25 Illinois Trivia Quiz Question and Answer

By  King Hofer

How well do you know this state? Test your knowledge with our Illinois Trivia Quiz!

While Illinois is known as the home to the bustling metropolis of Chicago, the largest prehistoric earthworks in North America, and some of the USA’s most notable figures- there’s still more to discover about this Midwestern state.

So test your knowledge about the state and take our fun Illinois Trivia quiz- from general topics to the place’s landmarks and cultures. 

You’ll find our Illinois questions and answers at the bottom of this guide to check how you did- as well as instructions to advise you how to play the game.

Note: As with all of our geography quizzes, there are five rounds, each with five questions, making this quiz out of 25 points.

Also included in this Illinois Trivia Quiz questions and answers are interesting facts about the state you may not yet know about.

You may also like our Wisconsin Trivia Quiz and 50 State Quiz.

Illinois Trivia Quiz Questions & Answers

Illinois Quiz General Knowledge Questions

1. What is the nickname for Illinois?

Home of Chicago

The Great Lakes State

The Prairie State

The Wetlands State

2. What is the two-letter state code for Illinois?

IL

IS

IN

IO

3. What is the Illinois state bird?

American Robin

Cardinal

Blue Jay

Golden Eagle

4. What is the nickname for people from Illinois?

Illinoisans

Illinoisers

Illinoisians

Illinoisites

4. What is the nickname for people from Illinois?

5.  What is the state flower of Illinois?

White Rose

Common Blue Violet

Lavender

Ditch Lily

Illinois Geography Questions

Illinois Geography Questions

1. Which of the Great Lakes border the State of Illinois?

Lake Erie

Lake Superior

Lake Ontario

Lake Michigan

2. What is the population of the city of Chicago?

2.7 Million 

4 Million

1.5 Million

950,000

3. Which of the following cities is closest to the Wisconsin border?

Rockford

Springfield

Decatur

Marion

4. What is the highest point in Illinois?

Scales Mound

Charles Mound

Chestnut Mountain

Starved Rock

Bonus points if you can order by elevation starting from the highest down to the lowest!

5. Which river serves as the western border of Illinois?

Illinois River

Ohio River

Mississippi River

Root River

Illinois History Questions

Illinois History Questions

1. Illinois is the birthplace of this US president

Abraham Lincoln

Howard Taft

Ronald Reagan

Jimmy Carter

2. In what year did Illinois become an official state?

1838

1845

1805

1818                

3. Which of the following famous politicians did not hold office in Illinois?

Barack Obama

Stephen A. Douglas

Dick Durbin

Hilary Clinton

4. Which indigenous tribe is Illinois named after?

Iroquois

Illiniwek

Sauk

Mesquakie

5. What famous inventory helped turn Illinois’s prairies into valuable farmland?

John Deere

Charles Goodyear

Cyrus McCormick

Henry Ford

Illinois Culture Questions

Illinois Culture Questions

1. Illinois is home to 4 professional hockey teams. Which of the teams is a founding member of the National Hockey League?

Peoria Rivermen

Chicago Blackhawks

Chicago Wolves

Rockford Ice Hogs

2. What famous American author is from Illinois?

Ernest Hemingway

John Steinbeck

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Mark Twain

3. Which pop culture icon was born in Chicago?

Bob Dylan

Walt Disney

Marilyn Monroe

Frank Sinatra

You can also try our fun 60s music quiz70s song quiz80s music quiz, 90s music quiz or 2000s music quiz.

4. Which Illinois institution is known for its Chicago-style hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches?

Portillos

Culvers

John’s Bar

Giordano’s

5. What makes Chicago-style pizza unique from other styles of pizza?

Thin Crust

Anchovies and Feta

Sauce on top of the cheese

Only made in a wood-fired oven

Illinois Landmark Quiz Questions

1. What was the original name of the famous Willis Tower in Downtown Chicago?

The Sears Tower

Illinois State Tower

The Chicago Tower

Millennium Tower

Illinois Landmark Quiz Questions

1. What was the original name of the famous Willis Tower in Downtown Chicago?

2.  In which park can you find the iconic Chicago sculpture called The Bean?

Millennium Park

Lincoln Park

Grant Park

Humboldt Park

3. Which historic trail winds through the State of Illinois?

Lewis and Clark Trail

The Pocahontas Trail

The Lincoln Historic Trail

Mormon Pioneer Trail

4.  Which Chicago sports venue was originally called Weeghman Park?

Guaranteed Rate Field

Wrigley Field

Soldier Field

United Center

5. Which of the following famous films did not use Illinois landmarks as set pieces?

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

The Blues Brothers

The Break-Up

Field of Dreams

How did you do?

Check the Illinois test answers below and share them with your friends!

Illinois Test Answers

Illinois Quiz General Knowledge Answers

Illinois Test Answers

Illinois Quiz General Knowledge Answers

1. What is the nickname for Illinois?

Home of Chicago

The Great Lakes State

The Prairie State

The Wetlands State

Illinois Trivia: The nickname was given by the first settlers who noticed the majestic rolling prairies that cover the state. Illinois is also known as the Land of Lincoln.

2. What is the two-letter state code for Illinois?

IL

IS

IN

IO

3. What is the Illinois state bird?

American Robin

Cardinal

Blue Jay

Golden Eagle

Illinois Trivia: Illinois State University’s Mascot, the Red Bird, is fashioned after the Illinois state bird.

4. What is the nickname for people from Illinois?

Illinoisans

Illinoisers

Illinoisians

Illinoisites

5. What is the state flower of Illinois?

White Rose

Common Blue Violet

Lavender

Ditch Lily

Illinois Geography Answers

Illinois Geography Answers

1. Which of the Great Lakes border the State of Illinois?

Lake Erie

Lake Superior

Lake Ontario

Lake Michigan

2. What is the population of the city of Chicago?

2.7 Million 

4 Million

1.5 Million

950,000

Illinois Trivia: Chicago is the third most populated city in the United States. Only New York City and Los Angeles have more people.

3. Which of the following cities is closest to the Wisconsin border?

Rockford

Springfield

Decatur

Marion

4. What is the highest point in Illinois?

Scales Mound (955 ft)

Charles Mound (1,235 ft)

Chestnut Mountain (1,040 ft)

Starved Rock (558 ft)

5. Which river serves as the western border of Illinois?

Illinois River

Ohio River

Mississippi River

Root River

Illinois Trivia: Illinois is bordered by 880 miles of river and has over 87 thousand miles of rivers within its borders.

Illinois History Answers

Illinois History Answers

1. Illinois is the birthplace of this US president

Abraham Lincoln

Howard Taft

Ronald Reagan

Jimmy Carter

Illinois Trivia: Although Illinois is called the Land of Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln was actually born in Kentucky.

2. In what year did Illinois become an official state?

1838

1845

1805

1818               

Illinois Trivia: Illinois was the 21st state to join the union.

3. Which of the following famous politicians did not hold office in Illinois?

Barack Obama

Stephen A. Douglas

Dick Durbin

Hilary Clinton

Illinois Trivia: Although she lived in Chicago, Hilary Clinton never held office in the state.

4. Which indigenous tribe is Illinois named after?

Iroquois

Illiniwek

Sauk

Mesquakie

5. What famous inventory helped turn Illinois’s prairies into valuable farmland?

John Deere

Charles Goodyear

Cyrus McCormick

Henry Ford

Illinois Trivia: John Deere still produces the majority of its products in Illinois.

Illinois Culture Answers

Illinois Culture Answers

1. Illinois is home to 4 professional hockey teams. Which of the teams is a founding member of the National Hockey League?

Peoria Rivermen

Chicago Blackhawks

Chicago Wolves

Rockford Ice Hogs

Illinois Trivia: The Chicago Blackhawks were established in 1926 and are one of the Original Six teams in the NHL along with the Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, and Toronto Maple Leafs.

2. What famous American author is from Illinois?

Ernest Hemingway

John Steinbeck

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Mark Twain

3. Which pop culture icon was born in Chicago?

Bob Dylan

Walt Disney

Marilyn Monroe

Frank Sinatra

4. Which Illinois institution is known for its Chicago-style hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches?

Portillos

Culvers

John’s Bar

Giordano’s

5. What makes Chicago-style pizza unique from other styles of pizza?

Thin Crust

Anchovies and Feta

Sauce on top of the cheese

Only Made in a wood-fired oven

Illinois Trivia: Giordano’s and Lou Malnati’s are the most visited places in Chicago for the famous style of deep-dish pizza.

Illinois Landmark Quiz Answers

1. What was the original name of the famous Willis Tower in Downtown Chicago?

The Sears Tower

Illinois State Tower

The Chicago Tower

Millennium Tower

Illinois Trivia: The Willis Tower was erected in 1970 and is 110 stories high.

Illinois Landmark Quiz Answers

1. What was the original name of the famous Willis Tower in Downtown Chicago?

The Sears Tower

Illinois Trivia: The Willis Tower was erected in 1970 and is 110 stories high.

2.  In which park can you find the iconic Chicago sculpture called The Bean?

Millennium Park

Lincoln Park

Grant Park

Humboldt Park

3. Which historic trail winds through the State of Illinois?

Lewis and Clark Trail

The Pocahontas Trail

The Lincoln Historic Trail

Mormon Pioneer Trail

4.  Which Chicago sports venue was originally called Weeghman Park?

Guaranteed Rate Field

Wrigley Field

Soldier Field

United Center

Illinois Trivia: The Chicago Cubs broke their 108-year “curse” when they won the World Series in 2016. The curse was rumored to be the result of Wrigley Field denying access to a goat in 1945.

5. Which of the following famous films did not use Illinois landmarks as set pieces?

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

The Blues Brothers

The Break-Up

Field of Dreams

Illinois Trivia: Illinois serves as the setting for many popular movies and TV shows including A League of Their Own, Wayne’s World, The Dark Knight, Groundhog Day, and Shameless.

Like TV? Check out our TV Trivia Quizzes such as The Sopranos, Mad Men, and RuPaul Drag Race.

Thanks for taking our Illinois Quiz. You may like our other quizzes.

Take These Quizzes Next

50 States Quiz

Geography Quizzes

Decades Quizzes

Music Quizzes

TV Quizzes

Movies Quizzes

Games and Conversation Starters

Is there a themed quiz you’d like us to make? Tell us in the comments or contact us.

How To Use This Quiz

Please feel free to use our quiz questions and answers to test your trivia knowledge!

There are several ways to play this quiz, such as reading through the questions and writing down your answers in notes on your phone or on paper.

You can then check your answers, which are in bold in the answers section.

Hosting a quiz?

We love playing quizmaster!

Why not add this quiz to your own, borrow some rounds or even a few questions?