Major Cities in Illinois

The state of Illinois currently has seven cities with populations that exceed 100,000. Chicago of course is the largest of the lot with more than 2.8 million residents. The Windy City is also the third most populous in the country, ranking behind New York City and Los Angeles. As the premier urban hub of Illinois, Chicago is home to a powerful financial district anchored by the Mercantile Exchange, an arts and culture center, several major league sports, and upscale shopping centers. This Illinois city also has some of the tallest skyscrapers such as the Sears Tower, Hancock Center, and the Aon Center.

A far second to Chicago is the city of Aurora. It has a population of more than 175,000 and is situated within the counties of Kane, Kendall, Will, and Dupage in Illinois. Aurora is also called the City of Lights because it was one of the first Illinois cities to establish an all-electric street lighting system way back in the 1800s. Aurora has a strong manufacturing base and is home to several museums as well as a number of entertainment centers.

The third largest city in Illinois is Rockford which has a population of about 150,000. The city was once a major manufacturing center but the industry took a serious downturn when big companies acquired locally-owned businesses and transferred the manufacturing bases to other regions thathave lower wages. This Illinois city is currently undergoing redevelopment which includes construction of major structures in the downtown area.