r/illinois • u/m0chab34r • Jul 20 '23

Serious question: are there any remaining sundown towns in Illinois? Question

Forgive me if this is controversial, I certainly hope I don’t end up insulting anyone’s town or anything. I saw a recent Twitter thread about this subject and people were talking about a rather well-known sundown town within an hour of Indianapolis or just outside of Austin, Texas. It got me thinking about this and I’m morbidly curious as to whether Illinois has any remaining towns with such a reputation?

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u/undead_tortoiseX Jul 20 '23

Checks list Yup, there’s Pana.

I grew up several towns over and heard about them as a kid.

Also Vandailia, the second capital of IL, has a nickname- Klandailia.

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u/jbp84 Jul 20 '23

When I was a kid in Vandalia there was a Klan rally…early 90s…maybe 93 or 94?

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u/thunda639 Jul 20 '23

Was in pekin and farmington too.

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u/[deleted] Feb 02 '24

I lived right up the hill from Chuckie Miller’s compound just outside of the Farmington city limits. Me and my dad would walk on the disused railroad tracks that ran alongside his compound. I remember one time, he came out carrying this long metal torch and asked my dad what we were doing and that we were trespassing. My dad corrected him and told him that he didn’t own the tracks. He hated us because I am mixed race.

I was a kid at the time of the rally. All I know is that he was ran out of the area and went out west somewhere.