Meet Our Town


Welcome to Carbondale, Illinois! A city of more than 25,902 residents, Carbondale is home to a thriving business community strongly boosted by Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, recognized nationally for outstanding education, research, and athletics. Located in the heart of beautiful Southern Illinois, Carbondale and the surrounding region offer scenic lakes, a national forest, and abundant recreational opportunities, including two stops along the Southern Illinois Golf Trail. Carbondale is also the front door of the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail, the home of fabulous restaurants serving international cuisine, the retail center for multiple counties, and the region's cultural center, with many stages filled with music, dance, and live theater.

Carbondale is a bustling community of unusual shops, diverse commerce, cultural activities, and many other luxuries that would be expected in a large city — yet it maintains the comforts and charm of a small town. Although the title is unofficial, many residents consider Carbondale to be the “Capital of Southern Illinois.”

Website Links for Carbondale Area

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Entertainment and Recreation
Transportation
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Hospitals and Primary Healthcare Providers
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SELECTED AS WINNER OF NATIONAL AWARD BY SUNSHINE REVIEW


The City of Carbondale is proud to announce it has been selected as winner of the Sunshine Review's 3rd annual "Sunny Award." The Sunshine Review is the nation's leading government transparency advocate. Of the 6,000 government websites ranked by Sunshine Review only 214 earned the Sunny Award.

The 2012 awards, which more than double last year's number, recognize the best state and local government websites in America that exceeded transparency standards. The Sunny Awards announcement preludes the launch of “Sunshine Week,” a period nationally recognized by hundreds of media and civic organizations, that celebrates the efforts of activists and the strides taken towards open government.

“Sunny Award winners deserve recognition for making information available to citizens and for setting a transparency standard that all governments can, and should, meet,” said Mike Barnhart, President of Sunshine Review. “Access to information empowers every citizen to hold government officials accountable. Official accountability is the cornerstone of self government and liberty.”

For more information go to the Citizen Access page.

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Quick Facts

  • The Carbondale area is referred to as “Little Egypt.” Theories about the nickname's origins range from the region’s supplying grain to northern and central Illinois during an 1800's famine, to comparing Illinois' southern tip to Egypt’s Nile delta region. SIUC's nickname, the Salukis, references this association, as the saluki was the royal dog of Egypt. 
  • Carbondale is home to various ethnic groups and cultures, and approximately 10 percent of the population is foreign-born.
  • Since 1903, the Southern Illinois Symphony Orchestra (SISO), composed of faculty and students of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, talented community members and area professionals, has brought outstanding music to Southern Illinois.
  • Carbondale has excellent Amtrak service with three trains daily to and from Chicago with one train daily to and from Memphis and New Orleans.
  • Winner, "Governor's Hometown Award" 1991,1992,1993,1997,2002,2005,2009
  • "All American City Award", Finalist 2009
  • Honorable Mention, "City Livability Award", 2009
  • Named by Outdoor Life Magazine as one of the top 200 towns for Sportsmen in 2009 for the facilities at Cedar Lake
  • Selected as "101 Best Outdoor Towns", 2007
  • Illinois and National Main Street Community
  • Certified Local Government for Historic Preservation
  • Accredited Police Department
  • Dedicated to protecting property and savings lives as a nationally accredited "StormReady" Community
  • Rated "Best Small City in Illinois," 1990, 1997
  • City Government Budget and Financial Reporting Awards annually since 1986
  • Selected as "Tree City USA", since 1981
  • Awarded the "Sunny Award" three years running (2010, 2011, 2012) for "Transparency in Government"
  • Awarded the "Progressive City Award" by Ameren for Energy Conservation, 2012
 

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