^Westbound trailblazer at Interstate 55 in Shorewood, February 2022.
US Route 52 runs east-west across northern Illinois, diving southeast through Joliet and Kankakee to cross into Indiana from east-central Illinois.  It runs from Savanna, Illinois east and southeast to Mendota, then more or less due east again, then from Joliet, it heads southeast to Kankakee and beyond.  US Route 52 doesn't always run east-west, though! US Route 52 is overall a diagonal route, running from northwestern North Dakota to Charleston, South Carolina (see the national page for more on that).

US Route 52 and Iowa State Route 64 cross the Mississippi River into Savanna, Illinois from the island city of Sabula, Iowa (Iowa State Route 64 becomes Illinois Route 64 at this point)...
The bridge over Mississippi River deposits US Route 52 and Illinois 64 at a T-intersection with Illinois 84, and the two routes join Illinois 84 south: 
Having passed through Savanna, US Route 52 and Illinois 64 send Illinois 84 to split south:
In Mount Carroll, US Route 52 and Illinois 64 continue east together through a junction with Illinois 78:
At Lanark, US Route 52 and Illinois 64 meet the southern end of Illinois 73:
Near Brookville, US Route 52 turns southeast as Illinois 64 splits to head eastward:
Near the town of Polo, US Route 52 and Illinois 26 join together southerly:
In Dixon, Illinois 2 joins from the west, and US Route 52, Illinois 26, and Illinois 2 cross the Rock River concurrently:
In downtown Dixon, Illinois 2 splits from US Route 52 and Illinois 26 to head east:
After another five blocks going south, US Route 52 splits from Illinois 26 (use Illinois 26 to access Interstate 88):
After another one-third of a mile, US Route 52 meets the western end of Illinois 38:
US Route 52 exits and passes under Interstate 88 with no access, then it crosses US Route 30:
US Route 52 meets Illinois 251 and joins it south into Mendota:
US Route 52 and Illinois 251 both head south through an intersection with US Route 34 in Mendota:
Five miles south of Mendota, US Route 52 splits from Illinois 251 to go east to Troy Grove:
Just after passing through Troy Grove, US Route 52 meets an interchange with Interstate 39:
About six miles north of Ottawa, Illinois 23 joins US Route 52 from the south:
After a two-mile concurrency, US Route 52 splits from Illinois 23:
Near the unincorporated town of Norway, US Route 52 crosses the diagonal Illinois 71:
After passing by the tiny town of Lisbon, US Route 52 crosses Illinois 47:
In Shorewood, US Route 52 crosses Illinois 59:
After less than a mile, US Route 52 meets an interchange with Interstate 55:
Having entered Joliet, US Route 52 crosses Illinois 7:
Still in Joliet, US Route 52 is joined by US Route 6 which comes from the southwest:
After crossing a drawbridge, US Route 52 joins Illinois 53 at a point where US Route 6 joins Illinois 53 north:
US Route 52 and Illinois 53 head south together through a full interchange with Interstate 80...
Just after the Interstate 80 interchange, US Route 52 splits from Illinois 53 to head southeast:
After passing through Manhattan, US Route 52 joins US Route 45 south:
In Bourbonnais, US Routes 45 and 52 continue south together past the southeastern end of Illinois 102...
In Kankakee, US Routes 45 and 52 join Illinois 17 east:
After about five blocks, ​US Routes 45 and 52 split from Illinois 17 to go south:
Still in Kankakee, US Routes 45 and 52 meet the northern end of Illinois 115:
US Routes 45 and 52 turn onto Schuyler Street, at the southern end of Illinois 50:
US Routes 45 and 52 leave Kankakee to the south, meeting an interchange with Interstate 57...
East of Ashkum, US Route 45 splits from US Route 52 to go west, as US Route 52 turns easterly and Illinois 49 starts out going south:
US Route 52 crosses Illinois 1 near Martinton:
At Sheldon, US Route 52 joins US Route 24 east...
US Route 52 and US Route 24 enter Indiana together, heading east toward Kentland, Indiana...
Back to the Illinois main page.