Poet Laureate of Illinois


The poet laureate of Illinois is the poet laureate for the U.S. state of Illinois. Initially, this was a life-time appointment made by the Governor of Illinois. In 2003, the honorary position was made into a four-year renewable award. Now, Illinois poets laureate are chosen by a committee of experts and officially appointed by the governor.

List of poets laureate of Illinois

#Poet laureateTermAppointed byNotes
1Howard Austin1936–1962Henry Horner
2Carl Sandburg1962–1967Otto Kerner Jr.
3Gwendolyn Brooks1968–2000Otto Kerner Jr.
4Kevin Stein2003–2017Rod Blagojevich
-John Prine2020J. B. PritzkerHonorary title given posthumously.
5Angela Jackson2020–PresentJ. B. Pritzker