List of Famous people born in Illinois, United States of America
Laquon Treadwell
Laquon Malik Treadwell is an American football wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons. He played college football at the University of Mississippi from 2013 to 2015, where he left as the school's all-time leader in receptions with 202 during the course of three seasons. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
Pat Fitzgerald
Patrick William Fitzgerald Jr. is the current head coach of the Northwestern University Wildcats football team. He was selected after the unexpected death of Randy Walker and announced at a press conference on July 7, 2006. He was 31 at the time, making him the youngest head football coach in the Big Ten Conference and NCAA Division I FBS by five years. Fitzgerald would go on to become the longest-tenured head coach in Northwestern football history, and as of 2020 is the sixth longest-tenured head coach in Division I FBS. As a linebacker for Northwestern from 1993 to 1996, he won both the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Chuck Bednarik Award twice as the best defensive player in college football. He was awarded a Big Ten Medal of Honor in 1997 and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
Aimee Boorman
Aimee Boorman is an American artistic gymnastics coach. She coached 2016 Olympic champion and 2013-2015 world champion Simone Biles. She was the USA women's gymnastics team head coach at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Betty Ford
Elizabeth Anne Ford was the First Lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977, as the wife of President Gerald Ford. As First Lady, she was active in social policy and set a precedent as a politically active presidential spouse. Ford also served as the Second Lady of the United States from 1973 to 1974.
Tavi Gevinson
Tavi Gevinson is an American writer, magazine editor, and actress. She came to public attention at the age of 12 due to her fashion blog Style Rookie. By the age of 15, she had shifted her focus to pop culture and feminist discussion.
Janet Zarish
Janet Zarish is an American actress known for her work in television, movies and the theatre. She is Associate Arts Professor and Head of Acting of the Graduate Acting Program at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. She received her B.F.A. at The Juilliard School under John Houseman.
Bruce Rauner
Bruce Vincent Rauner is an American businessman, philanthropist and politician who served as the 42nd governor of Illinois from 2015 to 2019. Prior to his election, he was the chairman of R8 Capital Partners and chairman of the private equity firm GTCR, based in Chicago. The Republican nominee in the 2014 Illinois gubernatorial election, he defeated Democratic incumbent Pat Quinn by 50.3% to 46.4%. In 2018, after narrowly surviving a challenge in the Republican primary from State Representative Jeanne Ives, Rauner lost the general election to Democratic challenger J. B. Pritzker in a landslide.
Bobby Dixon
Bobby Dixon or Ali Muhammed, is an American-born naturalized Turkish professional basketball player for Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL) and the EuroLeague. He also represents the senior Turkish national basketball team.
Daniel Sunjata
Daniel Sunjata Condon is an American actor who performs in film, television and theater. He is known for his role as Franco Rivera in the FX television series Rescue Me.
Rodney Harrison
Rodney Scott Harrison is a former American football safety and sports analyst who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons with the San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots. He was selected by the Chargers in the fifth round of the 1994 NFL Draft where he spent nine seasons. After being released by San Diego, Harrison was a member of the Patriots in his following six seasons until his 2009 retirement. Since leaving the NFL, he has served as a commentator for NBC's Football Night in America.