^Looking east from the western end of Illinois 72 at Illinois 73 north of Lanark, September 2024.
Illinois Route 72 runs east-west across most of the width of northern Illinois, including portions of Chicago's northwest suburbs. The eastern end is actually on the far northwest side of Chicago proper.
Illinois 72's western end is west of Shannon, at Illinois 73...
Illinois 72's western end is west of Shannon, at Illinois 73...
South of Freeport, Illinois 72 joins Illinois 26 south...
At Forreston, Illinois 72 splits from Illinois 26 to continue east:
Illinois 72 joins Illinois 2 northeast into Byron:
At Byron, Illinois 72 splits from Illinois 2 to cross the Rock River and continue eastward:
Illinois 72 crosses Illinois 251 at Davis Junction...
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After passing through Kirkland and Kingston, Illinois 72 meets Illinois 23 in Genoa, and that route joins from the south:
East of Genoa, Illinois 23 splits from Illinois 72 to go north:
Illinois 72 joins Illinois 47 north at Starks, as US Route 20 comes from the east to join to form a triplicate along Illinois 47 north:
Just as US Route 20 and Illinois 72 came from opposite directions to join Illinois 47 at the same point, they split in opposite directions at the same point as well, about one-third of a mile to the north:
After passing under Interstate 90 for the first time without an interchange for the first of two instances, Illinois 72 crosses Illinois 31 in West Dundee:
Soon after crossing the Fox River into East Dundee, Illinois 72 meets the western beginning of Illinois 68:
Illinois 72 crosses Illinois 25, still in East Dundee...
From here onward, Illinois 72 heads east-southeasterly, and it intersects Illinois 59 in Hoffman Estates...
After crossing Interstate 90 again with no interchange, Illinois 72's latitude sinks past that of Illinois 58, resulting in a sharply-angled junction:
In Schaumburg, Illinois 72 crosses Interstate 290 and Illinois 53 with an interchange:
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At Elk Grove Village, Illinois 83 joins Illinois 72 for a very short concurrency...
After about a single block, Illinois 72 splits from Illinois 83...
At Rosemont, just out side of O'Hare Airport, Illinois crosses Mannheim Road, the road carrying US Routes 12 and 45...
After passing under Interstates 90 and Interstate 294 with no direct access, Illinois 72 meets the northern end of Illinois 171...
Illinois 72, now within the Chicago city limits, ends just south of Interstate 90 at Illinois 43:
