List of city nicknames in Illinois

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A 4010 Diesel model (manufactured from 1960-1963) on display at the John Deere Pavilion in Moline, the home of John Deere. Moline calls itself the "Plow Capital of the World." John Deere 4010 Diesel.jpg
A 4010 Diesel model (manufactured from 1960-1963) on display at the John Deere Pavilion in Moline, the home of John Deere. Moline calls itself the "Plow Capital of the World."

This list of city nicknames in Illinois compiles the aliases, sobriquets and slogans that Illinois cities are known by (or have been known by historically), officially and unofficially, to municipal governments, local people, outsiders, or their tourism boards or chambers of commerce. City nicknames can help in establishing a civic identity, helping outsiders recognize a community or attracting people to a community because of its nickname; promote civic pride; and build community unity. [1] Nicknames and slogans that successfully create a new community "ideology or myth" [2] are also believed to have economic value. [1] Their economic value is difficult to measure, [1] but there are anecdotal reports of cities that have achieved substantial economic benefits by "branding" themselves by adopting new slogans. [2]

Contents

Some unofficial nicknames are positive, while others are derisive. The unofficial nicknames listed here have been in use for a long time or have gained wide currency.

Nicknames by city

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maywood, Illinois</span> Village in Illinois, United States

Maywood is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, in the Chicago metropolitan area. It was founded on April 6, 1869, and organized October 22, 1881. The population was 23,512 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aurora, Illinois</span> City in Illinois, United States

Aurora is a city in the Chicago metropolitan area. Located primarily in DuPage and Kane Counties, it is the second-most populous city in Illinois, after Chicago, and the 144th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 180,542 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joliet, Illinois</span> City in Illinois, United States

Joliet is a city in Will and Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, 35 miles (56 km) southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. It had a population of 150,362 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockford, Illinois</span> City in Illinois, United States

Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, United States. It is located in the far northern part of the state on the banks of the Rock River. Rockford is the fifth-most populous city in Illinois as well as the most populous outside of the Chicago metropolitan area and the 171st-most populous in the U.S. In the 2020 census, Rockford had a population of 148,655 anchoring the Rockford metropolitan area with a population of 348,360. Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, while a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago metropolitan area</span> Metropolitan area in the United States

The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities. Encompassing 10,286 square mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hinterland, that span 14 counties across northeast Illinois, northwest Indiana, and southeast Wisconsin. The MSA had a 2020 census population of 9,618,502 and the combined statistical area which spans up to 19 counties had a population of nearly 10 million people. The Chicago area is the third largest metropolitan area in the United States and the fourth largest metropolitan area in North America and the largest within the Midwest, and the largest in the Great Lakes megalopolis. Its urban area is one of the forty largest in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galena and Chicago Union Railroad</span>

The Galena and Chicago Union Railroad (G&CU) was a railroad running west from Chicago to Freeport, Illinois, never reaching Galena, Illinois. A later route went to Clinton, Iowa. Incorporated in 1836, the G&CU became the first railroad built out from Chicago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway</span> Defunct Class I railroad serving the outer Chicago suburbs

The Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway was a Class II railroad, making a roughly circular path between Waukegan, Illinois and Gary, Indiana. The railroad served as a link between Class I railroads traveling to and from Chicago, although it operated almost entirely within the city's suburbs, only entering Chicago where it served the U.S. Steel South Works on the shores of Lake Michigan. Nicknames for the railroad included "The J" and "The Chicago Outer Belt Line". At the end of 1970, the EJ&E operated 164 miles of track and carried 848 million ton-miles of revenue freight in that year alone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 20 in Illinois</span> Section of U.S. Highway in Illinois, United States

U.S. Route 20 (US 20) in the U.S. state of Illinois is a major arterial highway that runs from the Iowa state line at East Dubuque at the northwestern tip of Illinois to the Indiana state line at Chicago south of the Chicago Skyway, a distance of 233.93 miles (376.47 km). For its entire length, US 20 is designated as the General Ulysses S. Grant Highway, often abbreviated the U.S. Grant Memorial Highway. However, this name is only commonly used west of Elgin. US 20 bypasses the city of Elgin on a freeway known as the Elgin Bypass or Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Highway. From Elgin to Melrose Park, US 20 follows Lake Street. It then follows Mannheim Road and, further south, La Grange Road. US 20 also follows 95th Street as it turns east through Chicago's southwestern suburbs. It ultimately leaves Illinois on Indianapolis Boulevard.

The Aurora, Elgin & Fox River Electric (AE&FRE), was an interurban railroad that operated freight and passenger service on its line paralleling the Fox River. It served the communities of Carpentersville, Dundee, Elgin, South Elgin, St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia, North Aurora, Aurora, Montgomery, and Yorkville in Illinois. It also operated local streetcar lines in both Aurora and Elgin.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Muench, David (December 1993). "Wisconsin Community Slogans: Their Use and Local Impacts" (PDF). University of Wisconsin Extension. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 9, 2013. Retrieved April 10, 2007.
  2. 1 2 Andia, Alfredo (September 10, 2007). "Branding the Generic City :)" (PDF). MONU – magazine on urbanism . Archived from the original (PDF) on May 21, 2008. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
  3. ↑ "History of Algonquin". Village of Algonquin, IL. February 9, 2009. Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Aurora History – A Rapidly Growing City". About Our City. City of Aurora, IL. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved January 14, 2012. Later, when the City was the first in the United States to use electric lights for publicly lighting the entire City, it achieved the nickname of 'City of Lights'.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Urban Dictionary: The Dirty Six-Thirty". Urban Dictionary. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  6. ↑ Schielke, Jeffery. "Our Town". Batavia History. City of Batavia. Archived from the original on October 17, 2010. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
  7. ↑ Edwards, Jim; Edwards, Wynette (2000). "City of Energy Entrepreneurs". Batavia: From the Collection of the Batavia Historical Society. Chicago, IL: Arcadia. pp. 21–32. ISBN   978-0-7385-0795-8.
  8. 1 2 "Community slogans about agriculture". ePodunk . Retrieved January 14, 2012.
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  12. ↑ U.S. City Monikers, Tagline Guru website, Retrieved January 5, 2008
  13. ↑ Daily Eastern News Archived 2012-12-16 at the Wayback Machine . Charleston is popularly referred to as Chuckvegas by Eastern Illinois University students.
  14. ↑ City of Chester website. Chester was the home town of E. C. Segar, the creator of Popeye , and some characters in his cartoons were based on people of Chester.
  15. ↑ Berman, John and Meewalla, Shani. When A Tattoo Goes Wrong, A Trend Develops. ABC News, April 7, 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  16. ↑ Chicago Tribune https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-chicago-chiraq-20130714-story.html
  17. ↑ "Chicago Park District website". Archived from the original on March 20, 2006.
  18. 1 2 3 "Chicago Nicknames". Chicago Public Library. Archived from the original on February 11, 2008. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
  19. ↑ "030909-MotorcoachMap" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2007. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
  20. ↑ "The city had been built, inexplicably, in the middle of a mud flat, which necessitated raising portions of the downtown area on stilts above the sloshy earth, giving Chicago the first of many nicknames: Mud City.", Paddy whacked: The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster, Thomas J. English, HarperCollins (c) 2005, ISBN   0-06-059002-5, pp73-74, https://www.harpercollins.com/9780060590031/paddy-whacked
  21. 1 2 3 Faber, Harold (September 12, 1993). "The World Capital of Whatever". The New York Times . Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  22. ↑ City of Crystal Lake. Accessed August 18, 2007.
  23. ↑ "Central Park skateboarders back to getting the boot – Mayor chases out those bored with their Fairview Park facility." Mike Frazier, Decatur Herald & Review, Saturday, November 11, 2006, p.A1
  24. ↑ "ADM lunch puts soy in spotlight – The company spreads the word about food's health benefits." Paul Brinkmann, Decatur Herald & Review, Saturday, November 20, 1999 p.A1
  25. ↑ "The "City of Destiny" - Des Plaines". chicago.cooperatornews.com.
  26. ↑ City of Elgin Sustainability Action Plan, Version 2.1 (August 2011), City of Elgin website, accessed October 28, 2011
  27. ↑ Elgin Fire Department 2006 Annual Report [ permanent dead link ], City of Elgin website, accessed October 28, 2011
  28. ↑ "A Brief History of Evanston". Evanston Public Library. Retrieved January 8, 2009.
  29. ↑ "City of Freeport, Illinois". City of Freeport, Illinois. Archived from the original on March 4, 2012. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  30. ↑ Claims to Fame - Birds Archived January 10, 2008, at the Wayback Machine , ePodunk, accessed April 16, 2007.
  31. ↑ "History of DuPage County : Lombard". www.dupagehistory.org. Archived from the original on October 21, 2007. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  32. ↑ Village of Huntley. Accessed August 18, 2007.
  33. ↑ Joliet JackHammers website Archived 2009-02-21 at the Wayback Machine (accessed June 7, 2008)
  34. 1 2 3 4 Illinois Farmers' Institute (1919), Annual Report and Proceedings of the Twenty-Fourth Annual Meeting Held in Joliet, Illinois, February 19, 20, and 21, 1919. "Joliet is known as 'stone city,' 'prison city,' 'steel city,' and city of 'snap and progress.'
  35. 1 2 Joliet, Illinois, Encyclopedia of Chicago
  36. ↑ Tony Graf, Joliet’s oldest school building is a limestone classic Archived 2011-10-12 at the Wayback Machine , The Herald-News (published by Chicago Sun-Times), October 9, 2011
  37. ↑ Joliet Central High School History Archived 2013-03-24 at the Wayback Machine , Joliet Township High School District 204 website, accessed October 28, 2011. Before 1935, the school's sports teams were known as "The Prison City Boys."
  38. ↑ Joliet out to escape past ties to prison: City says its image is no longer behind bars, Chicago Tribune, August 13, 2006. "For the first time in nearly 150 years, calling Joliet a prison town would be just plain wrong, city officials contend."
  39. ↑ Claims to Fame - Animals Archived November 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine , ePodunk, accessed April 16, 2007.
  40. ↑ Lombard Info Archived 2010-05-27 at the Wayback Machine , National University of Health Sciences, accessed April 21, 2007. "Held each year during the first three weeks in May, regardless of the vagaries of the growing season, Lilac Time is Lombard’s celebration of a 70-year-old horticultural tradition that has led to the town’s designation as “The Lilac Village,”"
  41. ↑ Sloganville Awards, Tagline Guru website, accessed October 28, 2011
  42. ↑ Louis Miglio, "A Geography Alumnus Fondly Remembers," Glacial Deposits, Volume 29, 2000-2001 Archived 2007-08-23 at the Wayback Machine , Illinois State University, pages 5-7
  43. ↑ Claims to Fame - Food Archived 2017-04-01 at the Wayback Machine , ePodunk, accessed April 16, 2007.
  44. ↑ "Village of Maywood, Illinois - Village of Maywood, IL". maywood-il.org.
  45. ↑ "Southern Illinois". Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
  46. ↑ City of Monmouth, IL – Fast Facts
  47. ↑ Morton Pumpkin Festival Information Archived January 17, 2018, at the Wayback Machine , Morton Chamber of Commerce, accessed April 21, 2007. "Morton is the "Pumpkin Capital of the World". Home of Nestle/Libby's pumpkin packing plant, 80% of the world's canned pumpkin is processed here."
  48. ↑ "Urban Dictionary: naperthrill". Urban Dictionary. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  49. ↑ White Squirrel Wars, Roadside America, accessed April 21, 2007. "Olney, IL; Marionville, Missouri; Kenton, Tennessee; Brevard, North Carolina; Exeter, Ontario. Not one, but five towns use albino squirrels as their claims to fame, and none is particularly happy about the others."
  50. ↑ "Maine South High School". south.maine207.org.
  51. ↑ City of Pana Illinois
  52. 1 2 Barry Popik, Smoky City, barrypopik.com website, March 27, 2005
  53. ↑ Claims to Fame - Plants Archived 2007-12-17 at the Wayback Machine , ePodunk, accessed April 16, 2007.
  54. ↑ Another Gem City Landing? Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine , WGEM, April 10, 2007, accessed April 21, 2007. "QUINCY – It was an event that attracted thousands of people from around the world to the Gem City and then it moved to a different location -- Rantoul."
  55. ↑ Willhite, Lindsey (August 4, 2008). "Rugged 'Rantucky' tough starting spot for Illini". Daily Herald . Retrieved January 14, 2012.
  56. ↑ About Rockford Archived 2009-03-01 at the Wayback Machine , City of Rockford, Illinois website (accessed June 7, 2008)
  57. ↑ "This is Why Rockford is Called Screw City". 967 The Eagle.
  58. ↑ Staff Writer. "Letter to the editor: Lisbon doesn't need a blight ordinance". The State Journal-Register.
  59. ↑ St. Charles, Illinois Traffic Counts [ permanent dead link ], City of St. Charles website, accessed December 6, 2010. "We're the Pride of the Fox, Come see why!"
  60. ↑ Thomson Chamber of Commerce website (accessed June 8, 2008)
  61. ↑ City of Warrenville website
  62. ↑ The History of Wilmington, IL Archived 2008-12-27 at the Wayback Machine , City of Wilmington website
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