List of Famous people born in Illinois, United States of America

Edward Joseph Farmer was an American professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for eight different teams, predominantly in the American League, between 1971 and 1983. The team he played the most games for was the Chicago White Sox, including one All-Star Game appearance. After his retirement as a player, he spent nearly 30 years as a White Sox radio broadcaster.

Keifer Jerail Sykes is an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, and also played for the Austin Spurs of the NBA G League, Anyang KGC of the Korean Basketball League, Ankara DSI of the Basketball Super League, and S.S. Felice Scandone of the Lega Basket Serie A.

Stephen Dennis Atwater is an American former professional football player who spent most of his career playing free safety for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Atwater and Dennis Smith made up a Broncos secondary that was known for their ferocious hits on opposing players. He was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time Super Bowl champion. Atwater was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on February 1, 2020.

Donell "D. J." Cooper Jr. is an American professional basketball player for Dorados de Chihuahua of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional. After a successful four years of college basketball at Ohio University, Cooper entered the 2013 NBA draft but was not selected in the draft's two rounds. As a player at Ohio University, Cooper cracked the top 25 all-time Division I assists leaders list early in his final season and steadily rose up on the record as the season has progressed. He was named the preseason Mid-American Conference Player of the Year by the league's media, a prediction which proved correct when he was named Player of the Year after the regular season.

Chelsea Brown was an American-born actress of television and film, comedian and dancer, who appeared as a regular performer in comedy series Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. She had a successful career in her native land before emigrating to Australia, where she became well-known mostly for her roles in soap opera/serials including top-rating Number 96 and as Abby Rossiter Patchett on E Street.

Mason Wilson Gamble is an American marine biologist and former actor known for his portrayal of Dennis Mitchell in the 1993 film Dennis the Menace, a role he got after beating out a reported 20,000 children who had auditioned, and as Jason Schwartzman's sidekick, Dirk Calloway, in Wes Anderson's critically acclaimed 1998 film Rushmore. He also appeared in Anya's Bell with Della Reese, starring as a dyslexic boy. In 1999, Gamble portrayed Brady Lang in the thriller Arlington Road. He had a featured role in the short-lived 2001 CBS drama Kate Brasher. Additionally, he had a small role as McCluckey in the 1996 comedy Spy Hard.

Diane Judith Nash is an American civil rights activist, and a leader and strategist of the student wing of the Civil Rights Movement.

RADM Thomas Kenneth Mattingly II, USN, Ret. is a former American aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, Rear Admiral in the United States Navy and astronaut who flew on the Apollo 16, STS-4 and STS-51-C missions.

Donald Thompson is an American engineer and business executive who was the president and chief executive of McDonald's Corporation from 2012 until 2015. He announced on January 28, 2015 that he would retire from the company and leave his position on March 1, 2015 and was succeeded by Steve Easterbrook, the senior executive vice president and chief brand officer. He is currently the CEO of Cleveland Avenue, an investment group and accelerator that focuses on building new food, beverage, and restaurant concepts, which he founded in 2015. Cleveland Avenue has invested in Beyond Meat and Taste 222, among other food industry companies, and Thompson has served as a member of the board of directors at Beyond Meat since October 2015.

Anthony John Spilotro, nicknamed "Tony the Ant", was an American mobster for the Chicago Outfit in Las Vegas during the 1970s and '80s.