Illinois Route 49 acts as the second longitudinal (north-south) route west of the Indiana border in east-central Illinois.  It's largely desolate and very rural, but it runs for a considerable distance across the entire length of what I would consider "east-central Illinois".

Illinois 49's northern end is where US Route 45 and US Route 52 split about fifteen miles south of Kankakee.  At this junction, US Route 52 turns easterly and US Route 45 turns westerly, and proceeding straight south gives you the birth of Illinois 49:

Illinois 49 continues south through Iroquois County, and it crosses US Route 24 at Crescent City, Illinois:

At Rankin, Illinois 49 meets Illinois 9 at a 4-way intersection:

At Armstrong, US Route 136 joins Illinois 49 from the west:

After about a mile's worth of concurrency with US Route 136, Illinois 49 sends that route continuing eastward independently:

Illinois 49 reaches a full diamond interchange with Interstate 74, near Fithian:

Only a half mile south of Interstate 74, Illinois 49 joins US Route 150 west:

At Ogden, Illinois 49 departs from US Route 150, turning from westerly to southerly:

Illinois 49 crosses US Route 36 east of Newman:

Then, Illinois 49 crosses Illinois 133 near the tiny town of Isabel:

In the town of Kansas, Illinois 49 joins Illinois 16 southwesterly for a bit:

Then, Illinois 49 splits off of Illinois 16 to resume going southerly:

As Illinois 49 approaches Casey, Interstate 70 connects to the state route with a diamond interchange:

At Casey, a town known for a bunch of quirky "world's largest object" records, Illinois 49 crosses US Route 40:

Illinois 49 crosses Illinois 33 to continue southward toward Willow Hill:

Illinois 49 ends unceremoniously in the small town of Willow Hill, having no contact with any other highway:

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