Illinois

Illinois is Chicago, on the shore of Lake Michigan, and a long state south of it, with Abraham Lincoln's Springfield about 200 miles down I-55. O'Hare, Chicago's main airport, has about 128 nonstop flights a day to 62 international destinations. Route 66 began in the city's Grant Park and runs about 300 miles across the state. Our road trip Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica follows it to the Pacific, leg by leg.

Most of what a visitor sees in Illinois is free to enter, so the costs sit in Chicago's taxes and transport. We checked the figures below on 27 October 2026 on the pages of the National Park Service, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Department of Revenue, the City of Chicago, the Chicago Department of Aviation, the CTA, Amtrak and NOAA.

Which Illinois sights charge nothing to get in?

Lincoln Home and Pullman, the Illinois national park sites we could read, charge no entrance fee. No Illinois unit is on the 2026 list of parks with a $100 surcharge for visitors from abroad. The state parks have no entrance fee for any car, from Illinois or elsewhere, except at Wildlife Prairie Park and at beaches, which cost $1 a day per person.

Lincoln Home had 123,544 recreation visits in 2025 and Pullman 22,367. The Park Service's count reads zero at both for October 2025, so neither figure compares with earlier years. The Park Service also lists Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument, New Philadelphia National Historic Site and Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument in Illinois. We could not read the fees or hours of those three.

The $250 America the Beautiful pass for non-residents therefore buys nothing in Illinois, and it does not cover Lincoln Home's parking either. Our guide to national park fees for international visitors explains where the pass does pay off.

Which cities fly nonstop to O'Hare from abroad?

O'Hare's nonstop list from abroad runs to 62 international destinations, from Abu Dhabi to Zurich, with about 128 flights a day as of September 2026. They cover Europe, the Middle East, East Asia, Africa, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean. Among them are London-Heathrow, Tokyo-Haneda, Seoul-Incheon, Doha, Addis Ababa, Cairo, Bogotá and São Paulo. The airport's own list does not mark any route as seasonal.

International arrivals clear border control at O'Hare, then collect all their bags. Passengers from preclearance airports, several of them in Canada and Ireland, have already cleared and go straight to domestic baggage claim. Midway, Chicago's second airport, has about eight international flights a day to nine destinations, by its own count.

All of Illinois lies in the Central time zone. Daylight saving time ended on 1 November 2026 at 2 a.m., when clocks go back an hour.

What does the Blue Line from O'Hare cost?

The Blue Line from O'Hare costs $5, against $2.50 for a CTA train anywhere else. Its station sits on the lower-level concourse joined to Terminals 1, 2 and 3. Trains run 24 hours a day, every day, and reach downtown in 40 to 45 minutes by the CTA's own figure. Arrivals at Terminal 5 take the free Airport Transit System to Terminal 2; there is no Terminal 4.

A 1-Day CTA/Pace pass also costs $5, and the CTA's own tip is to board at O'Hare with an unlimited pass at no extra charge. The pass therefore pays for the airport ride and the rest of the day. A contactless bank card or phone wallet pays a full fare at the gate.

Midway's station is the Orange Line, reached by an enclosed walkway just east of the terminal. A ride downtown costs $2.50 and takes 20 to 25 minutes. Orange Line trains do not run overnight, when the N62 Archer bus replaces them. For comparison, the CTA puts a taxi from O'Hare at around $40 before the tip, taking 25 to 90 minutes.

Why did Chicago's sales tax rise in August 2026?

Chicago's sales tax rose to 10.5% on 1 August 2026 because the regional transit tax went up. The NITA transit tax, formerly the Regional Transportation Authority's, rose by 0.25 points in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties, the Illinois Department of Revenue announced. Until 31 July 2026 the Chicago rate had been 10.25% since 2016.

The 10.5% applies to general merchandise in the Cook County part of the city. Of it, 6.25% is the statewide rate and 1.25% is now the transit tax. The small part of Chicago in DuPage County charges 8.5%. Restaurant meals in Chicago add a city tax of 0.5%.

We could not confirm a combined rate for Springfield, which the state's rate file sends to an address-level lookup. Our guide to sales tax in the USA explains why the price on the tag never includes these taxes.

Which Chicago hotels add the new 1.5% charge?

Chicago hotels with 100 or more rooms in 16 central ZIP codes have added a 1.5% Tourism Improvement District charge since 1 May 2026. The codes are 60601 to 60607, 60609 to 60612, 60615, 60616, 60653, 60654 and 60661. The charge comes on top of the city's 4.5% hotel accommodations tax.

The state hotel tax is 6% of 94% of the room charge, or about 5.64% of the bill. Vacation rentals and shared housing pay a further 6% city surcharge, for a city total of 10.5%.

Illinois's revenue department put the total hotel tax in Chicago at 17.4% in a 2023 letter, counting the state, the city's 4.5%, Cook County's 1% and three authority taxes. Since 1 May 2026, hotels with 100 rooms or more in 16 central ZIP codes have added 1.5%.

Where did Route 66 begin in Chicago?

Route 66 began at Grant Park in Chicago, the National Park Service says, and runs about 300 miles across Illinois. The 1931 AAA guide measured the Illinois stretch at 294.5 miles, and three major realignments have changed it since. The Park Service groups the state's Route 66 sites under Chicago, Pontiac and Springfield, plus an alternate route from Joliet to Wilmington.

Navy Pier now has its own sign, which it calls the "Route 66 Ceremonial Start" and describes as a symbolic starting point. The pier pairs itself with Santa Monica Pier at the other end of the road. Route 66 passports are stamped at Harry Caray's on the pier.

The federal law that created the Route 66 Centennial Commission says only that 2026 is the road's centennial year. The law gives no day or month for the anniversary.

When do Lincoln Home tour tickets run out?

Lincoln Home tour tickets can run out before the last tour on busy days, and the last tour is usually at 4 p.m. The house can only be entered on a free ranger-led tour. The free tickets are handed out on the day of the visit, at the front desk of the visitor center. Visitor numbers run high from March to November.

The Lincoln Home visitor center is at 426 South 7th Street in Springfield and opens from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The site does not accept cash. Its car park costs $2 an hour per vehicle, by credit or debit card at the gate kiosk. The streets of the historic neighbourhood around the house are for pedestrians only, open from dawn to dusk.

What does Springfield's Lincoln museum charge?

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield charges $15 for an adult. Seniors from 62 and students with ID pay $12, children from 5 to 15 pay $6, and those under 5 go free. The museum opens daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with last admission at 4 p.m., and closes on New Year's Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site, in Oak Ridge Cemetery at 1500 Monument Avenue, makes no charge for its tour and has free parking. The tomb opens daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Its observation deck was closed to the public when we read the page.

Which Starved Rock canyons are closed this autumn?

Starved Rock's LaSalle, Tonti, Pontiac, Basswood and Lonetree Canyons were closed in October 2026, together with Sandstone Point. The closures belong to an $18 million rebuild of trails, bridges and stairways, running from winter 2025 to summer 2027. The LaSalle Canyon car park on Route 71 is closed as well.

The rest of the park stays open, and so do the lodge and its services. Starved Rock itself, French Canyon, Wildcat Canyon and the Lover's Leap and Eagle Cliff overlooks can be reached from the visitor center and the lodge. The Hennepin, Ottawa, Illinois and St. Louis Canyon car parks also give access.

Starved Rock, in La Salle County, became Illinois' second state park in 1911. The rock that names it is a 125-foot sandstone butte, and the park has more than 13 miles of trails. Trails open at 7 a.m. and close at sunset; the visitor center opens from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Deer hunts close parts of the Starved Rock area from late November, though the main park's trails stay open. On 20 to 22 November and 3 to 6 December, the campground, the nature preserves, the Hennepin Canyon car park and Matthiessen State Park close to the public. Hunting closures return for the muzzleloader season on 11 to 13 December. Firearm seasons bring them back from 31 December to 3 January and from 15 to 17 January 2027.

How do you reach Springfield and Starved Rock from Chicago?

Springfield is about 200 miles from Chicago by I-55, a drive of about four hours, and Starved Rock about 94 miles, two hours. Amtrak's Lincoln Service runs from Chicago Union Station to Springfield and on to St. Louis. Amtrak's timetable for 30 October 2026 gives 4 hours 46 minutes to 5 hours 5 minutes for the six trains to St. Louis, while its route page gives 5 hours 30 minutes for the Illinois services as a whole.

The distances are our own routing, without traffic. The Indianapolis route follows I-90 out of Chicago, and we did not check its tolls.

Thirteen Amtrak routes include Chicago, among them the California Zephyr, the Empire Builder, the Southwest Chief and the City of New Orleans. The Hiawatha runs seven round trips a day to Milwaukee, six on Sunday, in 1 hour 29 minutes. Chicago Union Station closes every day from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m., and its parcel check takes bags for $20 each.

Pullman can also be reached by Metra Electric train. The express to 115th Street/Kensington takes about 20 minutes from downtown, then a walk of five blocks. On 27 October 2026 the park's alert warned of road works at 111th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue, expected to last through the autumn.

How much snow falls on Chicago compared with southern Illinois?

Chicago's O'Hare averages 38.4 inches of snow a year, against 21.8 inches in Springfield. Summers grow hotter to the south: Carbondale, in southern Illinois, averages 40.5 days a year at or above 90°F, against 16.7 at O'Hare.

The table gives NOAA's 1991 to 2020 average highs and lows. O'Hare averages 11.3 inches of snow in January alone and 121 nights a year at or below freezing. Carbondale is the wettest of the three, with 44.01 inches of precipitation a year, and April is its wettest month.