Governor Quinn will be among those at the state's annual menorah lighting ceremony at the Thompson Center Wednesday afternoon.
It begins at 3 p.m. and features a menorah made of food cans for victims of the recent tornadoes.
A giant menorah at Daley Plaza will be lit at 4:30 p.m.
In Washington D.C., the world's largest menorah will be lit later on Wednesday.
Jews celebrate Hanukkah over 8 days by lighting candles on a menorah.
It commemorates the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem centuries ago.
Tradition also has it that a candelabra miraculously burned for 8 days with only one day's worth of oil.
