Illinois

Illinois is a state in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Wisconsin to the north, Lake Michigan (one of the Great Lakes) to the northeast, Indiana to the east, the westernmost portion of Kentucky to the south, and Iowa and Missouri to the west.

By far the largest and most interesting city in Illinois is Chicago, located on the shore of Lake Michigan in the northeast corner of the state. With a population of over 9,500,000 (metropolitan area), it is the third-largest city in the United States. Make use of the truck stop areas and on ramps. Hitching on the intestate in Illinois ESPECIALLY on turnpikes is illegal. Look also for US routes, the police might leave you alone.

Law
(625 ILCS 5/11-1006) (from Ch. 95 1/2, 11)
 * Sec. 11-1006. Pedestrians soliciting rides or business.

No person shall stand in a roadway for the purpose of soliciting a ride from the driver of any vehicle.

(625 ILCS 5/1-179) (from Ch. 95 1/2, 1) Title and Definitions
 * Sec. 1-179. Roadway.

That portion of a highway improved, designed or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the berm or shoulder.

As usual if you stay on the shoulder or berm you are legally not in violation of this code.

Experiences
Zenit had a State Trooper define "roadway" as the road itself plus 30 feet to either side which would make hitchhiking impracticable to say the least. Also Zenit has found Northern Illinois to be an enormous pain considering law enforcement; he has been stopped and told that hitchhiking is illegal on any kind of highway at least one time per day. If lucky, you might get a ride out of the cop's area, if not, you'll have to do some walking or keep your head down.

''I have been everywhere in the United States and Illinois is one of the worst states for hitchhiking. It is even harder than Indiana and Ohio. People here just don't trust strangers at all. As soon as you cross the state line into Missouri or Iowa, hitching gets much easier. I have been kicked out of more truck stops/rest areas in Illinois than I can remember. Folks, this is a state that really, really doesn't like hitchhikers.'' Thewindandrain (talk) 17:33, 15 July 2013 (CEST)

Cities

 * Assumption, renown across the county for bad temperament - at least hitchhiker Ephilei had several bad experiences there.
 * Aurora, second-largest city in the state and accessible from Chicago via the Metra BNSF railway
 * Bloomington, location of Illinois State University
 * Carbondale, location of Southern Illinois University
 * Champaign-Urbana, location of the University of Illinois
 * Chicago
 * East St. Louis, across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri
 * Joliet
 * Peoria
 * Rockford
 * Springfield, the state capitol

isin: United States trash:Illinois