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. Nicknames and slogans that successfully create a new community "ideology or myth" are also believed to have economic value. Their economic value is difficult to measure, but there are anecdotal reports of cities that have achieved substantial economic benefits by "branding" themselves by adopting new slogans.

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 Algonquin – Gem of the Fox River Valley Arlington Heights – Action Heights Aurora – City of Lights The Dirty Six-Thirty Batavia The Windmill City City of Energy The Dirty Six-Thirty Beardstown – Watermelon Capital Belleville – Belle-Vegas Bloomington – The Evergreen City Bloomington–Normal together Blo-NoBloomingtonNormal.com, accessed December 9, 2015 The Twin Cities Buffalo Grove – The Gymnastics Capital of Illinois Canton – Plow City Carbondale – CarbondalayKleine, Ted. Native Tongues. Chicago Reader, June 18, 1998. Retrieved 2025-07-13. Champaign–Urbana ChambanaU.S. City Monikers, Tagline Guru website, Retrieved January 5, 2008 Twin Cities Charleston – Chucktown. Charleston is popularly referred to as Chuckvegas by Eastern Illinois University students. Chester – The Home of PopeyeCity 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. Chicago (A to Z) Chi-TownBerman, John and Meewalla, Shani. When A Tattoo Goes Wrong, A Trend Develops. ABC News, April 7, 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-14. Chiraq City in a Garden (literal translation of city motto, Urbs in horto) The City of the Big Shoulders (from Chicago, a Carl Sandburg poem) The City That Works (by Mayor Daley, for example) Mud City"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, , pp73-74, https://www.harpercollins.com/9780060590031/paddy-whacked The Second City The White City (referencing the World's Columbian Exposition) The Windy City

Collinsville – Horseradish Capital of the World Crystal Lake – A Good Place to LiveCity of Crystal Lake. Accessed August 18, 2007. Decatur D-Town"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 Soybean Capital of the World"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 Soy City DeKalb – Barbed Wire Capital of the World Des Plaines – City of Destiny East St. Louis City of Champions East Boogie East Side ESL Effingham – The Ham Elgin The City in the SuburbsCity of Elgin Sustainability Action Plan, Version 2.1 (August 2011), City of Elgin website, accessed October 28, 2011 The City to WatchElgin Fire Department 2006 Annual Report, City of Elgin website, accessed October 28, 2011 Evanston – Heavenston Freeport – Pretzel City, USA Griggsville – Purple Martin Capital of the WorldClaims to Fame - Birds , ePodunk, accessed April 16, 2007. Glen Ellyn – Babcock's Grove The Dirty Six-Thirty Huntley – The Friendly Village with Country CharmVillage of Huntley. Accessed August 18, 2007. Joliet City of ChampionsJoliet JackHammers website (accessed June 7, 2008) City of "Snap and Progress" City of Steel (or City of Steel and Stone)Joliet, Illinois, Encyclopedia of ChicagoTony Graf, Joliet’s oldest school building is a limestone classic , The Herald-News (published by Chicago Sun-Times), October 9, 2011 City of Stone Prison City (or Prison Town)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.'Joliet Central High School History , 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." J-Town Kankakee – Key City Kewanee – Hog Capital of the WorldClaims to Fame - Animals , ePodunk, accessed April 16, 2007. Lombard – The Lilac VillageLombard Info , 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,”" The Dirty Six-Thirty Lisle – The Arboretum Village The Dirty Six-Thirty Marion – Hub City of the UniverseSloganville Awards, Tagline Guru website, accessed October 28, 2011 Marseilles Martucky Best Little Town by a Dam SiteLouis Miglio, "A Geography Alumnus Fondly Remembers," Glacial Deposits, Volume 29, 2000-2001 , Illinois State University, pages 5-7 Mattoon – Bagel Capital of the WorldClaims to Fame - Food , ePodunk, accessed April 16, 2007. Maywood – Village of Eternal Light Melrose Park – Corporate King of the Suburbs Metropolis – The Home of Superman Moline Plow Capital of the World City of Mills Lowell of the West Monmouth – The Maple CityCity of Monmouth, IL – Fast Facts Morton – Pumpkin Capital of the WorldMorton Pumpkin Festival Information , 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." Naperville Naperthrill The Dirty Six-Thirty Olney – Home of the White SquirrelsWhite 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." Park Ridge – Home of the Hawks Pana – City of RosesCity of Pana Illinois Pekin Celestial CityBarry Popik, Smoky City, barrypopik.com website, March 27, 2005 Marigold Capital of the WorldClaims to Fame - Plants , ePodunk, accessed April 16, 2007. Peoria – P-Town Quincy – Gem CityAnother Gem City Landing? , 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." Rantoul – Rantucky Rockford The Forest CityAbout Rockford , City of Rockford, Illinois website (accessed June 7, 2008) Screw City Springfield Flower City Springpatch St. Charles – The Pride of the FoxSt. Charles, Illinois Traffic Counts, City of St. Charles website, accessed December 6, 2010. "We're the Pride of the Fox, Come see why!" The Dirty Six-Thirty Teutopolis – T-Town Thomson – The Melon Capital of the WorldThomson Chamber of Commerce website (accessed June 8, 2008) Warrenville – For a Visit, Or a LifetimeCity of Warrenville website The Dirty Six-Thirty Wilmington – The Island CityThe History of Wilmington, IL , City of Wilmington website

See also List of municipalities in Illinois List of city nicknames in the United States

References

External links a list of American and a few Canadian nicknames U.S. cities list