List of People From Illinois - B

B

• Chantal Bailey, Olympic Speedskater
• Bob Balaban, actor and director
• Adam Baldwin, actor, voice actor, blogger, Chuck, Jackie Chan Adventures, The Cape
• Paris Barclay, Emmy-winning and DGA Award-winning TV director, In Treatment, NYPD Blue, Cold Case
• John Bardeen (1908–91) winner of two Nobel Prizes in Physics
• Brandon Barnes, rock musician in the band Rise Against
• John Barrowman, actor, singer, dancer
• Peter Bartlett, actor, One Life to Live, The Princess and the Frog
• Hank Bauer (1922–2007), right fielder and manager with the New York Yankees and Kansas City Athletics; also a decorated World War II U.S. Marine
• Jennifer Beals, actress, The L Word, The Chicago Code, The Book of Eli
• Edward Beecher, theologian and abolitionist
• Darryl M. Bell, actor, A Different World, Homeboys in Outer Space
• Josh Bell, third baseman for the Baltimore Orioles
• Saul Bellow, Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer
• Louis Bellson, jazz drummer, bandleader and musician
• James Belushi, actor, comedian, According to Jim, Saturday Night Live, The Defenders
• Vincent Hugo Bendix, inventor, industrialist and pioneer in both the automotive and aviation industries
• Jack Benny, actor and comedian
• Jodi Benson, actress, voice actress, and soprano singer, The Little Mermaid
• Tom Berenger, actor, Platoon
• Emily Bergl, actress, Men in Trees
• Shelley Berman, comedian, actor, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Boston Legal, Meet the Fockers
• Joseph Bernardin (1928–96), Cardinal Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago
• Edward Allen Bernero, TV writer, producer, and director, co-creator of Third Watch
• Black Hawk, Sauk Indian Chief
• Edwin Black, syndicated columnist, journalist, author of IBM and the Holocaust
• Quincy Black, linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Zach Blair, musician Rise Against
• Rosa Blasi, actress, Strong Medicine, Make It or Break It, Hitz
• Robert Bloch, writer, author of Psycho
• Sidney Blumenthal, journalist, aide to President Bill Clinton
• Michael Boatman, actor, writer, Spin City, China Beach, Arliss
• Samuel Bodman, politician (Republican), U.S. Secretary of Energy, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Treasury Department
• Eric Bolling, anchor at the Fox Business Network, co-host of The Five
• Lou Boudreau, (1917–2001) Hall of Fame baseball player
• Michael Bowden, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox
• Bruce Boxleitner, actor, science fiction novelist, Babylon 5, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, the Tron films
• Lara Flynn Boyle, actress, The Practice, Twin Peaks, Men in Black II
• Lydia Moss Bradley, philanthropist and founder of Bradley University
• Mark Staff Brandl, art critic, reviewer for Art in America
• Mac Brandt, actor, Prison Break
• Andre Braugher, actor, Homicide: Life on the Street, Hack, Men of a Certain Age
• Tamara Braun, soap opera actress
• Wendy Braun, actress, General Hospital
• Anthony Braxton, jazz
• Josh Brent, nose tackle for the Dallas Cowboys
• Paul Brittain, actor, comedian, cast member on Saturday Night Live
• David Broder, journalist, author, Washington Post columnist
• Phil Brooks, professional wrestler and current WWE Champion under the ring name "CM Punk"
• Patrick Brown, offensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings
• Sergio Brown, safety for the Indianapolis Colts
• Shannon Brown, guard for the Phoenix Suns
• Tony Brown, former NBA player and current assistant coach for the Dallas Mavericks
• William Jennings Bryan, politician (Democrat), lawyer, US Secretary of State
• Bob Bryar, musician My Chemical Romance Drummer
• John Carl Buechler, horror movie writer/director and special effects artist
• Bryan Bulaga, offensive tackle for the Green Bay Packers
• Richard Bull, actor, Little House on the Prairie, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
• Daniel H. Burnham, architect
• Heather Burns, actress, Bored to Death, Miss Congeniality and its sequel
• Drew Butera, catcher for the Minnesota Twins
• Dick Butkus, Hall of Fame linebacker for the Chicago Bears
• Will Bynum, point guard for the Detroit Pistons
• Tim Byrdak, relief pitcher for the New York Mets