New Salem has yet to put a famous person on the list
The longest list in Illinois is Alton’s, with 65 names. Champaign City Township has the second-longest list in Illinois, after Alton, with 64. In all of Illinois, the famous people on record come from 770 towns.
Who’s listed here
Famous people come from Wikidata (people whose birthplace is New Salem), checked against each person’s English Wikipedia article and ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover them. Nobody born in New Salem has passed that check yet, and nobody born within 35 miles is listed.
From Wikidata and Wikipedia: people whose birthplace is New Salem and whose English Wikipedia article agrees, ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. People known mainly for crimes, and adult performers, aren’t listed. “The usual town” = everyone born in the towns gathered so far.