Lotus is an unincorporated community in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. Lotus is located along a railroad line southwest of Foosland. The community has long talked of becoming incorporated, but due to the high costs of the process its few residents have always opted against it. Currently home to 102 residents, Lotus is named after Captain James Ruthermore Lotus who was a soldier in the Civil War. His son, Abraham Lotus moved to the area well after the war and established the town, naming it after himself and his father.