyn Brooks, Pulitzer-Prize-winning poet and author
William Jennings Bryan, three-time presidential nominee, known for his “Cross of Gold” speech
Daniel Burnham, architect and city planner who developed the “Plan of Chicago”
Margaret T. Burroughs, educator and artist who co-founded the DuSable Museum of African American Hist
Dick Butkus, Chicago Vocational, University of Illinois and Bears legend
Jane Byrne, Chicago’s first female mayor
David Cerda, first Hispanic to be named to the Illinois Appellate Court
Anton Cermak, 34th mayor of Chicago
Sandra Cisneros, Chicago-born author best known for her novel “The House on Mango Street”
Hillary Rodham Clinton, U.S. senator, secretary of state, first lady and first woman to top presidential ticket for a major party
Bessie Coleman, first African-American and Native-American woman to obtain a pilot’s license
Edward Coles, second governor of Illinois and anti-slavery advocate
Charles Comiskey, baseball player, manager and White Sox team owner who was key in founding the American League
Daniel Pope Cook, Illinois’ first attorney general, also an anti-slavery advocate
Sam Cooke, hit soul music artist who also founded a record label and publishing company
Richard J. Daley, Chicago mayor from 1955-1976 who kept the city from “rust belt” decline
Richard M. Daley, 43rd mayor of Chicago whose tenure exceeded Richard J. Daley, his father
Clarence Darrow, lawyer who defended Leopold and Loeb
David Davis, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court under Abraham Lincoln and U.S. senator from Illinois
Miles Davis, innovative jazz musician and composer
Eugene Debs, leading socialist who gained national attention for helping direct the Pullman strikers in 1894
John Deere, established the Moline-based agricultural equipment company
Oscar DePriest, first African-American non-southerner to serve in Congress
Leon Despres, Chicago alderman, 1955-1975, who often opposed then-Mayor Richard J. Daley
John Dewey, influential philosopher and educator who taught at the University of Chicago
Jacoby Dickens, head of Chicago’s Seaway Bank and Trust, at one time the nation’s largest black-owned financial institution
Everett Dirksen, U.S. Senator from Illinois and civil rights champion
Walt Disney, entrepreneur whose namesake company became an entertainment and amusement park industry standard
Paul H. Douglas, economist, author, Chicago alderman and U.S. senator
Stephen A. Douglas, U.S. senator from Illinois known for the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates
Theodore Dreiser, novelist who championed social justice for radicals and political prisoners
Edward F. Dunne, 24th governor of Illinois and 38th mayor of Chicago
Finley Peter Dunne, Chicago writer whose observations on political and social issues were well regarded by Theodore Roosevelt
Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, credited as Chicago’s first permanent resident
Roger Ebert, Pulitzer-Prize-winning movie critic for the Chicago Sun-Times
Ninian Edwards, governor of the Illinois Territory, 1809-1818
Rahm Emanuel, 44th mayor of Chicago and former chief of staff to President Barack Obama
Louis Farrakhan, African-American activist and head of the Nation of Islam
James T. Farrell, novelist and short-story writer, known for his Studs Lonigan character
Enrico Fermi, physicist and maker of the first nuclear reactor
Marshall Field, shopping magnate, founder of Marshall Field and Co. department stores
Sunny Fischer, leader for women’s causes, anti-domestic violence activist
John Fitzpatrick, head of the Chicago Federation of Labor, 1906-1946
Redd Foxx, comedian and actor best known for 1970s sitcom “Sanford and Son”
Milton Friedman, conservative economist who advised Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher
Paul V. Galvin, along with his brother, Joseph, incorporated Motorola’s founding company, the Galvin Manufacturing Corp., in Chicago
Jeanne Gang, Chicago architect, perhaps best known for the Aqua Tower
Benny Goodman, band leader known as the “King of Swing”
Ulysses S. Grant, 18th president of the United States
Dick Gregory, comedian, civil rights activist and author who got his big break at Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Club
Buddy Guy, legendary blues guitarist
Luis V. Gutierrez, congressman, national immigration rights activist
George Halas, Bears founder, who was also the team’s head coach
Fred Hampton, leader of the Illinois Black Panther party, slain during a raid by police on Chicago’s West Side
Herbie Hancock, band leader, keyboardist and songwriter born in Chicago
Lorraine Hansberry, first African-American woman to have a play performed on Broadway
William Rainey Harper, first president of the University of Chicago
Carter Harrison Sr., 24th mayor of Chicago
Carter Harrison Jr., 30th mayor of Chicago, later left office and then was re-elected
Ben Hecht, screenwriter and reporter for the Chicago Journal and Chicago Daily News
Hugh Hefner, Chicago-born founder of Playboy magazine
Ernest Hemingway, Oak Park native, novelist, journalist and Nobel Prize in Literature winner
Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Investments, first African-American woman to head The Economic Club of Chicago
William Holabird, architect who contributed to the Chicago School style
Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard, established Chicago’s first stockyard; heavily promoted the Chicago area to easterners
Robert M. Hutchins, University of Chicago Chancellor, 1945-1951, who restructured the undergraduate program
Charles L. Hutchinson, businessman, influential president of the Art Institute of Chicago
Samuel Insull, helped establish the electrical infrastructure in the U.S.
Jesse Jackson Sr., civil rights activist, minister and politician
Mahalia Jackson, gospel singer with 30 albums who also was active in the civil rights movement
Helmut Jahn, architect perhaps best known for designing the James R. Thompson Center
William Le Baron Jenney, architect and engineer responsible for first skyscraper in 1884
Jens Jensen, landscape architect who designed Garfield, Humboldt, Douglas and Columbus parks
George E. Johnson Sr., founded Johnson Products Company, the first African-American-owned company to be listed on the American Stock Exchange
John H. Johnson, African-American publisher who launched Ebony and Jet magazines
Quincy Jones, Chicago-born record producer, musician and entertainment company executive
Michael Jordan, No. 23, led the Bulls to six NBA titles
Florence Kelley, social reformer who fought for minimum wage, 8-hour workdays and children’s rights
Edward Kelly, 36th mayor of Chicago and first mayor from the Bridgeport neighborhood
Herb Kent, Hall of Fame DJ who worked 65 years in the Chicago radio market
Otto Kerner Jr., 33rd governor of Illinois
John Kinzie, early Chicago settler, husband of Juliette Kinzie
Juliette Kinzie, Chicago historian, wife of John Kinzie
Ardis Krainik, Lyric Opera of Chicago general director, 1981-1997
Ray Kroc, expanded McDonald’s Hamburgers into a multinational chain
Ring Lardner, sports columnist who wrote for Chicago’s Inter-Ocean, the Chicago Examiner and Chicago Tribune
Julia Lathrop, social reformer and first female head of a federal bureau: the United States Children’s Bureau
Leon Lederman, U. of C. professor who won Nobel Prize for physics in 1988, founder of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States
Mary Livermore, journalist, abolitionist and women’s rights advocate
Owen Lovejoy, lawyer, minister and abolitionist active with the Underground Railroad
Frank O. Lowden, 25th governor of Illinois who supported women’s suffrage
Rudy Lozano, Mexican-American activist and Chicago community organizer
Michael J. Madigan, speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives
Annie Malone, cosmetics magnate and philanthropist, born in Southern Illinois
Edgar Lee Masters, attorney, author of “Spoon River Anthology”
Curtis Mayfield, rhythm and blues singer, songwriter and producer, born in Chicago
Cyrus McCormick, industrialist and inventor, developed the mechanical reaper
Robert R. McCormick, Republican alderman who owned the Chicago Tribune
Mary McDowell, social reformer who promoted social and economic diversity in Chicago
Joseph Medill, newspaper editor and publisher, and 26th mayor of Chicago
Ralph Metcalfe, track and field Olympian and politician
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, famed architect, early proponent of steel-and-glass modern architecture
Abner Mikva, congressman, federal judge, presidential adviser
Harriet Monroe, editor and founding publisher of Poetry Magazine
Dwight Lyman Moody, evangelist and founder of the Moody Church
Joy Morton, founder of the Morton Salt Company who established the Morton Arboretum in Lisle
Archibald Motley, African-American painter and contributor to the Chicago Black Renaissance
Elijah Muhammad, leader of the Nation of Islam, mentor to Louis Farrakhan
Cardinal George Mundelein, Archbishop of Chicago, 1915-1939
Walter Loomis Newberry, businessman and philanthropist whose estate founded the Newberry Library
Edward “Butch” O’Hare, heroic Naval pilot for whom Chicago’s busiest airport is named
Barack Obama, 44th president of the United States and first African-American president
Michelle Obama, former first lady of the United States
William B. Ogden, first mayor of Chicago
Richard B. Ogilvie, 35th governor of Illinois
Richard Oglesby, 14th governor of Illinois who promoted care for the mentally ill and disabled
Anthony Overton, African-American lawyer and businessman
Bertha Palmer, wife of Potter Palmer who worked to support the impoverished and make kindergarten part of the Chicago education system
Potter Palmer, husband of Bertha Palmer, partner of Marshall Field, promoted large-store window displays
Sara Paretsky, mystery novelist known for her female protagonist, V.I. Warshawski
Albert Parsons, socialist, radical newspaper editor, hanged following the Haymarket affair
Cecil Partee, first African-American to serve as Illinois Senate president and Cook County state’s attorney
Walter Payton, No. 34. “Sweetness.” Bears Super Bowl running back
John Mason Peck, pioneer missionary, anti-slavery advocate
Bessie Louise Pierce, wrote “A History of Chicago,” a three-volume set of the city’s early years
Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County board president
Jorge Prieto, immigrant Mexican-American physician, and immigrant and worker rights advocate
Jay Pritzker, entrepreneur who started Hyatt Hotels
Richard Pryor, Peoria-born comedian
George Pullman, founder of company responsible for the Pullman rail sleeper car
Al Raby, Chicago teacher who worked to desegregate schools and housing
Ronald Reagan, 40th U.S. president, born in Dixon, Illinois
Jerry Reinsdorf, lawyer, CPA and owner of the Bulls and White Sox
Martin Roche, architect who helped contribute to the Chicago School; also helped in the design of Graceland Cemetery
John Rogers Jr., founder and chairman of Ariel Investments, the well-known Chicago financial firm
John Wellborn Root, architect and one of originators of the Chicago School
Julius Rosenwald, philanthropist and one of the owners and leaders of Sears, Roebuck and Co.
Mike Royko, Pulitzer-Prize-winning columnist who wrote for the Chicago Daily News, Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune
Arthur Rubloff, real estate developer whose projects reshaped the face of Chicago
Bobby Rush, South Side congressman
Paul Samuelson, first American recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, adviser to presidents Kennedy and Johnson
Carl Sandburg, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and author
Gale Sayers, Bears running back, NFL legend
Robert Sengstacke, award-winning Chicago Defender photojournalist during the civil rights era
Paul Simon, author, U.S. senator who ran for president
Joseph Smith, Mormon church founder murdered by anti-Mormon mob in western Illinois
Georg Solti, long-serving music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
August Spies, radical labor activist and newspaper editor hanged following the Haymarket affair
Ellen Gates Starr, social reformer who partnered with Jane Addams in the founding of Hull House
Adlai Stevenson, 23rd vice president of the United States
Adlai Stevenson II, 1952 and 1956 Democratic presidential candidate who promoted progressive causes
Win Stracke, co-founder of Old Town School of Folk Music
Louis Sullivan, architect known for pioneering modern, steel-structure skyscrapers
Billy Sunday, baseball outfielder-turned-evangelist
Gustavus Swift, meat industry magnate who used ice-cooled rail cars to distribute products nationally
Lorado Taft, influential art educator and sculptor
Studs Terkel, historian, actor and Pulitzer-Prize-winning author
William Hale Thompson, 31st and 33rd mayor of Chicago, “Big Bill” notoriously maintained an alliance with Al Capone
Emmett Till, 14-year-old Chicagoan whose brutal murder in Mississippi helped fuel the civil rights movement
Carlos Tortolero, president and founder of the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago
Lyman Trumbull, U.S. senator from Illinois who co-authored the 13th Amendment
Scott Turow, lawyer and prolific novelist
Bill Veeck, former owner of the White Sox
Charles Henry Wacker, Chicago businessman who championed Daniel Burnham’s plan for the city
Charles R. Walgreen Sr., founder of Walgreens drug stores
Aaron Montgomery Ward, founder of catalog mail-order retail business allowing wide distribution of goods to rural areas
Harold Washington, first African-American mayor of Chicago
Dinah Washington, “Queen of the Blues,” who got her start in Chicago, where she grew up
Muddy Waters, musician known for laying the foundation of Chicago blues
Ida B. Wells, African-American journalist and civil rights activist
Jesse White, Illinois secretary of state, one of the state’s longest-serving politicians
Frances E. Willard, 19th century temperance and women’s rights crusader
Daniel Hale Williams, physician and civil rights leader; first African-American surgeon to perform a pericardium repair
Oprah Winfrey, reinvented the talk-show genre as host of “The Oprah Winfrey Show”
Frank Lloyd Wright, architect known for his Prairie School style
Richard Wright, African-American novelist who penned “Native Son” and “Black Boy”
William Wrigley, founder of chewing gum manufacturer William Wrigley Jr. Company
Addie Wyatt, U.S. labor and civil rights leader; first African-American woman to be a vice president of a major labor union
Charles Yerkes, financier and early investor in Chicago’s public transportation system
Ella Flagg Young, superintendent of Chicago’s schools, 1909-1915; first woman in U.S. to head a major urban school system