 Divya Srinivasan created the album artwork , depicting a variety of Illinois @-@ related themes , including Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln , the Sears Tower , and Black Hawk . The album cover reads , " Sufjan Stevens Invites You To : Come On Feel the Illinoise ! " as a wordplay on the common mispronunciation of the state 's name as " ill @-@ i @-@ NOYZ " and a reference to the Slade song " Cum On Feel the Noize " made famous in the United States by the metal band Quiet Riot . The text on the cover caused some confusion over the actual title of the album — it is officially titled Illinois , as opposed to Come on Feel the Illinoise or Illinoise . Paste listed Illinois as having the seventh best album art of the decade 2000 – 2009 . The album also won the PLUG Independent Music Award for Album Art / Packaging of the Year in 2006 . 
